Honest View of Nursing

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Hi All!

I've been considering an accelerated BSN degree for some time now (and eventually after two years a masters in family nurse practitioner) and have been doing a lot of research into the nursing career. I really don't want to jump into a career that I will regret later on, especially one that I will have to take out a loan for. I keep running into two views and I want to know honestly which one is the truth, especially for nursing in NY since that's where I live:

1) Is this shortage of nurses true? More importantly, is it very difficult for someone new to nursing to get an entry level job? I keep looking up at job postings and every single posting requires at least a year of experience.

2) Is the saying that "nurses are overworked and underpaid" true? Is the career of nursing THAT draining that burnout is common?

3) How good is the pay?

4) I think asking this in a nursing forum makes no sense but i'll ask it anyway: Do you believe its worth it to become a nurse? Would you do it again if you were told you'd become 18 again and be able to choose any career you wanted?

I try to stay positive about nursing as a possible career but I keep thinking that i'm being blinded by the hype ("nursing is booming and pays good") and need an honesty "splash". I'm also considering other allied health positions because of this constant nagging negative views I read from time to time ("there is no boom, pay is mediocre, work is killer"). Please, could anyone provide me some honest facts.

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I am a new grad from an accelerated BSN. Out of my graduating class (graduated ast summer), less than 10% have jobs. So...

1) there is no shortage, it is incredibly difficult to find a job, many of my coworkers waited years (plural) after graduating to find their first job.

2) yes, this is true. I put in a tremendous amount of overtime and rarely get a lunch break. Working 13-15 hours nonstop is the norm.

3) It's fine - pay varies greatly between private hospitals, office jobs and HHS hospitals - as much as $20-30K. I work nights so I don't have the time to enjoy it. I made more at an office job as a secretary with much less work. For the most part, many new grads find themselves taking whatever they can get.

4) Honestly, no. Sorry if that's not the answer folks want to hear.

I think it's a job that you eventually get the "good" shifts and pay, but only after putting in your dues - that part is ugly. I hope I can make it long enough that I hit that point, but at the moment I regret getting my degree more often than not. You need to have a pretty high threshold for being abused and for BS, I'm personally finding myself burning out fast.

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Specializes in ICU.

It depends on what area of the country you live in with jobs. Some areas are saturated, some are not. Why do you want to be a nurse? What do you see yourself getting out of this career? Have you researched the job market in your area? I would shadow a nurse in your area so you can see what it is all about. It is a lot of hard physical work.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

1) Is this shortage of nurses true? More importantly, is it very difficult for someone new to nursing to get an entry level job? I keep looking up at job postings and every single posting requires at least a year of experience.

There is a shortage in small pockets of the country, such as part of the northwest and rural areas. NY does not have a nursing shortage, nor do many areas along the east coast. Hospitals are not hiring much and if they are, the want people with experience for the most part.

2) Is the saying that "nurses are overworked and underpaid" true? Is the career of nursing THAT draining that burnout is common?

Bedside nursing is very draining. Working in an office or school is less draining. Nursing isn't an easy career in general.

3) How good is the pay?

The pay is average. It is considered good pay for an entry level career, but that's only if you get a job. Shift differentials (nights, weekends, and overtime pay) along with a per diem job makes nursing financial worthwhile for many nurses.

4) I think asking this in a nursing forum makes no sense but i'll ask it anyway: Do you believe its worth it to become a nurse? Would you do it again if you were told you'd become 18 again and be able to choose any career you wanted?

In the current job market, I would tread carefully. This has to really be what you want to do. When I graduated about 2 years ago, things weren't as bad in my area. Most of my classmates had jobs upon graduation. Things have gotten a lot worse.

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Thank you all for the responses! It seems like nursing is a career that you should definitely know you want to do before jumping in; you have a passion for.

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It seems if you're questioning these things you may be disappointed in the end. Like you mentioned you really need to have a passion for it. That being said I don't know much about the NP market but I know that it's a hot area to be getting into right now versus an RN. Now to answer your questions in my opinion

1. There is a shortage of nursing...just not necessarily in the area you're interested in. If you're not open to trying many areas of nursing once you graduate it will be hard to find a job.

2. I'd say nurses are definitely overworked but underpaid? Depends on where you live or your definition of underpaid. On that note, nurses have plenty of opportunity to make overtime/pick up hours due to being "overworked" and the "nursing shortage." With that being said, yes burnout is common, but with so many different types of nursing out there, there's always an opportunity to switch specialities and start new.

