New RN-BSN school admit, feeling discouraged.

StudentRNboston · Dec 4, 2016

im still a student, graduating in may-so in not the best to answer. But, when it comes to enjoying the job I think that comes down to a very personal-individual specific factor. Shadow a nurse maybe to see if you'd like it?

Pay wise, you'll hear different things. But the bottom line is location. There are cities/states with drastic differences, some high, medium, low. I live in Massachusetts, and nurses are paid well here. Well above the national average. That is, the Boston area is a very medical area with a good reputation. But nurses are paid very well here and are respected.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Dec 4, 2016

im still a student, graduating in may-so in not the best to answer. But, when it comes to enjoying the job I think that comes down to a very personal-individual specific factor. Shadow a nurse maybe to see if you'd like it?
Pay wise, you'll hear different things. But the bottom line is location. There are cities/states with drastic differences, some high, medium, low. I live in Massachusetts, and nurses are paid well here. Well above the national average. That is, the Boston area is a very medical area with a good reputation. But nurses are paid very well here and are respected.

When considering salary, one also has to take into consideration the cost of living. A lot of the highest paying areas can lose their appeal once it's known how expensive it is to live there. A less paying area with low cost of living can actually allow one to come out ahead. It all depends.

Sour Lemon · Dec 4, 2016

I am currently an MRI tech and have always had feelings of regret for not becoming an RN. I love the patient care part of my job and desperately want to increase my knowledge towards the patient care side of healthcare instead of technology (my current field). My husband encouraged me to apply to the ABSN program at OU and I got in. I am ecstatic, although this is going to take a huge leap of faith to jump from the great job I have in order to prepare myself for one I think I could love long-term.
Basically, I read a lot of posts online about people becoming nurses and hating the hard-work and minimum pay. My question is are these posts I'm seeing from people who truly aren't passionate about what they do or is this job really something that is hard to love. I absolutely know this field requires hard work and tough times but I thought the positive side of caring for people at their worst times would even it out. I feel very passionate about my choice to become an RN and hope I'm not being unrealistic?
Any comments, encouragement?

I like my work, but it's a lot harder than I imagined it would be when I initially started out.

From what I've observed, it seems that passionate people who care and want to help have the most difficult time adjusting to nursing because it's typically run like a cut-throat business.

cleslie92 · Dec 4, 2016

I actually live in a small city outside of Tulsa, OK and work in Tulsa. The cost of living is relatively cheap and I don't plan on moving because of that and family is here. I'm not sure how nurses here rank in pay though.

cleslie92 · Dec 4, 2016

I like my work, but it's a lot harder than I imagined it would be when I initially started out.
From what I've observed, it seems that passionate people who care and want to help have the most difficult time adjusting to nursing because it's typically run like a cut-throat business.

Ugh that is very discouraging to hear. I'm a very "stay out of the drama" type person and prefer to stay away from the politics of a job. I'm mainly in this because I love caring for people and thrive on working hard to help others in need.

CelticGoddess, BSN, RN · Dec 4, 2016

I am currently an MRI tech and have always had feelings of regret for not becoming an RN. I love the patient care part of my job and desperately want to increase my knowledge towards the patient care side of healthcare instead of technology (my current field). My husband encouraged me to apply to the ABSN program at OU and I got in. I am ecstatic, although this is going to take a huge leap of faith to jump from the great job I have in order to prepare myself for one I think I could love long-term.
Basically, I read a lot of posts online about people becoming nurses and hating the hard-work and minimum pay. My question is are these posts I'm seeing from people who truly aren't passionate about what they do or is this job really something that is hard to love. I absolutely know this field requires hard work and tough times but I thought the positive side of caring for people at their worst times would even it out. I feel very passionate about my choice to become an RN and hope I'm not being unrealistic?
Any comments, encouragement?

I don't regret becoming a nurse. Yes, there are bad days, yes the pay isn't the best (I still make mor than my CT tech husband who has 20yrs experience) but I do enjoy it. BTW: I am a retired RT®. I didn't enjoy radiography because it felt like assembly line patient care to me. As a nurse, I can spend more time with my patients. I am sure you understand that! How many MRI's per day does your facility want you to do? (My husbands biggest gripe is that they expect him to do to many CT's in an hour.)

BTW: I stay out of the politics of the job also. It works for me. Try to keep an open mind, realize that there are going to be bad days (but there will also be good) and realize that you can't change everyone and you can't please everyone. I wish you the best

cleslie92 · Dec 4, 2016

I don't regret becoming a nurse. Yes, there are bad days, yes the pay isn't the best (I still make mor than my CT tech husband who has 20yrs experience) but I do enjoy it. BTW: I am a retired RT®. I didn't enjoy radiography because it felt like assembly line patient care to me. As a nurse, I can spend more time with my patients. I am sure you understand that! How many MRI's per day does your facility want you to do? (My husbands biggest gripe is that they expect him to do to many CT's in an hour.)
BTW: I stay out of the politics of the job also. It works for me. Try to keep an open mind, realize that there are going to be bad days (but there will also be good) and realize that you can't change everyone and you can't please everyone. I wish you the best

I appreciate your feedback especially because you have the radiography experience! I work in Tulsas biggest hospital and we are always 1-2 days behind on our patient list. CT is a little more demanding than MR but it is exhausting running through patients like an assembly line.

The one thing I always say is that I want to go back up to the floors with my patients because I enjoy the one on one time taking care of them so much! I'm also very interested in L&D and that's just not something you really deal with in the imaging fields.

