I'm volunteering right now at a Hospital Gift Shop and upgrading my courses in night school to start a college program (hopefully) for practical nursing
One of the hospital interns who talks to me at the shop once in a while said "can I give you advice? Don't work at the hospital"
I said that I wanted to go into nursing with time..
So he said that with "my personality" I could be only in delivery
So my question for you is- what's a "nurse" personality?
When getting ready to go into anything new, you are going to be impressionable because you have healthy anxiety about knowing whether or not you are making the right choice.
This person may think they are doing you a favor based on what he sees in the industry and how he feels about the industry himself. For every one person who thinks you should leave, another will tell you to stay.
I wouldn't let one person have a great influence on you. It's OK to listen to what people have to say, and it sounds like you should investigate your own feelings. I wouldn't take one persons words as the "gospel truth".
If you really want something, then go for it. "You have to stand for something, or you will fall for anything".
Jedi :balloons:
Jedi,
I'm also someone considering a nursing career (as a 2nd career choice...I'm a dental hygienist right now). Just wanted to let you know how encouraging your words were to me...even though you were writing them for someone else. Thank you! :)
I considered being a dental hygienist before I decided to be a nurse. What a coincidence. Glad to be helpful. When choosing between professions, I think it is useful to look at the lifestyle you wish to have, along with the diversity of work settings that you can work in. Professional responsibility and of course, stress level of the job should all be considered. On another note, do you happen to know what the difference in pay is? I'm curious. Is there as much of a shortage for dental hygienists as there is for nursing? There's a lot of cost/benefit ratio to be looked at when making your choice.
Jedi -
May the force be with you!
Jedi,
I'm also someone considering a nursing career (as a 2nd career choice...I'm a dental hygienist right now). Just wanted to let you know how encouraging your words were to me...even though you were writing them for someone else. Thank you! :)
I'm volunteering right now at a Hospital Gift Shop and upgrading my courses in night school to start a college program (hopefully) for practical nursing
One of the hospital interns who talks to me at the shop once in a while said "can I give you advice? Don't work at the hospital"
I said that I wanted to go into nursing with time..
So he said that with "my personality" I could be only in delivery
So my question for you is- what's a "nurse" personality?
If you're going to lpn school you won't have a lot of choices about where you work. I have heard this has been done before and when the shortage gets worse they start hiring them again, but most hospitals are phasing out lpns and rarely hire them to work in the hospital anymore (except on the med-surg floor). The nursing home, however, usually needs all the lpns they can get.
If I were you I'd try to just go for registered nursing. Unless your situation is like mine and the nearest rn program is over 2 hrs. away...ugh.
We have a lot of lvns in the hospital where I work. So, it depends on location I suppose. If you cannot take the time for the waiting list for an adn program, it is not a bad idea to become an lvn/lpn, gain experience, and continue on with an online degree program like excelsior. There are always options. Our hospital likes to hire lvn's, and keep them on if they are good enough, then help defer the cost of continuing ed for us. Glad I am here!
I considered being a dental hygienist before I decided to be a nurse. What a coincidence. Glad to be helpful. When choosing between professions, I think it is useful to look at the lifestyle you wish to have, along with the diversity of work settings that you can work in. Professional responsibility and of course, stress level of the job should all be considered. On another note, do you happen to know what the difference in pay is? I'm curious. Is there as much of a shortage for dental hygienists as there is for nursing? There's a lot of cost/benefit ratio to be looked at when making your choice.
Jedi -
May the force be with you!
Jedi,
I don't know about the rest of the U.S., but I can speak for NM...
Generally, dental hygienists make approx. $5-$10/hr. MORE than RN's do here. We very rarely work more than 4 days/week. Fridays are the typical day off for dental offices. Naturally, we have typical office hrs. (8-5 or 7-4, etc.) Benefits are rarely offered, even with FT employment. The only true benefit is free dental care for you and your immediate family.
Given those aspects, WHY ON EARTH would I consider nursing, you ask?
Just a few reasons:
*Right now, there's a MAJOR oversaturation of hygienists in NM. Jobs have been few and far between for the past year or so. The dentists who do advertise are usually the ones who can't seem to keep a hygienist. I've been a self-employed temp. hygienist for the past year, and it's been a rough year (financially speaking). Even though I charge more than an employed hygienist...by the time I pay all my business-related taxes, I'm making LESS than I was before (when I was an employee in an office).
*It's becoming apparent that many dentists no longer want to hire experienced hygienists anymore. They can hire brand-new grads/licensees and pay them less.
*Nurses face burnout? Try dental hygiene for over 10 yrs.! I don't want to downplay my profession (I love being an RDH), but there's only so many times you can do prophy's (regular cleanings), deep cleanings, x-rays, fluoride and sealants. That's about it...every day.....8 pts. a day. The patient interaction is what has kept me going though. Nurses must have more variety in their day than that, don't they? At least you're not doing the EXACT SAME THING on every patient, every day.
*Unless you're interested in writing research articles or teaching dental hygiene, there's pretty much a glass ceiling in the profession. There are no specialties, like there is with nursing.
For me, personally, I want MORE out of my health career. Dental hygiene isn't enough anymore. I want to be more involved in my patients' overall health...on a deeper level. I want to have more in-depth knowledge of their health conditions and not have to ask them (while going through their health history form), "What are you taking that medication for ?" Hygiene students have to take many of the same pre-req. courses nursing students do, so we should know this, right? It's the old adage: "If you don't use it, you'll lose it." We don't work directly with medications every day.
Sorry if I sound bitter, Jedi. Hope I didn't dash any dreams or ideas you may have had. All that said, I do realize dental hygienists "have it made", compared to all the crap nurses have to go through. I'm willing to face it head on in my future though. Who knows? I may find a way to combine both careers! :)
I'm volunteering right now at a Hospital Gift Shop and upgrading my courses in night school to start a college program (hopefully) for practical nursing
One of the hospital interns who talks to me at the shop once in a while said "can I give you advice? Don't work at the hospital"
I said that I wanted to go into nursing with time..
So he said that with "my personality" I could be only in delivery
So my question for you is- what's a "nurse" personality?
what a freaking asshole. not you, the intern. only in delivery? maybe he thinks you are too nice. maybe he thinks the other nurses will tear you up. or maybe he is an asshole who likes you and is desperate to make conversation and this is what he came up with (most likely). even if you are a nice person and the entire hospital is mean, which i doubt, coping skills can be learned. work in whatever department you please and tell the stupid intern you do not need his advice, career or otherwise. thats what i would do, anyway.
and while we are at it, the subject of personality? there is this idea that sometimes floats around that caring (generally considered the most important qualification for nursing) is an innate quality. maybe it is or maybe it isn't. but learning to express caring in a way that is effective and appropriate to the patient? this can be learned. it is a legitimate skill.
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RDH2RN
82 Posts
Jedi,
I'm also someone considering a nursing career (as a 2nd career choice...I'm a dental hygienist right now). Just wanted to let you know how encouraging your words were to me...even though you were writing them for someone else. Thank you! :)
Angel