Got No Job? Come be an RN !

It seems to me anybody and anybody can do nursing, doesn't matter if you are really interested or not, not important if you care about people or not, not relevant if you have a passion for nursing or not just come along we will train you and then you can look after our sick, elderly, frail, poor homeless, drug seekers. Without passion, without caring, sometimes with little comprehension of what that poor sick person in the bed needs. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

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.

:)

Nurses are funny. In general, they are pushy, moralize to others, petty, and extremely controlling.

They tend to remind me of religious fanatics.

It is both amusing and scary to see how many nurses set themselves up as watchdogs, making sure each and every RN has the correct motives, while singing about their own holy motives in the same breath.

Martyrs. I forgot to add that most RNs I come across are total martyrs.

Not only that, but so many RNs are so jealous of the new crop of RNs, wanting to make it more difficult for new would-be RNs.

How often do you hear doctors talking like this about their own? Almost never.

But there is NO shortage of RNs on a warpath to make sure all RNs work REALLY hard and suffer to care from the bottom of their heart for each patient.

Bizarre.

If I really cared about patients being cared for, in a time of nursing shortage, I would encourage--yes--even RNs who are MOSTLY doing it for the money...because I would hope if they simply did their job, patients would receive what they need most: more attention and care.

It is a JOB, not a charity role filled with glory. Some RNs will love people. Some will not. And that is OKAY, as long as they do their job.

Why this obsession with others' motives, or how easy it is for people to become RNs?

Especially when the RN finds themselves at a crossroads of so much responsibility already?

I see the RN profession constantly shooting itself in the foot with petty and bizarre arguments.

I have to question the motives of these strange people who are on a witch hunt for the RNs who don't 'truly care.'

So. Sad.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
gone are the glory days of little paperwork, low patient loads, extremely high demand for nurses and so on.

Uh, just out of curiosity, when was that?

Seriously, I think that many are missing the OPs original point. The perception is that anyone and everyone can be a nurse and it is a backstop for those who have no other choice in life. Part of that perception stems from the variability in educational levels and different entry points into the profession, causing many to believe that in just a few months they can have a high-paying career, no need for a complex and lengthy educational process. Another part stems from the belief that physicians do all the heavy lifting and thinking while nurses merely follow doctor's orders and do the tasks, having no accountability or responsibility. Nurses themselves can take a good share of the blame for this. We cannot and will not agree on an entry level degree. And several posts on this board alone indicate that a great many nurses view themselves as powerless taskmasters with no accountability or autonomy and unfortunately, some of them like it that way!

But for those of us who view nursing as a serious, true profession complete with structure, standards and the ability to impact healthcare in a meaningful way using our education and training (not just following "doctor's orders"), the idea that anyone who doesn't have a job should just go be a nurse is irksome. We've seen this before: retraining prostitutes, welfare mothers and anyone else on the edges of society into nursing because it's quick and easy and it doesn't take any real brain power. This is not about having a "calling". I certainly didn't have one. But I didn't see nursing as my last option either, in fact it was my first.

I have to agree with arguin... You found your calling. Good for you! For those that are "in it for the money"....as long as they aren't abusing or neglecting their patients (and doing what their job requires them to do) ...who are we to judge? :rolleyes:

I don't buy the martyr b.s. either. If so many nurses are doing it solely "for the passion" or solely because "I care," I would be pleased to take the 'burden' of the check off your hands :p You know just as well as I do that the money helps! Also I've read a few comments on here that just blew my mind away... seriously, get off your high horse. YOU ARE GETTING PAID TO DO WHAT YOU ARE, AREN'T YOU?? You are no better or worse than any other nurse that is doing the exact same job-- without making a big deal about every lil' thing! {The "YOU" here isn't directed towards OP ... it is directed towards the "I am better than thou" types I have encountered on here}

Aren't we supposed to be looking out for each other?? Instead, we're constantly looking over each others shoulders so that when a mistake is made the blame game can start.

Also why are we worrying about what the media is portraying nursing to be?? Even IF (and that's a big IF) schools accept students that have no clue whatsoever, the 2 years minimum will weed them out. And IF that doesn't, the real world will anyway. So just keep it movin! If you enjoy your job, smile! Everything else will work itself out!

I am going to school to become an LPN. I've had friends go into nursing because they wanted a sure job. When asked about my motives they are shocked.

