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.
That is true in the hospital nurses are there 24/7 and Dr's stop by for 5 minutes so we are their eyes and ears. Dr's have a lot more expertise and training, but residents are still learning just like new grad nurses so there is a learning curve and that is where experienced nurses can help them make the right decisions. Once the residents have experience they can become excellent hospitalists and intensivists if they choose to stay in the field.
I'm not implying that nurses know more than Dr's, just that we need to apply all the nursing and medical knowledge to take care of our patients and collaborate with the Dr's. It is more than memorization. You need to be able to assess the patient, understand his history, pathophysiology, meds, etc and then talk to the Dr about what is going on and what you think needs to be done. Most Dr's are OK and appreciate this. There were only two in my career that would be defiant and do the opposite of what the nurse would ask for and if it was an emergency I would find a work around, say another consult or there had been a couple times where a nursing supervisor transferred a patient to the ICU for their safety. Not sure if it would happen now. Of course, once you encounter such a Dr you learn what not to do for the patient's sake. Thankfully they are rare. Now on the other hand, I've had a Dr refuse what I asked but who would explain their rationale and thought process and that is different.
The Dr is trained to think of a differential diagnosis. So let's look at left shoulder pain, for example, there are like 5 different things it could be if I remember right. As a cardiac nurse we r/o the heart first. Of course you r/o muscle or shoulder strain. But it could also be heartburn, even pancreatitis, and did you know it can also be a sign of lung cancer! They do a history and physical and order appropriate labs and tests to figure out the cause.
I do have respect for Dr's and NP's and PA's. They have advanced medical training. I watched and listened to a nurse during her NP training and could really see the difference when she gave report and she became an excellent NP. Another ICU nurse I knew now works as an NP in critical care. Of course, many of my coworkers became NP's, especially in the last ten years as it became a more common career path.
For me personally, I think the school part of nursing is way harder than the hands on, thinking on feet, head to toe assessment clinical portion. It was the sheer amount of material required to be memorized that was difficult for me. But I trust that I will learn everything else naturally as I continue to do the job. I do agree that experience is the only thing that makes a nurse. I know what you're talking about.
I'm looking for a LPN job that is associated with the 1199 union because they offer tuition assistance / reimbursement. But 1199 nursing jobs tend to have much lower pay. In my area, the industry pay for LPN (non union) is supposed to be 42-50$ an hr. But the 1199 unionized jobs that are near me are paying 30 an hour. The one I applied for is 30 per hr + 10k sign on bonus as a way to "sweeten the deal". It's 10k being prorated across many months after the training period ends. It makes me wonder why they are offering a 10k deal when all the other nursing homes are offering just 2k to 5k sign on bonuses. Could it be a place that nobody wants to work at? is the 10k bonus just a way to get employees to stay with them? It kinda breaks me that I've spent so much money ($30k) on school, worked so hard just to be "low balled" this way. I might need to work 2 jobs in order to have enough savings.
LPNs are making a comeback those hospitals. After covid, there was a mass exodus of RNs leaving. Hospitals can't afford to phase out anyone if nobody wants to work with them. They're offering LPNs 29 per hr in my area.
I've been seeing many RNs going for their NP. Might be another sign being an RN isn't a satisfactory job. NP seems like a great route but I would have to go to get my BSN (which I don't want to do). And many students complain about not being able to find clinical placement in NP school. I might go for my NP eventually if I'm certain I can't find another way to make money. The nurse bullying was the biggest determining factor in my deciding to not stay in the field forever. Feeling safe and comfortable in a work environment is the least thing anyone can ask for in a job. If there is no safety, no point in being in it.
For me personally, I think the school part of nursing is way harder than the hands on, thinking on feet, head to toe assessment clinical portion. It was the sheer amount of material required to be memorized that was difficult for me. But I trust that I will learn everything else naturally as I continue to do the job. I do agree that experience is the only thing that makes a nurse. I know what you're talking about.
I'm looking for a LPN job that is associated with the 1199 union because they offer tuition assistance / reimbursement. But 1199 nursing jobs tend to have much lower pay. In my area, the industry pay for LPN (non union) is supposed to be 42-50$ an hr. But the 1199 unionized jobs that are near me are paying 30 an hour. The one I applied for is 30 per hr + 10k sign on bonus as a way to "sweeten the deal". It's 10k being prorated across many months after the training period ends. It makes me wonder why they are offering a 10k deal when all the other nursing homes are offering just 2k to 5k sign on bonuses. Could it be a place that nobody wants to work at? is the 10k bonus just a way to get employees to stay with them? It kinda breaks me that I've spent so much money ($30k) on school, worked so hard just to be "low balled" this way. I might need to work 2 jobs in order to have enough savings.
