Got No Job? Come be an RN !

[madwife2002]

I am fed up with hearing about people seeing nursing as a quick route to money it is so much more and it offends me that nursing is used as a short cut to being employed. We should have stricter entry rules and by this I mean more screening to make sure the nurses coming into the profession actually want to be a nurse for the right reasons and employment not being one of them.

We all know nursing is a hard profession it takes from your soul sometimes but you know who has the passion because they ride the storms better than the nurses who dont have it.

I have had a passion for nursing most of my life and I am now struggling with some of the harsh realities-but give me a patient any patient and I come alive, I thrive. I forget why I am tired after all my years, I forget why I want a new job, I forget why the management make my life harder each day.

For me nursing is almost like acting I can be somebody else with a patient I can be who they need me to be for that person and their family, I have the ability to calm a tense situation, I can bring trust to the room, I can make that patient feel like they are the most special person in the hospital and that nothing is too much trouble for me. I have knowledge and can educate. I can make that person feel safe, I can make them laugh even when they don't want to, I can be their advocate, their confident, their friend, but also I can persuade them to take the shot, to take the medicine, to go for the test. I can hold their hand and I can be firm. I can predict their mood and can listen to their worries and woes. I can educate their families and friends and I can educate and train their future RN's.

It doesn't matter that outside that room chaos is happening, that 3 other pts need me as much if not more than the patient I am with. They at that moment are the most special important person in my working day.

In 20 years I have had this ability it has shone out of every bone in my body. I have smiled constantly even if my world is falling apart. I have the passion I can make somebodies life better, I know my 'stuff' and I care.

[nursinghereicome1112]

I don't know about you but 2+ years minimum is a good amount of time and sweat to put into some 'quick money'. On top of that, once in the programs the drop rates are astronomical. One RN I was working with the other night stated that they started out with 70 and ended up with something like 13 people! That is 81% of the class that did not graduate and will have to find another way to get that 'quick money'. For people like me that already have a Bachelors, it is still taking me a year of pre-req's

Well, the thing is, someone's got to replace all these folks that have been in 20+ years. They will not be working much longer. There may be a temporary influx, but things will straigten out. Obviously nursing school's rigid standards (3.5 MINIMUM GPA in my area to actually get into a program in the next year or two) will weed out those not in for the right reasons. It makes me wonder, what were the standards 20+ years ago? I don't think it takes just "heart" you have to be an academic scholar, and I don't think its easy to find both traits in alot of people. Today, NS is no joke, it is an investment of time away from family, small children, and ALOT of money for those of us who have a BA already, or who had a career in another field. How many people are using loans, and living near the poverty line to go back to school, as I am? I wonder who really thinks they are going to make "quick money"? It'd be glorious if it was like that!

[OutlawNurse86, BSN, RN]

I understand where you are coming from, but some of these people may actually end up being pretty good nurses, just gotta give them some time.

Take me for example...

I was pushed into nursing, I DID NOT initially want to be a nurse (please read the rest of this before y'all start commenting), I thought "Male nurse? GAY!", I started going to school for it because I couldn't think of anything else to do that would bring a decent paycheck.

However, as I started my classes, I started learning more and more what nursing was about, I learned a lot of things that corrected my misconceptions, especially when I started working as a CNA at a local hospital. The more I was around it, more I enjoyed it. I even learned "Hey! I like working with people!" (This shocked me because I was [and to some extent still can be] and antisocial hermit). I've known other guys that got into nursing for almost the same reasons and they ended up being some of the best nurses I know. A lot of guys coming in from industry already have good technical skills, some even have the people skills that others (like myself) have to learn.

My point is, yes, you have to get into nursing for the right reasons, but..... sometimes it can take time for a person to find those right reasons. They may be like me: Start off for the check, then learn that they are actually good at helping people and decide to further themselves in a nursing career for the right reasons. You just gotta encourage people and give them time.

FYI: I love being a nurse. A lot of my issues were related to lack of knowledge about the field.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Kudos, OP. I am soooo with you. Sick of seeing nursing as a "stepping" stone too for those who just want to "bide" their time--sometimes only ONE YEAR-- to get their NP because being a regular nurse just "isn't good enough."

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Well, the thing is, someone's got to replace all these folks that have been in 20+ years. They will not be working much longer.