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · Dec 4, 2016

I entered nursing at a period when people were more respectful and grateful of people trying to help them. The field itself has evolved so much that if the attitudes had remained constant, nursing would be a totally awesome career, desired by even more healthcare hopefuls.

I always arrive to my job two hours early because of the distance and traffic (I cannot stand to be late, even to a job that I hate). When I get there, I just sit in the car and watch people come and go. When I see the nursing students coming out of the hospital, I can't help but think, "Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do".

The problem with nursing, in my opinion, is that the complexity/evolution in this field does not mix with the darn attitudes of the clients we serve, and nursing instructors are glamorizing the field when they should be providing the cold hard facts to those students. This would weed out a lot of people before they sink thousands into an education for a field that they will soon leave.

Can happiness and rewards be found in this field? Absolutely. But most new grads, let me rephrase that, a lot of new grads cannot survive the culture shock, are not accustomed to people being mean to them (younger new grads), and they leave the field before they gain enough experience to move into less-aggressive areas of nursing. I cannot count the number of new RNs and LPNs who I've found sobbing in the break room, stating, "they didn't tell us it would be like this".

**My favorite phrase by Pierce Brosnan, in the movie Dante's Peak, goes here: "If you put a frog in boiling water, it'll hop right out. But if you put it in cold water and heat it up gradually, it'll slowly boil to death". With thirty years under my belt, I'd say the water was cold back then. It has definitely gotten warmer over the years.

As an MRI tech, you probably have encountered your share of difficult patients. You do your job and send those patients back to where they came from. As a nurse, you'll find that a lot of difficult patients come with difficult family members which, you'll see, can't be sent anywhere; you'll leave them once your 8-12-hour shift ends.

These attitudes are not conducive to learning new skills in a new career. It's only good for developing a tough skin, sadly. You can only hope that your assignment doesn't include too many of those demanding individuals within any given shift.

If you can survive the first 2-3 years in nursing, the benefit of having a nursing license will pay for itself in many ways if you know where to look....especially if nursing is your chosen career and you're not afraid of leaving your comfort zone. And yes, there are some new nurses who were fortunate enough to find happiness right off the bat. That, of course, depends on what you want to do, what area you live in, your personal finances, etc. You can find success in nursing..

Sour Lemon · Dec 4, 2016

Ugh that is very discouraging to hear. I'm a very "stay out of the drama" type person and prefer to stay away from the politics of a job. I'm mainly in this because I love caring for people and thrive on working hard to help others in need.

You will have opportunities to do good, but maybe not as many as you're envisioning. I remember a time when I was giving a patient pain medication and she became tearful and starting expressing fear about losing her leg. I don't remember exactly what else I had going on at that moment, but I do remember that it was a lot.

maybe an elderly woman with a hip fracture trying to climb out of bed

another patient waiting on his pain medication (and not patiently)

a patient going to emergency surgery that night who's family I needed to call for consent

a patient waiting for a blood transfusion who was short of breath

a doctor or patient's family on the phone and it's their third time trying to reach me

critical labs that I was running out of time to report to the MD

my new admission arriving to the unit

a group huddle organized by management to remind us of all the things we aren't getting quite right

telemetry monitor needs to go on lunch break and nursing needs to cover her

etc.

All I could do was pat the emotional patient on the shoulder and say something cliche like, "Hang in there." ...then I had to quickly move on. People who envision lots of caring moments may be disappointed with what they actually have time to accomplish.

cleslie92 · Dec 4, 2016

You will have opportunities to do good, but maybe not as many as you're envisioning. I remember a time when I was giving a patient pain medication and she became tearful and starting expressing fear about losing her leg. I don't remember exactly what else I had going on at that moment, but I do remember that it was a lot.
maybe an elderly woman with a hip fracture trying to climb out of bed
another patient waiting on his pain medication (and not patiently)
a patient going to emergency surgery that night who's family I needed to call for consent
a patient waiting for a blood transfusion who was short of breath
a doctor or patient's family on the phone and it's their third time trying to reach me
critical labs that I was running out of time to report to the MD
my new admission arriving to the unit
a group huddle organized by management to remind us of all the things we aren't getting quite right
telemetry monitor needs to go on lunch break and nursing needs to cover her
etc.
All I could do was pat the emotional patient on the shoulder and say something cliche like, "Hang in there." ...then I had to quickly move on. People who envision lots of caring moments may be disappointed with what they actually have time to accomplish.

I do agree with this, RNs obviously have a lot going on. I've had my fair share of angry/upset patients and families and yes I do get to send them away quicker than nurses do.

I guess my main concern is I see a lot of people regretting becoming a nurse. Just like she said above (edit: the person who commented before this one I replied to) she sees nursing students and wishes they knew what they were getting into. It is mostly a personal decision for everyone but I see a lot of negative comments more than positive.

p.s. I really appreciate everyone's feedback!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 4, 2016

Although I do not regret becoming a nurse, my personality is not conductive to nursing. In essence, I am a hardcore introvert with a somewhat reserved personality who does not enjoy meeting new people.

I am not the type of person who derives pleasure from being needed by patients. I do not enjoy calming the anxieties of families. I cannot stand the customer service aspects of the job. Thus, I am forced to play the game and pretend to be nice.

Moreover, I have malcontent traits. As a malcontent, I will never be completely happy with any job or profession. The only job I will ever like is the unicorn position that pays me 12 months of salary while allowing me to take 52 weeks off.

In other words, nursing is a tough gig for someone like me who is not genuinely fond of mingling. However, your mileage may vary. Good luck to you.