I graduated from LPN school and took my NCLEX yesterday. Further down the road, I want to study for an RN. Nursing school is an expensive, hard journey which I am reconsidering due to all the negativity associated with the work environment where nurses are leaving the profession in droves.
I can understand the understaffing can be a problem but is it like this in almost every nursing specialty?
My goal is to work as an operating room RN. Would it still be understaffed?
Are there fields where I wouldn't have to deal with the massive understaffing yet still make great money?
I would really appreciate it if someone experienced can shed some light on what really goes on.
2 patients in the bed, labile blood sugar of mother, LGA baby. ,Mother with high blood pressure. babies born with history of congenital anomalies. maybe a host of other things,,,, Should you start thinking a C-section will be needed? You think ..."My actions are all related to memorization". These are questions on RN NCLEX
Okay, you want to be a OR nurse. Things start going wrong in the OR. The surgeon starts yelling "you're killing my patient!" Do you yell back "But I can do your taxes!!"
Applying concepts is not difficult within nursing. Judgement, applying concepts is significantly harder in CPA/ CFA exams. If you cannot apply concepts in nursing, it would mean there likely there something "below average " about your brain. It's really not that complicated. Nursing is 95% memorization. Nursing is hard due to the sheer volume of info that needs to be memorized. But after you have memorize all the info, it becomes easy. I personally didn't find critical thinking to be difficult.
Of course doing taxes would have absolutely nothing to do with OR nursing but the if someone can pass the CPA, they would likely be able to pass the NCLEX.
CPA exam is more about how to apply concepts rather than memorizing concepts. But of course you would have to have memorized the concepts in order to apply them.
2 patients in the bed, labile blood sugar of mother, LGA baby. ,Mother with high blood pressure. babies born with history of congenital anomalies. maybe a host of other things,,,, Should you start thinking a C-section will be needed? You think ..."My actions are all related to memorization". These are questions on RN NCLEX
During nursing school I used a NCLEX review book as a supplement to whatever section of nursing we were focusing on and, of course, to study for boards. I suggest nursing students do this as well, now it is probably DVD or online, but end result is increased knowledge, better grades and being more prepared so should help you pass the NCLEX easier when the time comes.
But to the OP I have to disagree it is much more than memorization involved it is choosing the best of multiple right answers on the test, but more importantly prioritizing among competing medical patient's needs at the same time. You haven't even started working as a nurse and you are talking very condescendingly about how easy it all is to do.
It most definitely is not easy! I was very book smart, Dean's list, school came easy my whole life, nursing school as well, but being a nurse did not come easy! There is so much you have to learn that you don't know yet and it will take time and experience and hopefully coworkers and mentors who will share their knowledge to speed that process up!
I would very much agree. Nursing is a profession where work ethic is highly prioritized but so are many other fields. One death related to a mistake can cause one's livelihood. Under staffing increases risk of errors which makes me uneasy.
Professionalism and work ethic are stressed because the stakes are so high. We have patient's lives in our hands. Yes unsafe staffing increases the chances of errors. I was never someone that worried about my license, till my last year or two after Ascension took over it did become a concern, but more so the ethical and moral injury of seeing patients not getting the care they should because of insufficient staff, missing critical equipment that then caused delays in care and also holding patients on the floor because of a shortage of ICU nurses. It was the ultimate reason I quit and took early retirement.
Now the stakes are higher than ever. On top of worrying about the patient if a mistake happens, not just your license is at risk. Nurses have been criminally charged. It is becoming much more common now. Radonda Vaught was a high profile case, but there are many less well known ones happening across the country and many that involve nurses in nursing homes. My advice is to always assume there is a camera in the room and to never falsify charting. But nurses have been criminally charged for what they haven't done, as well, such as wound care at a nursing home even though they didn't falsify the chart, but probably didn't have time. It was still held against them criminally.
You failed the CPA exam. No body died. You hope to pass the RN NCLEX . You don't know what you do not know!! Scary! Stop boasting until you achieve your Professional Nursing License and additional certification for OR.
I never took the CPA exam. But in all honesty, I do not think the NCLEX RN is too much more difficult than the NCLEX PN. They just test on two small extra sections. Many of the questions tested on NCLEX PN are the same questions asked on the NCLEX RN.
