Is Nursing for me if I don't want to be a bedside RN?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2007

I'm just curious. Will her years as a CNA count for anything towards a research or public health position?

It might. However, most people that apply for these positions are licensed and have some experience in nursing, so they will get precidences.

Years of CNA experience usually helps out at entry level positions. Someone without hopspital experience vs. someone with CNA experience, the CNA gets the edge.

nurseinspire · Nov 11, 2007

Hi all!
I have my CNA and was taking pre-reqs for Nursing b/c I really love learning about medicine. My dream job would be working in an administrative RN position...like legal Nursing or working on clinical trials.....how hard is it to get into positions like this w/o having much bedside Nursing experience?
Thanks for your help!

i dont like bedside nursing either but there are "OTHER" fields of nursing where you work in the office...im an instructor!...but you need to experience some clinical aspects a bit....but hey im telling you...pay is the same though youre not at the bedside!

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Nov 11, 2007

i dont like bedside nursing either but there are "OTHER" fields of nursing where you work in the office...im an instructor!...but you need to experience some clinical aspects a bit....but hey im telling you...pay is the same though youre not at the bedside!

If the pay was the same as an instructor as it is at the bedside, then we'd have no problems staffing nursing schools.

To be an instructor, you need either a Master's degree (to teach in the classroom) or you need experience (to be clinical instructor).

Strangely enough, it seems like those nursing admins who have little to no nursing experience are the ones who are the least liked, most despised, and least respected...

nurseinspire · Nov 12, 2007

If the pay was the same as an instructor as it is at the bedside, then we'd have no problems staffing nursing schools.
To be an instructor, you need either a Master's degree (to teach in the classroom) or you need experience (to be clinical instructor).
Strangely enough, it seems like those nursing admins who have little to no nursing experience are the ones who are the least liked, most despised, and least respected...

I am a testament that with the right school, youd be paid well especially if youre an instructor who passionately love your job and perform well...i guess that we have more of a problem with state schools since they are under strict financial budget..i work for a private LVN school and they pay me well....i believe that hospital nurses get more pay but the stress level is higher as well....but being a classroom instructor is not that bad either if you find the right school...i also have a part-time job that remunerates well as a theory nursing instructor..the secret is , if you are good at your craft, you get what you want...there's not a lot of theory instructors out there and there is a shortage of nursing faculty as well...i mean "good" ones...nursing students are very critical and if they feel that they are not getting something from their instructor, they complain... this is the very reason why private schools try to pamper their good instructors as much as possible...especially classroom instructors :)...and what abut the other fields of nursing? there's a lot of non-bedside areas! MDS coordinator, QA's in home health care, health insurance reviewer nurse..im more of a paper person and MDS coordinator worked well for me....all i did was assess and plan care for residents in a SNF...:)

LadyJRN1 · Feb 5, 2008

Bedside nursing SUCKS anyway you cut it!! Taking care of thankless people who could care less about you, taking advantage of you, bosses who think they are "GOD", patients families who take up your time whining about stuff you have no control over. I am in school for my BSN because I can't take anymore. I truly regret the day I became a nurse.

Almabella · Feb 5, 2008

My understanding is that to get into legal consulting you would need a solid, broad based and well rounded experience in nursing. I've been told it's not an easy field to break into.

Administration (I'm assuming you mean hospital and/or clinic) is completely different, and as many have said, to be an effective leader you should have substantial experience in that area of nursing prior to taking a leadership position. I have, however, seen clinics hire clinic managers who have a small amount of nursing experience but a LOT of managerial experience. I guess it just depends on what your personal experience is.

That said, there are plenty of options for nurses outside of the hospital setting, especially if you have your BSN. There's public health (BSN usually required) and clinic nursing, both of which I've done. Currently I do telephone triage and there seems to be lots of room for advancement within the company I work for (as they are expanding rapidly). I did a brief stint in a hospital as a nurse, but the experience was so horrible I left and never looked back. I did work as a CNA in a hospital, but I doubt that has helped me get any of my nursing positions.

Good luck. :balloons:

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2008

I'm a community health nurse and I do no hands on care. However, I couldn't do my job without the 15 years of bedside care I had before taking this on. I've also done occ health and case mgt but I'd have been a zero without the bedside background.

That said, I'm enormously sympathetic to the hardships at the bedside these days. I did 10 years in Peds. The kids were great almost always. It was the families that drove me nuts. I had parents ask for backrubs, prescription meds, money and my favorite: "can you balance my checkbook?".

I miss clinical care but I don't miss outrageous family demands one bit. I lost both of my parents to cancer as a child and even dying, I saw both of my parents treat nurses with respect. They made sure I did as well. Those days are gone.