As I was a young girl, growing up I saw my Grandmother constantly fighting for her life. She was horribly sick. I knew from that point, I wanted to be a nurse, just as my cousin did because of watching her always suffer. Now, I will be 24 next month and I have a 4 year old son. When I look at him, I see me when I was a little girl. He is watching the same things play out as I did when he watches his Grandmother, which is my Mother. She has been in ICU twice, within a span of a few weeks and on a ventilator. She has also been to the point where when she falls, she passes out. Her health is at a really poor condition for a 46 year old. My Grandfather, who is still alive has vertigo to the extreme. He also has horrible health problems. So a few years ago, I moved back into my Grandfather and Mother's house to take care of them.

The reason I decided to go to school and become and LPN was not only to provide better care for them, but I have had this passion since I was my son's age.

Just tonight, my Mother fell and as I was lifting her off the floor, she said her blood pressure had dropped and that's why she fell. My son, being only 4, ran into the dining room and got the blood pressure cuff and brought it to us. Maybe one day he too will follow my footsteps, maybe even possibly become a doctor. :] Theres to hoping! :]

Now apart from what I just shared, I agree. It disheartens me when people are only in it for the money.

I can't wait for next year when I graduate.

i agree nursing more than just a job

Specializes in Med-Surg.

After working my butt off for over three years for a two year degree, studying my head off to hopefully pass the NCLEX on Monday, and all the sacrifices me, my husband and the rest of my family have put in in order that I may become a nurse - including the very real possibility my husband and I may have to live in separate states for a year or more - if I'm lucky enough to find EMPLOYMENT - I find your post a little offensive and a lot sanctimonious. Good for you. You sound like the perfect nurse. I bet you do it for free, too.

Now, where's that test you want me to take? The one that will prove to you my motives meet your expectations?

if i were a patient, i'd care more about whether my nurse was intelligent and competent than if he/she were passionate about nursing.

there are a lot of passionate people that just don't have the brains to provide safe care.

that's not to say either is mutually exclusive.. but to argue that passion is a pre-requisite for providing excellent care is a bit much.

Specializes in critical care.

You are what I label as having a "Super Nurse" mentality.....no one can do it as good or better than you....and you think that 'Rn' after your name should really be "MD" since you're so much more knowledgeable than everyone else......if you're not concerned about earning money....why don't you work for "free" and then you can really pat yourself on the back.....

Specializes in critical care.

You should perform your nursing skills without receiving a pay-check for them.....then, check your "passion" level for it!!! What a saint!

I

Now apart from what I just shared, I agree. It disheartens me when people are only in it for the money.

I can't wait for next year when I graduate.

That makes it sound like you think you can't be a good nurse if you are "only in it for the money." Several other people have already made good cases for why this notion is a crock. I also believe that those nurses who are "passionate" are emotionally invested and less likely to come to a dispassionate, logical conclusion about the things that they are most passionate about. Some of the posts in this thread prove that. Who cares why a nurse has become a nurse? The most important people in this equation are the patients, and I guarantee you that they don't give a hoot about a nurse's motives for becoming a nurse as long as they get the care that they need. Getting the J.O.B. done is the real bottom line here.

Your attitude is part and parcel of where the saying "Nurses eat their young" comes from. You may be the most sincere person in the world but if you don't give newbies a chance your shooting yourself in the foot. You'll be the lone nurse on the floor handling all the patients yourself....think more in terms of what you can do to help the situation.......try to instill the passion you feel instead of harping on the passion that isn't there.

Wow, this is awesome!

I did a "QUICK" 12 month BSN program, got my license, and have been doing the (and I swear I'm quoting another RN) "a real nurse wouldn't be doing that kind of work honey" temp jobs in my area while busting my butt to get a human being from a hospital to respond to my 87 applications.

Was it glamorous? Nope

Did I get job security? Nope, some days my 6 hour shift would be cut in half

Did I get a free lunch once a week? you betcha

Do I think about how much money I made in my previous career? Yep when I have to decide which bills get paid

Did I do a nursing job that had me driving more miles than my car/gas tank/wallet could really handle? Yes and I did it because there was a need for nurses.

Do I regret that I gave up a successful, secure job to accomplish my goal? Not for a second

If you think anyone in nursing school right now thinks that getting a job in nursing is easy you really need to talk to more nursing students- it is a nightmare! I have my FIRST interview next week and I was the only one, out of 17 friends that applied for it, interviewing! I realized that instead of just being one of 132 new grads (just counting from my class of 145 and not the 4 other BSN programs within 10 blocks of here) I needed to take the little bit of money I made doing 'grunt work' and put it into certifications to better myself and set me apart. There is no dreamy view that nursing is an easy gig to get, keep, and survive...you should know you can't believe everything you see on TV.