That is how long I’ve been in nursing. Just eight years. I haven’t been on AN in a while. I used to frequent the site a lot to vent with others, and help others with advice. Well, today is a ranting kind of day, so here it goes…
I hate what nursing is becoming. It is become overrun with elite folks who have forgotten what it’s like to just get through your shift. It’s being taken over by money hungry CEOs that are finding neat little ways to package “customer service” with healthcare. Our intelligence is being insulted here! What exactly do I mean by this? Well, what professional do you know gets “scripts” to regurgitate at patients? Why is it that we are not trusted to do our job or say the right thing?
I understand that healthcare is indeed a business. It has to be. If it weren’t, we’d all be working for free. I got that. I do my job. I put my all into my shift. I advocate for my patients. I’ve gone above and beyond…all without recognition.
But, I’m deeply saddened…Now I’m being told that isn’t good enough. All I see for the future of healthcare is walking into a patient’s room at the end of my shift saying, “My name is______, if you felt I gave excellent care call 888-tell-them, and rate me a 10.” Heaven forbid you score less than 10 three times…
Eight years ago, I felt so proud in my whites on graduation day. I felt professional, neat, knowledgeable, and respected. Now, I feel burned up, and abused. For now, I stay in nursing…patients still smile, and thank me at the end of my shift. They cannot detect how I feel under the surface.
But, I am seriously considering leaving healthcare altogether.
Sadly, this is how I feel and so many of the nurses I work with as well. What's really sad, is watching the brand spanking new nurses come to the reality of the situation. They're so excited when they pass their boards and become "real nurses" and then you just watch and observe and in about a year's time, they too are already burned out and disallusioned. I talked my daughter out of a nursing career, she had all the classes done and was even accepted at a nursing school. I think she had the advantage of knowing someone who could teach her the real reality of what nursing is actually like instead of some fantasy that many people have about what nursing is going to be like (including myself who had no idea at all what it was going to be like). She was able to avoid a lot of heart break and disallusionment. They don't teach any of this stuff in nursing school but just keep telling you every day "you're going to be a professional". HA-ha! They don't tell you, you'll have all the expectations of a professional and almost none of the respect or compensation befitting a professional! Daughter became a dental hygienist and I think she's very grateful that she didn't become a nurse
I think u did the right thing talking ur daughter out of a nursing career. I'm glad she chose something else.
Well, I was trying to avoid this thread, but I was lured back by the sheer volumes of people who have posted....especially compared to the posting called "what do you like about nursing?" Wow....this is really discouraging me now. Maybe I should pursue something else? I'm still holding out a shred of hope that maybe, for many of you nursing was a first career....so you've never known anything different? I've looked at many other options, believe me...I have explored a lot...I even pondered being a truck driver! I keep coming back to nursing because it's such a USEFUL, PRACTICAL career and you get to do something really meaningful. Not to mention it will only take me 2 years to get an RN and I will be making good money, job security, benefits, 4 days off a week (which sounds awesome compared to my job now-I'm a hairstylist), I was hoping that the job satisfaction would be very high as a nurse...but maybe not :-P
Maybe I should just be a lab tech...I love the science...not so much into all the drama that comes with floor nursing. My husband thinks I'm "better" than just being a lab tech and I deserve a career with higher pay and status....sounds to me though that the "status" of a nurse isn't that great these days...I don't want to be a doctor either...too much school and debt.
Anybody have any suggestions? What would you have done if you didn't become a nurse? Would any of you suggest getting an RN anyway and then pursuing a specialty later?
I did do something else before nursing. While it didn't pay as well - I worked in a loan department at a bank - it was much more satisfying to me when I look back. I could go in and do my job and do it well. I had an hour for lunch, was treated with respect, and even on the bad days didn't dread going back the next day. I chose nursing for many of the same reasons you are thinking - but really - if I would have known then what I know now, I would not do it again. I was torn between Physical Therapy Asst. and Nursing. Nursing offers more variety and probably better pay, but when I see the PTA's at work they are happy. Plus they have better hours and are still helping people. That's what I would do - and may do now. Your idea of a lab tech sounds great too.
I'm glad that you are really thinking about this - the negative posts are NOT just the result of a few bad days. They are also the result of a new reality in healthcare that I don't believe will change.