:lol2::yeah: My best chuckle of the whole day. I graduated as an LPN in 1986(I'm and RN now). I was 19 years old at the time. So I have been a nurse for well over the 20+ years.

Here's the problem with your theory. I am only 43 years old and can't retire until I am 67 (I think that's the new requirement). So if you know of any new grad waiting for this old nurses spot with 20+ years in, they are gonna be waiting another 25 years or so. :lol2:

[ItsTheDude]

We should have stricter entry rules and by this I mean more screening to make sure the nurses coming into the profession actually want to be a nurse for the right reasons and employment not being one of them.

only a person that doesn't and hasn't had a job/employment nursing (getting paid) could say that with credibility, meaning they've only practiced nursing for free.

no idea why newer nurses or student nurses are the misguided targets for the sad song of so many older nurses. the real reason nursing has changed is because things change and nursing is no differ.

i don't know of a nurse with 10+ yrs experience, those with less yrs exp that bought into the bs (it's not a job propaganda pumped out by nursing schools and prima donna nurses) or those that never worked a real job for any length of time at a traditional big biz that isn't peeved, b/c they've been hit with the harsh reality that nursing is just a job, whether they want to admit it or not.

gone are the glory days of little paperwork, low patient loads, extremely high demand for nurses and so on. big biz, whether it's profit or non-profit (they both want the $$$) with the help of governement have made health care big biz and are running health care more and more like traditional big biz, even hiring ceo's and others with little to no health care experience to run health care orgs.

nursing is just a job (a very good one at that), some realize what it is and enjoy it (patient care/interaction, hours, work enviro, shift diffs and basically wearing pj's to work in, etc).

[litchi]

Let's face it, no matter what the job is or what reason you're in it for, you wouldn't work if you didn't get paid. Nursing isn't the only profession that people see as a quick route to cash.. it happens in EVERY profession. No matter what the job is, there will always be people that have no interest in the related field other than the paycheck that goes along with it. It's sad, but true.

It's unfortunate because a lot of people are being misled, especially now, about how lucrative a field nursing is. When people find out what I'm in school for, I can't tell you how many of them have said that I'll be practically guaranteed a job when I graduate or that nursing is recession proof. A few years ago, I'm sure those things were true..but now, not so much. I'm sure there are people who are in school now or about to be that are going because they think that a job will just fall in their lap when they graduate. I've very thankful that I'm going in well aware of how things really are.

I agree with UNCpsycGuy, though, that nursing school already has a few things going for it that will weed out some of those who aren't genuinely interested in caring for others. Unlike people who go into fields like engineering or computers for money, you actually have clinicals that involve doing/seeing things that most folks wouldn't consider pleasant. Nursing school is tough and most people that do well don't have much of a social life outside of their studies. Not to mention, graduating doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to even work as a nurse--you have to pass NCLEX first. If money is your only motivator, those are just a few obstacles that are unique to nursing that you don't have to deal with in other programs.

Right now, I'm a student and I will be honest with you--I look forward to the day that I get my first paycheck as a nurse. It's frustrating, though, that some people automatically assume that because of that I have no passion for caring for others. I look forward to working with people, caring for and educating them as well. Being excited about getting paid for it shouldn't detract from that or make me seem selfish. I've only ever worked minimum wage jobs, as have most students. I think it's only natural to be excited about getting a real check.

I do realize that not everyone feels that way, but still.. I hate being lumped together with the ones that don't give a crap and judged along with them too. I also hate that some people feel more entitled to being a nurse than others. In my opinion, no one should make such presumptions about anyone else because it's not their business to do so.

I think that if you are truly passionate about nursing, you shouldn't sour it with worrying about what motivates others. You should just consider yourself extremely lucky to have found something that fulfills you because that's more than most people can say.