LPNs are making a comeback those hospitals. After covid, there was a mass exodus of RNs leaving. Hospitals can't afford to phase out anyone if nobody wants to work with them. They're offering LPNs 29 per hr in my area.
I've been seeing many RNs going for their NP. Might be another sign being an RN isn't a satisfactory job. NP seems like a great route but I would have to go to get my BSN (which I don't want to do). And many students complain about not being able to find clinical placement in NP school. I might go for my NP eventually if I'm certain I can't find another way to make money. The nurse bullying was the biggest determining factor in my deciding to not stay in the field forever. Feeling safe and comfortable in a work environment is the least thing anyone can ask for in a job. If there is no safety, no point in being in it.
I would expect any hospital would offer tuition reimbursement not just unionized. That is pretty standard. Of course, it might just be for a token amount like 2K a year. You can look up nursing reviews on Glass Door and Indeed to get some idea of the working conditions. In NYC there was a strike recently among the unionized hospitals, but sadly in the end they settled mostly for money and backed off on their demands for patient ratios.
I thought you were planning on becoming an RN or did I misunderstand your posts? I know a BSN is required in NY.
I don't think nurse bullying is the main issue in nursing. It may be a problem for some people, but I think unsafe patient ratios are the main problem which leads to other problems like mandatory overtime and even having difficulty getting time off to take a vacation which results in nurses fleeing the bedside for jobs with better working conditions.
This actually isn't quite the truth. You have to make decisions on the fly of whether to call a Dr and what to do in the meantime. And even if you work at a "teaching hospital" that has actual Dr's, I.e. residents, available many times the nurses know more than they do and have to help them make the right decisions in critical situations as they are literally learning on the job themselves!
That is one of the reasons the loss of experienced nurses is a true brain drain and will probably lead to more loss of life and bad outcomes, but most hospital executives don't care and only look at profit and the new grad costs a lot less than the experienced nurse that can save lives with their knowledge! Also the creation of MRT teams was to help save lives in the realization that many hospitals lacked experienced nurses (this before the mass nursing exodus since covid) and with so many new grads who wouldn't know what to do in an emergency these teams help save lives by intervening before a code and have established protocols with standing orders to get started instead of waiting for a Dr to call back.
I just read some reviews about the job offer and some of the complaints include severe understaffing of 1 nurse to 120 patients. A lot of nurses left the facility after they slashed the pay. I thought about rejecting this job but at the same time... aren't all nursing homes understaffed? so what other options do I have? going for outpatient clinics which pays absolutely nothing? I might have to work 2 jobs to become financially stable.
I would expect any hospital would offer tuition reimbursement not just unionized. That is pretty standard. Of course, it might just be for a token amount like 2K a year. You can look up nursing reviews on Glass Door and Indeed to get some idea of the working conditions. In NYC there was a strike recently among the unionized hospitals, but sadly in the end they settled mostly for money and backed off on their demands for patient ratios.
I thought you were planning on becoming an RN or did I misunderstand your posts? I know a BSN is required in NY.
I don't think nurse bullying is the main issue in nursing. It may be a problem for some people, but I think unsafe patient ratios are the main problem which leads to other problems like mandatory overtime and even having difficulty getting time off to take a vacation which results in nurses fleeing the bedside for jobs with better working conditions.
I do want to become an RN. But I'm reluctant to get my BSN because I'm still unsure if nursing is still something I want to do for the rest of my life. New York allows RNs the maximum of 10 yrs to obtain their BSN. The job of an LPN is very automatable. The job of an RN is more complex and less automatable which is why I am chosing to do it. But from everything I'm seeing now, I don't see a permanent future in nursing unless if I were to pursue an NP. I'm not willing to work in unsafe nurse to patient ratios either. You can't walk to work feeling well everyday if you know your license is at risk.
I know hospitals offer tuition assistance but usually its after a very long commitment such as 5 yrs. I don't have another 5 yrs to finally begin school. 1199 offers tuition assistance just 1 yr after joining the union.
Nurse bullying is a big thing. I have seen way too many nurses complaining about nurse bullying including a random nurse that I met on the train. During these hard times, nurses should be standing together against the hospital administrators instead of trying to be divisive amongst each other. If you're already understaffed, the least you can do is to make the environment welcoming to new nurses so that they can stay with you instead of leaving.
Personally, NCLEX PN was a piece of cake. Adding another 2 tiny sections won't frighten me off.
I finally figured out what you meant by 'sections'. The NCLEX PN may have titles of sections that are the same but the verbs and measurements of achievements are different. You may find it beneficial to get off of You Tube (I couldn't access your link) and look at the site of the important group that writes the tests. For example here is the test blueprint for the PN test:
- high acuity that goes on for weeks and weeks and months with no let up.
there is no area in nursing that is not effected by short staffing.