Personally, NCLEX PN was a piece of cake. Adding another 2 tiny sections won't frighten me off. I have studied for much harder exams throughout my lifetime. When I was nursing school, the instructors were overblowing the NCLEX PN as if it were an astronomically difficult exam. Looking back, it really wasn't as hard as they made it out to be. It was challenging but definately doable.
Once you pass the NCLEX PN, you basically already know most of the stuff that will be tested on the NCLEX RN. Thus, making passing it significantly easier compared to a newcomer who has never laid eyes on a nursing textbook.
Calling an exam "hard" is subjective. Everyone has different levels of talents. Something that may be astronomically difficult to one person might be an easier experience for another person.
Lastly, just because someone didn't die as a result of a CPA error, it doesn't mean consequences won't be terribly dire for the CPA or the client.
I never took the CPA exam. But in all honesty, I do not think the NCLEX RN is too much more difficult than the NCLEX PN. They just test on two small extra sections. Many of the questions tested on NCLEX PN are the same questions asked on the NCLEX RN.
Personally, NCLEX PN was a piece of cake. Adding another 2 tiny sections won't frighten me off. I have studied for much harder exams throughout my lifetime. When I was nursing school, the instructors were overblowing the NCLEX PN as if it were an astronomically difficult exam. Looking back, it really wasn't as hard as they made it out to be. It was challenging but definately doable.
Once you pass the NCLEX PN, you basically already know most of the stuff that will be tested on the NCLEX RN. Thus, making passing it significantly easier compared to a newcomer who has never laid eyes on a nursing textbook.
Calling an exam "hard" is subjective. Everyone has different levels of talents. Something that may be astronomically difficult to one person might be an easier experience for another person.
Lastly, just because someone didn't die as a result of a CPA error, it doesn't mean consequences won't be terribly dire for the CPA or the client.
I can't speak to the new NCLEX, back in the day 1993 for me, the boards was a two day, 8 hour affair, pencil and paper multiple choice and covered the whole breath of nursing. You would be foolish to assume because the LPN exam was easy that the RN exam will be just as easy and the same. They are compacting down the info into as few as 75 questions I believe, but possibly less than 100, depending on how you do. You can pass or fail on the minimum questions as well.
Also, you can't work as a nurse without passing the NCLEX! It isn't like accounting where you can work without the CFA or CPA credentials, unless you want to work as a glorified CNA! There were three of us, new grads, hired at the same time. My one friend didn't pass and was fired. She ended up having to retake it and it was only twice a year at the time.
Serendipitously, I had to have bone tumor surgery at another hospital by an Oncology specialist just two years later; and she happened to work there and came and saw me and helped me as I was having a lot of pain postop and got them to start a morphine drip. It was so nice to see a friendly face and I was glad she was OK!
On another occasion years later a popular young nurse failed his boards, but was kept on and work as a CNA until he passed. He later went to work in the CICU of a major medical center. I know another nurse that couldn't pass boards, but after working in the ICU for years as a tech with the nurses' help and encouragement she finally passed. She is an excellent nurse, but had test anxiety. She was also the best boss I ever had! Hands on, caring and skilled and would listen and help. She always had our back! She is now working in the ER of a level one trauma center.
Plus like I said back in the day it was a two day affair so I felt it was rigorous. When you passed you didn't learn how you did, although if you failed they gave a score and some info on where you were lacking I was told. You waited months for the announcement by mail that would decide your fate if you could continue working as a nurse, since most had already started as a GN some before they even took boards.
In my opinion, CPA mistakes are not as dire as the stakes in nursing with actual human lives on the line. I don't know you but some of your comments and attitudes seem cold, cavalier and lacking empathy. You say you have a talent for nursing, but then say it is because it is so much easier than accounting. You are clearly not understanding the seriousness of the job!
I never took the CPA exam. But in all honesty, I do not think the NCLEX RN is too much more difficult than the NCLEX PN. They just test on two small extra sections. Many of the questions tested on NCLEX PN are the same questions asked on the NCLEX RN.
Here are the
2 small extra sections. Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing - 2-Volume Set - 11th Edition (elsevier.com)
2 small extra sections. Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing - 2-Volume Set - 11th Edition (elsevier.com)
I checked on the differences between NCLEX RN vs NCLEX PN. I did some research on it. There were around 8 sections that the NCLEX PN tested on. The NCLEX RN just had an additional 1 extra section, totaling 9 sections. Many of the questions being tested on the NCLEX RN are the same questions being tested on the NCLEX PN. Of course the RN should be harder than the PN. But it doesn't sound astronomically harder.
