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.
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.
I am still finishing up my pre-reqs (complete this December). I have wanted to make this career switch for a while, but my kids were still babies... so I waited until they were school age. I entered engineering, because I always enjoyed the science aspect... but years later, I have found that I just don't go home at the end of the day with any sort of fufillment, or feeling that I have done something worthwhile. My oldest child had a brain tumor and I recieved a crash course into oncology/ neurosurgery... I really admired the nurses and knew that this is the field that I belonged in. I have to admit that I am scared to death to quit a paying job in this economy... but my industry is not that stable right now, which is giving me the extra incentive to make the switch. Is your husband thinking of switching careeers too?
Hi Nursemike,
I have to admit that I have been following your previous posts and admire that you too made a pretty drastic career switch. I agree that education/ skill alone may not transition well into the medical field... but I think working in a career, definately gives one a different perspective, that may help in day to day tasks.
I have chosen the CRNA path,for a variety of reasons. My son was diagnosed with a GBM 2 days after his birth... a year of chemo, neurosurgeries, extended time in the NICU, PICU and on the hem-onc floor followed. I practically lived at the hospital, leaving only to shower and go to work. I learned how to change g-tubes, clean central lines, use an infusion pump, insert an IV for vanc., give intermusclar shots, check sodium levels with a home monitor, what to do when one is neutropenic... (and the list goes on)... I promised my husband that I would steer clear of pediatic oncology if I changed professions (too close to home with our past experiences). I don't think that I have the right personality for the ER/ Trauma... but I was very interested in the ICU/ med surg staff that we were in daily contact with (my son spent 3 months intubated with psydemonus in the PICU). I have researched quite a bit, and believe that this is where my passion is (although we will see how I feel after my clinicals :))...with my science background, I felt that then next logical step would be a CRNA...who knows...I may find that I would be just as content as a surgical nurse... I do know that I will pursue an advanced degree.
Again... thank you for your posts... it is nice to know that there are existing nurses out there that are not against us 2nd Degree folks... it gets kind of depressing for us newbies to read all of the negativity from my future peers.
I respect and admire anybody who leaves their well paid job and pursues a career in healthcare I know and understand the worries about how will you manage financially. I firmly believe you would make a fantastic pediatric nurse with your inner knowledge and experience-you would so totally be able to help the parents with support and understanding. From my own experience of death my sister died young from a brain bleed. I was able to utilise my own experience when helping families cope and come to terms with devestating illness's and accidents.
its funny how several people i know are joining nursing for job security. this is supposed to be a passion but the economy is forcing the wrong kind of people into it
its funny how several people i know are joining nursing for job security. this is supposed to be a passion but the economy is forcing the wrong kind of people into it
Oh good grief! Can we pleeeeze get over this already? First of all, who made the rule the nursing is supposed to be a "passion?" Second, you don't KNOW that any of the people being "forced" into nursing are the "wrong kind" of people. Third, who said you can't have more than one passion in life??? I wish I could live several lifetimes to pursue all of my different passions. The bottom line is that people need to work, and it's not for anyone else to judge what someone's "passion" is or to say that they are the "wrong kind" of people just because nursing may be a second career. For all we know, the state of the economy may be the opportunity for some of those people to pursue a passion that they might otherwise never have attempted.
KVISNTINE-IF you had read my post correctly, you would have read-most of the BS people...I never wrote all of the BS people did not have science credits nor did I infer that in my post. I am referring to the fact and it is a fact that many nursing schools are taking people with Bachelor of Science degrees over people without in their admission process. And they do not have to be in science. They have to take science courses once they are admitted. But, I never once said people with pre existing BS with actual science degrees were not being taking or applying. It is the fact that other people with English degrees, etc can be thought somehow better or more qualified then someone who has spent years as a nursing aide that ranks me. Think about what I wrote. The less educated is not always the less qualified.
So, 100K a year for 3 12hour shifts per week, is it part of the problem, (attracting those that wouldn't consider it otherwise) or the solution (finally getting paid what we are due!) We are responsible for making it so lucrative, so be careful what you wish for
In Taiwan, there are fewer and fewer students choosing nursing. The main reason is they hate to work late and work hard. I can not imagine how many RNs will be left in my work place when I retire from my position someday. The patients' quality is getting worse these days.
In my short career (in LTC with up to 37 patients) I can only think of a couple of nurses who didn't care about or make an effort for their patients. The problem I've seen all comes from the profit side of the equation, from deliberate understaffing. The damage done by those couple of lazy/non-caring nurses cannot compete with the damage done by the "maximum profit extractors."