[realnursealso/LPN, LPN]

I have to agree with the OP. Being a nurse comes from your heart:redbeathe. I've noticed that nursing is being toted as the quick fix for money woes to all. You can learn things in a book and be able to quote them on a test, but you can't give your all to something that is not in your heart. Some of these people who think that it's all glory and no sweat have a big surprize coming. I think of it when I read posts from people who are just starting school and want to know what kind of nursing job they can get that doesn't deal with getting their hands dirty. I can't explain it, but it's there:redbeathe, or it isn't, and no amount of books or classes can put it there. When I went to school in 1979, we had standards, just as high as now. We took tests to get into the nursing program, just like newer students do. I had an instructor for OB and Peds that looked you over before going on the floor with her. You better have no runs in your stockings, and your shoes had to be white, yes we wore dresses, except of course the guys. Also, you better have done your homework, because she could ask really tough questions and she expected you to know all the answers. We had to maintain a specific average or you were out, just like now. I welcome all to nursing, what ever level, but do it because it's your passion, like me, not just to pay the bills.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

I look forward to a few of the people that don't have a "passion" for it getting into the workforce. They won't take all the crap that's thrown at us "because we're here for the patients." We deserve civilized working conditions, breaks, lunches free from our phones/pagers/MDs that just have to talk to us right now/patients that didn't need anything 10 minutes ago but now have decided they have to speak to the nurse (which usually means, come here to the room so I can ask for ice water). Those of us with a "passion" for it cave to easily because we care too much. We'll settle for no raise while our managers take home bonuses. We'll settle for unfair scheduling practices. We'll settle for whatever crap they decide to do because we care more about the patient than ourselves. We need a few people among us that won't settle.

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

TBH, I don't think that anyone and everyone can be an RN. I see a lot of people coming in our facility to be CNA's and tell me they're either doing it as a pre-req for a nursing program or they're on a waitlist for a nursing program.

Then I never see them again. I wonder if they find out what it's all about and then change their major as well as their mind.

[hcrabby]

My favorite teacher in nursing school told me the very first day, that "nurses aren't payed enough for what they have to go through. Yes, for me, the paycheck is nice. But is does take a right fit to be a nurse.

I believe that you can either sink or swim in the field of nursing. It takes life skills, patience, self-conidence, and not sinking into negativity. Like work gossip and work politics. It runs rampant. It can drain my energy.

So, I try to focus on doing my best each day, looking at some things with a huge sense of humor. Like I said before, we don't make enough, but that comes with the realization that we are giving service to others. That is where the value is, and at the end of the day, knowing you were of great service, pays in the end.

[oramar]

That's just what I want to hear as I'm applying for nursing school!

In all seriousness, the main reason I decided on nursing was because I believed the hype about job security, benefits, flexibility, money. A year later on this site, I'm still interested in nursing. I've always wanted to be doing something helpful and useful. There are many people in my classes (pre-reqs even!) that do not seem like that type. I see less and less each semester, and hope that pattern continues without leaving me behind!

There is nothing wrong with going into nursing for good old fashioned reasons. What the OP is talking about is the fact news media and certain educational parties are portraying nursing as a catch basin for the unemployed. We are saying it is a bad idea because the money is not that great and the job security in the last two years has become hard to find. I do not personally believe nursing is a calling like being a nun. But you do have to have your head in the right place or a lot of things will get to you. If a person makes a mistake on an assembly line in Detroit someone buys a lemon. If you make a mistake in nursing, flesh and blood pays a terrible price. I think someone posted somewhere here that clinical issues not related to patient care have started to get to them. But when they are with a patient and making a difference in their lives their spirit soars. Diversity is good and anyone whose head is in that place is welcome. A lot of people are wondering how all these people just in need of a paycheck will do to nursing.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

There is nothing wrong with going into nursing for good old fashioned reasons. What the OP is talking about is the fact news media and certain educational parties are portraying nursing as a catch basin for the unemployed. We are saying it is a bad idea because the money is not that great and the job security in the last two years has become hard to find. I do not personally believe nursing is a calling like being a nun. But you do have to have your head in the right place or a lot of things will get to you. If a person makes a mistake on an assembly line in Detroit someone buys a lemon. If you make a mistake in nursing, flesh and blood pays a terrible price. I think someone posted somewhere here that clinical issues not related to patient care have started to get to them. But when they are with a patient and making a difference in their lives their spirit soars. Diversity is good and anyone whose head is in that place is welcome. A lot of people are wondering how all these people just in need of a paycheck will do to nursing.

Thank you I am pleased you 'got' where I was coming from, after reading some of the replies I wondered if other posters were actually discussing what I had written or if it was lost in translation. :)