Not to mention it will only take me 2 years to get an RN and I will be making good money, job security, benefits, 4 days off a week (which sounds awesome compared to my job now-I'm a hairstylist)
The money isn't what it used to be. They are cutting back. Ask some new grads what they make and it's getting worse. Job security? An RN today is a dime a dozen. You do anything someone doesn't like - YOU'RE FIRED. I wouldn't call that job security. The benefits are horrible. The amount you pay for insurance is as if you had independent coverage, the employees absorb all of the cost these days. 4 days off a week - spent lying on the couch with your aching feet up and emotionally drained from abuse and all the other stresses.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
coming back to nursing because it's such a useful, practical career and you get to do something really meaningful. not to mention it will only take me 2 years to get an rn and i will be making good money, job security, benefits, 4 days off a week (which sounds awesome compared to my job now
anybody have any suggestions? what would you have done if you didn't become a nurse? would any of you suggest getting an rn anyway and then pursuing a specialty later?
*** for me nursing is all those things. compared to my last two careers (army infantry medic then dairy farmer) nursing is _easy_. i enjoy it, i get to help people who need it the most, i have tremendous autonomy in my current job (rapid response & critical care transport), i get paid decently, more than $90k/year, have 4 days a week off, i am regularly recruited by other health systems and hospitals so even if i did lose my job i would have another one pretty fast, even if i was fired. i was fired from a job in 2010 and had another, better job in less than a month. i have a good pension plus 401k, 4 weeks of vacation a year not counting sick time, and good health benefits, though they are fairly expensive. plus it is interesting work. all that for an adn that took me less than a year to earn (challenged lpn based on my medic experience then did a two semester lpn to rn). i do have a bsn now (100% paid for by my employer) but i didn't have it when i was hired for any of my jobs.
however, and this is a big however, things are different for new grads now. i had a job in a large hospital sicu through their nurse residency program months before i graduated. i was offered every single job i applied for. i was taken to lunch and dinner by nurse recruiters, heck one even paid for a three day weekend in a great resort if i would spend two hours letting them tell my why i should pick their hospital to work in as a new grad. while i currently have my pick of jobs that is only because of my specialized and valuable skills and experience.
i see new grads today struggle to find any rn work and my heart breaks for them. i see floor nurses having to put up with ridiculous demands from management.
would i pick nursing again? absolutely! however if i was graduating today i might re-think that decision.
Specializes in pediatrics, geriatrics, med-surg, ccu,.
Reenski
Despite the reality of what the nursing field has become, I started in nursing because I loved taking care of people and seeing them go home healthy. In today's society, patients are sent home still sick but not needing the hospital setting-many go to rehab areas, or have home health or other services brought into the home so in most hosipitals now, patients that are admitted are acutely ill. The changes that have evolved over the last 5 years include shorter periods of patient teaching, more medications, more responsibility, add to that the addition of drawing your own labs, computer charting that does not allow for human error, breathing treatments, answering the phones, primary care vs having an attendent with you, higher patient loads, taking off doctor orders, calling the doctor with lab results, clarifying orders, the numerous calls to ancilliary departments, fewer restrictions on patient visiting, being a customer service person, recieving report and giving report, no lunch break, no other breaks, not to mention, bathing, ambulating, lifting, turning, watching monitors, taking vitals, and a host of other things that I haven't mentioned, all in a 12 hour day that is exhausting! Would I do it again? You bet.
I have been out of work for over 13 months with no prospects. All I have ever done was bedside nursing. Would I encourage others to go into nursing? The best advice I can give you is to do some soul searching into why you want to be a nurse, what kind of nurse do you want to be, where do you see yourself in 10 years in this field, and what kind of benefit you want to recieve out of it.
To go into nursing today, you need to realize what the potential job market is, what would be expected of you, what are administrations looking for in this field, and really do your homework before you make your decision.
I may be older and out of work but nursing to me has always been my ambition and I love doing nursing. I never wanted to do anything else. But in today's field of bedside nursing, it isn't the same, nor will it ever be. The reality of what used to be and what it is today is very different. Have I hung up my cap (and yes I actually have a cap, which they also don't do anymore), the answer is yes. I will never change my mind on what I love to do but I am getting out because of the changes. I just don't have it in me to keep going anymore. I do wish you luck in your desires and goals, and if you find that nursing is what you want, go for it. Just do it with your eyes wide open.