This coupled with 12 hour shifts. High acuity and the charge nurses piling on admissions with documentation taking 2-3 hours for 1 admission, while your vent is desating. No thanks. Who wants to work like that? This all day long causes burn out. And there's no relaxing break like admin gets. Get rid of 12 hour shifts. If this was an 8 hour shift, I believe it would be more tolerated.
PS CPAs while respected area lot lower on the 'public respect scale' than a nurse. Don't believe me..Google it.
Forget about what public surveys or whatever Google says—if you want the real answer compare what the average pay, benefits, and working conditions are between the two.
Forget about what public surveys or whatever Google says—if you want the real answer compare what the average pay, benefits, and working conditions are between the two.
So are nurses really more respected?
CPAs are paid what they are worth. Nurses tend to get low balled a lot in terms of salary. If a CPA points out a problem, they get taken seriously. If a nurse complains about burn out and stress due to understaffing, nobody cares. Not throwing a shade at nursing but just stating what reality is.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
nursingcand said:
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.
Understaffing seems to go in cycles -- but the pandemic may have skewed the cycles. It also seems to be somewhat facility-related. I've had jobs that were chronically understaffed, and others that were rarely so. When you interview for jobs, you are interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you. Ask to speak to some of the staff and ask them about staffing.
You'll start out with a stable job and great benefits. Great money is in the eye of the beholder, I've found. I've always made enough to live comfortably but not lavishly, and managed to save enough to buy a small house on my own in two fairly expensive areas. (Seattle and the DC area).
I'm an RN; I know little about LPN pay.
Rionoir said:
12 hour shifts is literally the best part of being a nurse ?♂️?
I agree! I've been working 12 hour shifts since 1983, and I would never want to go back to 8s.
You are extremely wrong here. Why would we have 2 levels of licensure if you just "re-learned" the same content and were tested on "a bit more material"? Would a Medical Assistant just have a simpler test than an MD -
I fear you are headed into a head-on collision. I am retired but my NCLEX was 2 full days of testing. Now they have streamlined it so that each question gets HARDER if you get the previous question correct.
I am assuming you need to retake the CPA and CFA tests but I would encourage you to direct your energies back to CPA. Best wishes and if you are still wanting to go into an RN program, do some research....like buy a professional nursing textbook like Brunner or Lewis
I am an LVN I will be going into an RN program where they gave me advanced placement. It's an "lvn bridge program". I will be skipping the first two semesters of the RN program and going into their 3rd & 4th semesters to complete the program and get an associate degree/sit for the NCLEX-RN. So yes, if she starts a traditional RN program she will be repeating allot of the same material as her LPN. Another factor is that she already will have had experience with the specific test style of the NCLEX and in clinical skills. The CPA exam has a less than 50% pass rate and is known to be a particularly rigorous exam. The NCLEX has an above 90% pass rate in my state. Especially of the cpa material is not interesting to them it will be harder for THEM.
nursingcand
82 Posts
For me personally, I think the school part of nursing is way harder than the hands on, thinking on feet, head to toe assessment clinical portion. It was the sheer amount of material required to be memorized that was difficult for me. But I trust that I will learn everything else naturally as I continue to do the job. I do agree that experience is the only thing that makes a nurse. I know what you're talking about.
I'm looking for a LPN job that is associated with the 1199 union because they offer tuition assistance / reimbursement. But 1199 nursing jobs tend to have much lower pay. In my area, the industry pay for LPN (non union) is supposed to be 42-50$ an hr. But the 1199 unionized jobs that are near me are paying 30 an hour. The one I applied for is 30 per hr + 10k sign on bonus as a way to "sweeten the deal". It's 10k being prorated across many months after the training period ends. It makes me wonder why they are offering a 10k deal when all the other nursing homes are offering just 2k to 5k sign on bonuses. Could it be a place that nobody wants to work at? is the 10k bonus just a way to get employees to stay with them? It kinda breaks me that I've spent so much money ($30k) on school, worked so hard just to be "low balled" this way. I might need to work 2 jobs in order to have enough savings.
LPNs are making a comeback those hospitals. After covid, there was a mass exodus of RNs leaving. Hospitals can't afford to phase out anyone if nobody wants to work with them. They're offering LPNs 29 per hr in my area.
I've been seeing many RNs going for their NP. Might be another sign being an RN isn't a satisfactory job. NP seems like a great route but I would have to go to get my BSN (which I don't want to do). And many students complain about not being able to find clinical placement in NP school. I might go for my NP eventually if I'm certain I can't find another way to make money. The nurse bullying was the biggest determining factor in my deciding to not stay in the field forever. Feeling safe and comfortable in a work environment is the least thing anyone can ask for in a job. If there is no safety, no point in being in it.