Its futile to argue that NCLEX RN is significantly harder than the PN NCLEX. Because at the end of the day, degree of difficulty is subjective.
I can't speak to the new NCLEX, back in the day 1993 for me, the boards was a two day, 8 hour affair, pencil and paper multiple choice and covered the whole breath of nursing. You would be foolish to assume because the LPN exam was easy that the RN exam will be just as easy and the same. They are compacting down the info into as few as 75 questions I believe, but possibly less than 100, depending on how you do. You can pass or fail on the minimum questions as well.
Also, you can't work as a nurse without passing the NCLEX! It isn't like accounting where you can work without the CFA or CPA credentials, unless you want to work as a glorified CNA! There were three of us, new grads, hired at the same time. My one friend didn't pass and was fired. She ended up having to retake it and it was only twice a year at the time.
Serendipitously, I had to have bone tumor surgery at another hospital by an Oncology specialist just two years later; and she happened to work there and came and saw me and helped me as I was having a lot of pain postop and got them to start a morphine drip. It was so nice to see a friendly face and I was glad she was OK!
On another occasion years later a popular young nurse failed his boards, but was kept on and work as a CNA until he passed. He later went to work in the CICU of a major medical center. I know another nurse that couldn't pass boards, but after working in the ICU for years as a tech with the nurses' help and encouragement she finally passed. She is an excellent nurse, but had test anxiety. She was also the best boss I ever had! Hands on, caring and skilled and would listen and help. She always had our back! She is now working in the ER of a level one trauma center.
Plus like I said back in the day it was a two day affair so I felt it was rigorous. When you passed you didn't learn how you did, although if you failed they gave a score and some info on where you were lacking I was told. You waited months for the announcement by mail that would decide your fate if you could continue working as a nurse, since most had already started as a GN some before they even took boards.
In my opinion, CPA mistakes are not as dire as the stakes in nursing with actual human lives on the line. I don't know you but some of your comments and attitudes seem cold, cavalier and lacking empathy. You say you have a talent for nursing, but then say it is because it is so much easier than accounting. You are clearly not understanding the seriousness of the job!
According to my instructor, her LPN training was only $3,000 back in the early 1990s. Now, its $19,000. But I also think that nursing school has become harder over the years due to all the advanced technology that has arrived. Now, there are new surgical operations, interventions, drugs for diseases which nurses need to learn and understand about. Nursing licensing exams have evolved through the yrs to better test a nurses' true knowledge. 2023 was the first year the new version of the NCLEX, Next Generation NCLEX, came out. According to the nursing boards, the new exam was better aimed at testing a students' decision making / critical thinking in a real world. I believe that the Next generation NCLEX was easier than the traditional NCLEX. It was easier to understand pathophysiology and think critically than to memorize a huge textbook word for word. Thankfully, I passed with the minimum number of questions 85. I heard there were many other people who had to endure 145 questions or 246 questions.
I do agree that mistakes are more dire in nursing but not at a significantly worse degree compared to accounting. You make a mistake in both these fields; it can cost you your livelihood. Nothing is worse than this. Your client might end up being jailed for 20 yrs due to your mistakes. Or they might have to owe 20 million dollars to the government. Arrests could be made. Peoples lives could be ruined. These things have happened. So I don't think its accurate to say that mistakes in accounting are far better than mistakes in nursing.
But in all honesty, lets face it. I'm sure some healthcare professionals have gotten away with making some mistakes which led to patient deaths in the field. I've heard plenty of stories about healthcare professionals aren't entirely sure of what they're doing leading to unnecessary injuries or deaths especially the new interns or rookies.
I understand what it takes to become a nurse. Nursing school is very hard. No doubt about it.
I found that I did have really bad burnout from being a nurse, it all depends on the person. I ended up making a career change in botox and fillers, now I can choose my own hours and I feel a lot happier and lighter in myself
According to my instructor, her LPN training was only $3,000 back in the early 1990s. Now, its $19,000. But I also think that nursing school has become harder over the years due to all the advanced technology that has arrived. Now, there are new surgical operations, interventions, drugs for diseases which nurses need to learn and understand about. Nursing licensing exams have evolved through the yrs to better test a nurses' true knowledge. 2023 was the first year the new version of the NCLEX, Next Generation NCLEX, came out. According to the nursing boards, the new exam was better aimed at testing a students' decision making / critical thinking in a real world. I believe that the Next generation NCLEX was easier than the traditional NCLEX. It was easier to understand pathophysiology and think critically than to memorize a huge textbook word for word. Thankfully, I passed with the minimum number of questions 85. I heard there were many other people who had to endure 145 questions or 246 questions.