*** for me nursing is all those things. compared to my last two careers (army infantry medic then dairy farmer) nursing is_easy_. i enjoy it, i get to help people who need it the most, i have tremendous autonomy in my current job (rapid response & critical care transport), i get paid decently, more than $90k/year, have 4 days a week off, i am regularly recruited by other health systems and hospitals so even if i did lose my job i would have another one pretty fast, even if i was fired. i was fired from a job in 2010 and had another, better job in less than a month. i have a good pension plus 401k, 4 weeks of vacation a year not counting sick time, and good health benefits, though they are fairly expensive. plus it is interesting work. all that for an adn that took me less than a year to earn (challenged lpn based on my medic experience then did a two semester lpn to rn). i do have a bsn now (100% paid for by my employer) but i didn't have it when i was hired for any of my jobs.
however, and this is a big however, things are different for new grads now. i had a job in a large hospital sicu through their nurse residency program months before i graduated. i was offered every single job i applied for. i was taken to lunch and dinner by nurse recruiters, heck one even paid for a three day weekend in a great resort if i would spend two hours letting them tell my why i should pick their hospital to work in as a new grad. while i currently have my pick of jobs that is only because of my specialized and valuable skills and experience.
i see new grads today struggle to find any rn work and my heart breaks for them. i see floor nurses having to put up with ridiculous demands from management.
would i pick nursing again? absolutely! however if i was graduating today i might re-think that decision.
I've managed to retire now. However, while these idiots are still doing everything in their power to undermine nurses and destroy morale, I think I'd rather self extract all my teeth with a small hemostat than go back, I don't care how poor I get.
I just had to laugh at this last part! I know nurses who have retired and there is no way they would go back to nursing. But I've read/heard of quite a few who have had to go back to to work, because they just can't afford to retire. Very sad.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I just had to laugh at this last part! I know nurses who have retired and there is no way they would go back to nursing. But I've read/heard of quite a few who have had to go back to to work, because they just can't afford to retire. Very sad.
Thanks to our wonderful SS insurance, I'll have to work full-time until I'm 70y to collect my full benefit. I'm sitting here right now contemplating my throbbing feet and aching knees and wondering how in the world I'm going to do it for another 22y. It makes me want to cry. I'm putting plenty aside for retirement, but you never really know how much will be enough. I'll probably retire just in time to be worked to death.
Thanks to our wonderful SS insurance, I'll have to work full-time until I'm 70y to collect my full benefit. I'm sitting here right now contemplating my throbbing feet and aching knees and wondering how in the world I'm going to do it for another 22y. It makes me want to cry. I'm putting plenty aside for retirement, but you never really know how much will be enough. I'll probably retire just in time to be worked to death.
That's assuming SS insurance will be there in 22 years.
Here is the math--
$$$ in the SS fund divided by # of baby boomers less the estimated money not added in reality to SS fund due to high unemployment rate=
a check for :twocents:
less IRS tax=
Your check = /month
less the 25.00 SS fee to direct deposit to your account
You owe $ 24.99/month to the government
(interest and penalties may apply)
Note in the future is now worth a penny (if you are lucky)
I feel a little guilty. I mean, telling it like it is. On the other hand, I also feel like those coming into nursing deserve to know what they are getting into.
The thing that is great about nursing is that there are (or used to be) so many avenues to take. In my 20+ career span I have done pediatrics office nursing, post partum, public school audits of immunization records, disease investigations of communicable diseases, distributed vaccines (including rabies vaccines) float pool, part time unit educator, Med Surg, Tele, charge nurse, and now ICU nurse.
I think that is how I have survived: being able to radically change what I am doing.
Facilities flip beds quickly because the evidence shows that patients are safer in a bed on a unit than stuck out in the hallway when the EDs, Recovery rooms, etc. are backed up. These things are not done to make your life miserable.
I keep coming back to nursing because it's such a USEFUL, PRACTICAL career and you get to do something really meaningful. Not to mention it will only take me 2 years to get an RN and I will be making good money, job security, benefits, 4 days off a week (which sounds awesome compared to my job now-I'm a hairstylist), I was hoping that the job satisfaction would be very high as a nurse...but maybe not :-P 
carolmaccas66, BSN, RN
2,212 Posts
I think u did the right thing talking ur daughter out of a nursing career. I'm glad she chose something else.