I'm in my 4th semester of nursing school and have one more to go (graduating in August!!) and I truly have a deep passion for nursing and I am very excited to get out into the field.
However...
I am SO tired of the future "paycheck nurses" in my class. Just to clarify (and this is from an instructor not me) a paycheck nurse is a nurse who really has little to no interest in the field of nursing outside of the job security and pay. You know the kind, probably older, probably doing nursing as a second career, or younger and still thinking "I don't know what I wanna be when I grow up but nurses are paid pretty well so here we go!". My class is pretty large (started around 150 people, now down to about 80) and a good few of the people who just wanted the good pay and a "guaranteed" job were weeded out pretty quickly (usually shortly after they realized nursing school required effort) but unfortunately there are still a few left.
It just really grinds on my nerves when I see them passing (barely passing, more often than not) while people who truly want to be nurses, who would be great nurses, fail. These paycheck nurses in training are pretty open about why they're in nursing school (they're nothing if not honest), but they're negative attitudes in class and clinical is getting pretty old pretty quick.
In class they're the ones on their phones the whole time checking facebook or whatever, and when they do decide to tune in to the lecture they ask questions the instructor just answered and waste everyone's time (thankfully the instructors are starting to call them out on it but still). They're the ones bragging about having not even bought the book or taken it out of the plastic wrapping, but not bragging about their grades. In my school, after the first two semesters attendance isn't mandatory (lectures/powerpoints are recorded and posted online) and you can go hybrid and only come to class for tests, and they tend to be the ones who only come for tests.
In clinical they like to hide, doing the bare minimum patient care and avoiding anything they don't want to do (answering call bells, giving baths, assisting pts to the bathroom, skills, etc.) and when asked to do these things by the clinical instructor they roll their eyes and whine about it the rest of the day. If a fellow student asks for help they look at them like their stupid and spout little gems like "Ew gross, no." or "That's CNA ****" or my personal favorite "I'm an RN student so go find an LPN or CNA or something."
NOTE: Our school really emphasizes, and I firmly believe, that nothing is beneath us at clinical; if someone asks for/needs help then we should help them.
I know the news and everyone likes to talk about nursing be the land of milk and honey, and that kind of representation attracts this kind of person but I can't help but think that if paralegals or electronics technicians or some other associate degree accessible career were paid more than nurses then these people would be sitting in legal or electronics classes instead of medsurg ones.
ALSO: I don't mean to say that every second career nursing student, or older nursing student, or anyone is automatically a paycheck nurse in training. I have several friends that are older/second career who are in nursing school because they want to be nurses, and they are just now having the chance to pursue their dream for whatever reason. I have nothing for respect for anyone going through nursing school for the right reasons, but I have a hard time respecting those who don't respect the profession enough to treat it as anything other than a meal ticket.
Dude who cares, I show up everyday for that almighty paycheck and not for altruism. I do my job right and these "lazy" people will too if they want to keep one.
Are you one of those work for nothing/calling types?
Frankly, I don't care if a nurse is only there for the paycheck, as long as they are providing safe patient care. There are some nurses I have met who "really wanted to be nurses" and feel like it's a "calling" but have crappy work ethic. I feel like calling them 'paycheck nurses' is totally a holier-than-thou attitude.
In the end why do you care? It's not your license to worry about. It's not like you find your tax dude who genuinely loves his job, you find the one who gets you the best refund right? Money drives us, especially when the economy is in a black hole. I like my job, I enjoy the opportunities it gives me - but I don't walk in with a huge grin.
Edit : I read some of the above posts and agree with some. A lot of people spout about its their calling or whatever nonsense yet have a difficult time getting anywhere. Takes a lot more then that but if money drives them to be a good nurse, well, awesome.
I did my undergrad in Theatre, and in my senior year, discovered I loved social protest theatre and the way theatre can be used as a tool to reach out and give a voice to people who don't have one. So I abandoned performing, and set my sights on nonprofit management, intending to do something with an arts-focused nonprofit.
I did my Masters of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management, and in doing so, realized I identified with victims of violence in a powerful way. I felt, and feel, incredibly passionate about victim services, so, I abandoned working in the arts to work do development and volunteer coordination at a victim assistance agency.
While at that victim assistance agency, I was trained in crisis intervention and response, and I found that I loved being called out to the hospital for a sexual assault victim or to a homicide scene to counsel the surviving family members about their rights and their options. I found that I love being with someone on the worst day of their life just to listen and support them. I abandoned administration for direct service, even knowing that with a Masters degree, I couldn't hope to command more than a mid-$30k salary, but that was okay, because I had PASSION. Passion was going to carry me through. I was going to run on the endless fairydust fuel of passion. I was going to pay for a house with passion. I'd be able to adopt a child, because, you know, passion. I could send that child to college someday and pay their tuition with passion. The fact that my position would forever be at the mercy of federal grants and the whims of the funding cycle was totally cool, because clearly, passionpassionpassionpassion.
And upon turning 30 years old (which may seem "old" to you, but good lord, I assure you, it is not), I discovered that what I am the most passionate about is spending time with my husband, my puppies, my family, going on a short trip with them once a year, living in a pretty, but small home, and hopefully someday being able to adopt a child and turn us into a family of three. I am passionate about a good work life balance and not tons of money, but enough money. I found that truly, I don't care what I do all day, so long as I can have that time with my husband and my friends and my dogs, but that my personality also dictates that it would be ideal for me to do something that engages my brain, allows space for me to be ambitious and to work hard, and if I can still be with someone on the worst day of their lives to support them, that is an absolute bonus.
So I am abandoning my social work job as a domestic violence victim advocate to go back to school and pursue nursing.