I do agree that mistakes are more dire in nursing but not at a significantly worse degree compared to accounting. You make a mistake in both these fields; it can cost you your livelihood. Nothing is worse than this. Your client might end up being jailed for 20 yrs due to your mistakes. Or they might have to owe 20 million dollars to the government. Arrests could be made. Peoples lives could be ruined. These things have happened. So I don't think its accurate to say that mistakes in accounting are far better than mistakes in nursing.
But in all honesty, lets face it. I'm sure some healthcare professionals have gotten away with making some mistakes which led to patient deaths in the field. I've heard plenty of stories about healthcare professionals aren't entirely sure of what they're doing leading to unnecessary injuries or deaths especially the new interns or rookies.
I understand what it takes to become a nurse. Nursing school is very hard. No doubt about it.
College tuition has outpaced inflation for years. But if you go to a community college you can save money for LPN and for a BSN usually it is more cost effective to go to an in-state public college vs out of state or private. I would think twice about for profit colleges, also Accelerated BSN's as they tend to be very expensive.
If you already have a BS for accounting it might make more sense to do a a MA and go for RN/NP if you have any thoughts of becoming an NP. But I wouldn't recommend a MA for just an RN as that is also very expensive and the interest capitalizes on day one since there is no grace period and grad student loans rates are higher than undergrad.
But since you have an accounting background you have probably already considered the financial aspects of getting an RN. I believe you only get loans if you already have a BA/BS and I know there is a limit for undergrad, whereas grad is much higher loan limits.
But as you probably already know there are no bankruptcy options for student loan debt, public or private.
As to boards, they have had a computerized NCLEX for years so don't know how this new revamp compares.
As to mistakes, yes they happen and adverse events and deaths have happened and hospitals will try to cover it up and settle with the family with an NDA if they have to. I'm curious what honest mistakes could lead to million dollar penalties and jail for clients in accounting. I'm only aware of criminal acts like embezzlement, falsifying numbers.
My answer to the question in the title: Nursing is awesome. The places where nurses frequently do their work and what the work has become (given widespread purposeful short staffing combined with documentation requirements and other politics of getting paid) is all a ginormous raging dumpster fire.
If you can find a place to do nursing work where you are treated like a knowledgeable human being instead of some combination of "too stupid to be alive" + "necessary evil" then it's interesting and fulfilling work.
My answer to the question in the title: Nursing is awesome. The places where nurses frequently do their work and what the work has become (given widespread purposeful short staffing combined with documentation requirements and other politics of getting paid) is all a ginormous raging dumpster fire.
If you can find a place to do nursing work where you are treated like a knowledgeable human being instead of some combination of "too stupid to be alive" + "necessary evil" then it's interesting and fulfilling work.
The sad thing is most nurses I think go into nursing planning on doing hands on care, but the options are few if you want to remain bedside and still have a decent quality of life. You can go on and get your NP. You can go into Nurse Education if you are willing to accept the low pay or school nursing. Clinic nursing is an option, but they have eliminated lots of RN jobs and even LPN jobs in favor of MA's that they can pay the least amount. You can do homecare if you don't mind all the driving and wear and tear on your car, plus the long hours of documentation. If you don't mind being a paper pusher for an insurance company that is better I've been told.
Case management at an insurance company may be OK, but you know these companies exist to make profit by denying and delaying care. I guess you can decide to avoid that aspect of it, but it still is part of their business model which is why I never pursued it.
nursingcand
82 Posts
Applying concepts is not difficult within nursing. Judgement, applying concepts is significantly harder in CPA/ CFA exams. If you cannot apply concepts in nursing, it would mean there likely there something "below average " about your brain. It's really not that complicated. Nursing is 95% memorization. Nursing is hard due to the sheer volume of info that needs to be memorized. But after you have memorize all the info, it becomes easy. I personally didn't find critical thinking to be difficult.
Of course doing taxes would have absolutely nothing to do with OR nursing but the if someone can pass the CPA, they would likely be able to pass the NCLEX.
CPA exam is more about how to apply concepts rather than memorizing concepts. But of course you would have to have memorized the concepts in order to apply them.