Extreme understaffing has the same effect as if every nurse were uncaring: Uncaring nurses don't spend time with patients. Nurses with too many patients have no time to spend with patients. Uncaring nurses hate their jobs. Maxed-out nurses hate their jobs. Uncaring nurses ignore their patients. Maxed-out nurses ignore their patients just so they can get their meds passed.
At my facility many of the nurses work overtime on a daily basis for free for fear of losing their job (30, 60, 120 minutes). I am really surprised more nurses don't go "nursal."
It is also very frustrating that nurse-to-patient ratios were established for hospitals but not for LTC facilities. Owners can do whatever they want. Don't our elderly matter? I guess our politicians have relatives in hospitals, so those are regulated, but they never have a relative, a mother or father, in a run of the mill LTC so those go unregulated. It's an outrage.
In my short career (in LTC with up to 37 patients) I can only think of a couple of nurses who didn't care about or make an effort for their patients. The problem I've seen all comes from the profit side of the equation, from deliberate understaffing. The damage done by those couple of lazy/non-caring nurses cannot compete with the damage done by the "maximum profit extractors."
Extreme understaffing has the same effect as if every nurse were uncaring: Uncaring nurses don't spend time with patients. Nurses with too many patients have no time to spend with patients. Uncaring nurses hate their jobs. Maxed-out nurses hate their jobs. Uncaring nurses ignore their patients. Maxed-out nurses ignore their patients just so they can get their meds passed.
At my facility many of the nurses work overtime on a daily basis for free for fear of losing their job (30, 60, 120 minutes). I am really surprised more nurses don't go "nursal."
It is also very frustrating that nurse-to-patient ratios were established for hospitals but not for LTC facilities. Owners can do whatever they want. Don't our elderly matter? I guess our politicians have relatives in hospitals, so those are regulated, but they never have a relative, a mother or father, in a run of the mill LTC so those go unregulated. It's an outrage.
I hear you loud and clear and I am unsure what we can do about this horrific abuse of staff and patients, it seems to go on all over the country. My grandfather is in one such place and because all his 100's of thousands of retirement money has run out he cannot be moved anywhere decent. ( when he went into the nursing home 7 yrs ago it was a really nice facility)
I totally agree 100%!!! I would be great if there is a way to filter out the nurses that have the passion for the profession and the ones that don't... maybe that way I would be a ble to have a job now becuase I'm sure that there are a lot of new nurses that took nursing as a career choice for easy money...
It seems to me anybody and anybody can do nursing, doesnt matter if you are really interested or not, not important if you care about people or not, not relevent if you have a passion for nursing or not just come along we will train you and then you can look after our sick, eldery, frail, poor homeless, drug seekers.
Without passion, without caring, sometimes with little comprehension of what that poor sick person in the bed needs.
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 knowlege and can educate. I can make that person feel safe, I can make them laugh even when they dont 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 doesnt 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.
I disagree with this statement as it is not that easy to become an RN, especially in the middle of your life. An ADN program takes at least 3 years to complete at a tech school, and these unemployed uncaring adults who not cut out for nursing would have a much easier time finding an entry level position such as delivery, sales, or even in a grocery store, and working their way up to a managerial position (a position that would pay far higher than an RN) rather than going back to school full time. many more students look to nursing as a promising field to get into since it seems to everybody that there is a high demand for nurses today. It is not necessarily the highest paying, but provides a better chance of a career right out of college. It is also a lot of work, since most jobs or diplomas require that you first become a CNA, and volunteer many hours. Along with the very competitive entry requirements for university nursing schools (near 4.0 GPA), a lot of clinicals are required, which take up a lot of time and provide very few credits. At my school, a BSN takes 5 full years, and far more hours in class than other degrees offered. The degree is not easy to achieve, and if the student is not cut out for nursing, he/she will soon find that out before they even enter the program. Even if they graduate with a degree in nursing and find themselves not fit for the position after working, they will not last long in the hospital setting. And if this happens, a MSN can get them a position as a Nursing instructor, which our country seems to have a greater shortage of than nurses themselves. I don't know many people undetermined to become a nurse who would be willing to go through with this program for only the salary the job promises.
that's very true but that's in every job nowadays....i'm starting my career in nursing so yes.
madwife2002, BSN, RN
26 Articles; 4,777 Posts
I respect and admire anybody who leaves their well paid job and pursues a career in healthcare I know and understand the worries about how will you manage financially. I firmly believe you would make a fantastic pediatric nurse with your inner knowledge and experience-you would so totally be able to help the parents with support and understanding. From my own experience of death my sister died young from a brain bleed. I was able to utilise my own experience when helping families cope and come to terms with devestating illness's and accidents.