3. I feel the pay is more than adequate personally, but refer to answer 2.

4. I'm a new grad so I can't really answer this question in the way you're looking for but I would 100% do it all over again. I love nursing and while I haven't experienced all the struggles that come along with the career that may in fact change my mind someday, I know I have endless opportunities in this field which I think is one of the best parts. If you do decide to go with it you may realize you love being a floor RN and change your mind on becoming an NP, or you may realize the opposite.

Good luck! And as I said, really consider this career as a passion. If you don't have a passion for it up front, proceed with caution.

2.

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I think i'm in a position where i don't know what I want and can't decide on anything. I think I'm just afraid that ill choose something and then regret it later on. As far as passion goes i think that I'm passionate about wanting to go into a health field and help people.

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If you're passionate about the health field that's great I think you won't regret getting into it. That being said, as I mentioned previously, there's a hundred directions to go into. Maybe you'd be happier as a PA versus an NP or RN?

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That's sort of where i'm stuck, how do I know which field i'd like to go into? I can probably volunteer or shadow. I saw being an RN as a step towards NP since I'd like to treat patients in a "doctor-like" manner, less so like a RN. To get into NP programs you are required to have a year or two of experience as a RN, that's why I thought I would get a BSN then practice for a year or two and then apply to NP schools. Plus I would get paid and save that money for graduate school. Also it's because PA school is incredibly difficult to get into I thought the NP route would be more feasible, even though it would take longer which I don't mind. Plus I thought it was a win-win situation since even if I didn't get into NP school I would still have a good career as a RN. Lastly, I really like that NP's are far more independent than PA's.

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Before you do anything, do some volunteer time at your local hospital. It sounds like you might have an idealized idea of what NPs do - there are certainly pros and cons to that job and it's not entirely removed from being an RN (nor does it always pay better). If you don't want to deal with the patient care side, nursing is not for you - nothing wrong with that. NPs autonomy varies greatly from state to state and some do work under doctors, so keep that in mind.

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Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.
That's sort of where i'm stuck, how do I know which field i'd like to go into? I can probably volunteer or shadow. I saw being an RN as a step towards NP since I'd like to treat patients in a "doctor-like" manner, less so like a RN. To get into NP programs you are required to have a year or two of experience as a RN, that's why I thought I would get a BSN then practice for a year or two and then apply to NP schools. Plus I would get paid and save that money for graduate school. Also it's because PA school is incredibly difficult to get into I thought the NP route would be more feasible, even though it would take longer which I don't mind. Plus I thought it was a win-win situation since even if I didn't get into NP school I would still have a good career as a RN. Lastly, I really like that NP's are far more independent than PA's.

I'm a current BSN student, and this is just my personal opinion:

The best thing for you to do is to think about what you want. I agree with the suggestion of doing some volunteering at a hospital so that you can see the various different types of clinicians (whether RN, NP, PA, RT, MD, etc). Do nursing because you like nursing, not because you think PA is too hard to get into, as this sounds like nursing is your fall back.

Not all NP programs require RN experience. There are some FNP programs that have no experience requirement. If you're considering an accelerated BSN, then perhaps you could look into various "entry to advanced practice" programs, as these combine the undergraduate nursing education with the graduate NP program, and some may not require experience for the FNP track.

The great thing about nursing is that there are many options/fields of nursing that you can go into. You don't have to work in a hospital if you don't want to. You can work in a clinic, long term care, a school, a home care nurse, public health, etc. You can be a nurse educator, an advanced practice nurse, a nurse scientist, the list goes on and on. That is one of the reasons why I chose nursing, and I considered PA and even pharmacy.

Do some volunteering/shadowing, see what it's really like, do more research, then decide.

I think that having a hospital job while in nursing school, if possible, can help with finding a job. A number of the nurses that I've worked with got their jobs partially because they already worked in the hospital as PCAs. The managers knew them already, and they were already here. They also only had ADNs, while the hospital strongly prefers BSN (my manager even said that he mostly throws ADN applications into the trash). So, if there's some way that you can get a part time job in the hospital, that can definitely help with the job situation, as does being flexible in location.

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I agree with the answers above to your questions! I also think you need to shadow some nurses at a local facility. Just remember: The opportunities for nurses is HUGE!!! You don't have to do bed side nursing your whole career. You can do management, teaching, informatics, administration, NP, DNP, PhD in nursing. There are so so many things you can do with a RN degree it is unreal. Work at a school, work for insurance companies, work from home as a policy writer, there are just so so many options! Look under the other forums under advanced practice nurse and you will see all of the different career paths you can take as a nurse! good luck! also, nursing school is nothing like the real world so don't let nursing school turn you off to the healthcare profession!

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