It's not my dream, and yes, I want more money and a more stable position, and that's none of your business to judge. I certainly hope that magical fairydust passion lasts you through your entire career. That would be wonderful for you, and I mean it when I say I hope it lasts forever. Really though, you will probably have days that you hate being at work, just like everyone else. You will have patients that are cruel to you, just like everyone else. You will have rent or a mortgage and maybe children, just like everyone else. And I hope when those times come, you haven't defined yourself solely by your job, because that's when burnout sets in.
First, why are you so concerned about people and their reasoning for going into nursing? Quite frankly, it is none of your business. Competency and professionalism are all that matter. Reserve your judgment for those who neglect/abuse their patients or practice unsafe, unethical care.
Second, nursing is NOT stable. There is no shortage of nurses. As for the money...it is decent, but there are less taxing jobs out there that will allow one to make more bucks.
Quit calling them "paycheck nurses." These are your future coworkers. Not everyone wants to martyr themselves and that is okay! Some people are in nursing for idealistic reasons (you) and others are in it for practical reasons. It doesn't make you or anyone else with "passion" better than the person over there who came into nursing for different reasons. At the end of the day, the patient wants a nurse who can do the job and treat him/her in a professional manner. That is all. The sooner you learn this, the better off you will be.
Again...why do you care? If they fail, they fail. If they pass, they pass. What does that have anything to do with you? Focus your energy on you and not on the other students. You will feel musch better, I promise!
Let the instructor deal with them. That is really not your problem. Eventually, they will be weeded out of the profession by their school or their first job.
Obviously. In the end, people have to pay their bills and feed their kids...and there is nothing wrong with that! So as long as they are performing up to par and present themselves professionally, who cares what brought them into nursing?
There are no "right reasons" and it is arrogant for you to say so. What makes your reasons (an idealistic "passion") anymore valid than the calculated, practional ones of some of your classmates? If anything, the latter will be far less likely to become disillusioned by the profession (it isn't all that it is cracked up to be) and less likely to burn out if they have a tangible reason for getting into the field (passion can die, but bills are here to stay).
In the end, work is called WORK for a reason. Some people are fortunate to find their passion, while others may have to settle on what they can tolerate. Talk to some nurses, and I DOUBT they would be doing what they are doing for free or minimum wage.
Thank you for not making me have to articulate these same responses... well said.
As far as second career students, I mean as long as they put an effort and are professional I could careless.
I do however understand the OPs frustration with students that waste valuable class time by asking questions on subjects, that are not even that difficult to understand, only if they would've read a bit the night before.
As far as second career students I mean as long as they put an effort and are professional I could careless. I do however understand the OPs frustration with students that waste valuable class time by asking questions on subjects, that are not even that difficult to understand, only if they would've read a bit the night before. So OP has a few valid points IMO. Sent via my iPhone using allnurses.com ❤️[/quote']
Not everyone understand things the same way. Just because you don't think it's difficult to understand doesn't mean that everyone will understand it. It doesn't mean that they aren't doing the readings, they just may need more clarification than you. That's what class is for, to learn and ask questions.
I understand that OP needs to blow off steam and no I'm not in it just for a paycheck. OP shared their opinion, and others have shared theirs. Just because they are different opinions from yours doesn't mean they are negative.[/quote']
I think you need to look at your original response because you called his opinion negative because it was different from yours. Just saying,,,,
Not everyone understand things the same way. Just because you don't think it's difficult to understand doesn't mean that everyone will understand it. It doesn't mean that they aren't doing the readings they just may need more clarification than you. That's what class is for, to learn and ask questions.[/quote']
Well it's kind of naive to believe EVERYBODY in class reads and tries to study at home don't you think?! Just because one shows up to class doesn't mean spoon-feeding teaching is a must from the instructor. We all as students need to play our part and put effort and not expect miracles.
Well it's kind of naive to believe EVERYBODY in class reads and tries to study at home don't you think?! Just because one shows up to class doesn't mean spoon-feeding teaching is a must from the instructor. We all as students need to play our part and put effort and not expect miracles. Sent via my iPhone using allnurses.com ❤️
I never said that EVERYBODY in class does all the readings. And yes, everyone should play their part and do their reading at homes. However, sometimes questions come up from the readings, especially of it isn't something covered in lecture. People should be able to ask questions if they have them without others being so hateful about it.
I can't help but wonder if your classmates are the ones who truly want to be nurses, why are they the ones failing? Obviously they don't want it as badly as you claim and therefore are not more deserving of being there than someone just looking for a paycheck. Oddly enough, they found a way to be committed enough to becoming a nurse to pass when the people with a "true passion" for it did not. Funny how that works out.
Don't worry about what other people are doing, or what grades they are getting. Focus on becoming the best possible nurse -you- can be.
I am SO tired of the future "paycheck nurses" in my class. Just to clarify (and this is from an instructor not me) a paycheck nurse is a nurse who really has little to no interest in the field of nursing outside of the job security and pay. You know the kind, probably older, probably doing nursing as a second career
Hey, that's me!!!
Let's see, I was 45 upon graduation... pursing a new career...
Chose nursing because it pays well and offers up more job security than many other fields... and, the barrier to entry is pretty low.
That said, I do the job very well. I'm not the best nurse, for sure, but I'm pretty solid and I work in a place that chews people up and spits them out.
I do the job for the money and the job security; I do the job well because I have a great work ethic and the job is one that should be done well.
Dranger
1,871 Posts
Dude who cares, I show up everyday for that almighty paycheck and not for altruism. I do my job right and these "lazy" people will too if they want to keep one.
Are you one of those work for nothing/calling types?
