Nurses opinion re: career

allnurses Guide · Jul 2

Can I ask what specifically draws you to nursing? This is an important consideration and I will give you a detailed response once you answer this question.

Hppy

Nursingdreams77 · Jul 2

Sure. What draws me is helping others. I don't want to sit in an office anymore just to make all the executives rich and market products that are just things. I want to do something that makes a difference. I love the academic side of healthcare and learning about diseases and how to treat. But I don't know if I necessarily want all of the responsibility on me. It makes me nervous.

I also would like to have flexibility as I grow older (let's say 10 years from now) and work per diem or part time. The wasn't crazy about being in a hospital setting tho. I think primarily because 12 hour shifts are a lot for me personally due to childcare issues. My husband is gone 3-4 days a week. Sadly I'm a married-single mom. 😬

allnurses Guide · Jul 2

It's great that you want to make a difference in the lives of others but I do caution you due to the age of your youngest, You don't say how old the others are but I assume late teens to early 20s.

Starting a career as a RN in your 50's can be tough. I thought it was bad enough in my 40s with entry level noc shifts being the norm at that time. I missed most of my son's important milestones as he was just two when I graduated from nursing school. Any nursing work whch includes MA/CNA/LPN/RN is rediculously hard and getting harder due to the current healthcare system's expectation of nursing.

I have had a good career and experienced joys and sorrows that I wouldn't trade away but at 61 I can't realistically see myself doing this for for 6 more years (Minimum full retirement age). My body is broken and I am constantly in some form of pain or another. I love nursing and the consumers I work with but feel there has to be something more. I am currently working on a line of natural supplements and am actively looking at nurse coaching.

I know it must be hard doing the balance of child care on your own but how much harder will it be when you are in school or just starting in the field. Also the average debt for nursing school is around 60K.

I don't want to discourage you and if nursing is your dream then go for it. Still, why not use your marketing skills to help advancing positive healthcare. I don't know what part of the country you are in but if you wantto get in touch send me a PM.

Hppy

kkbb, MSN, RN · Jul 3

I worked as a back office MA for 4 years before becoming RN working nights. Both positions have pros and cons, especially considering your role as a mom.

Hospital considerations: I can usually work my schedule around my kids' schedules at the hospital, provided I have enough warning. I can be at field trips, class parties, and the first and last days of school. But hospitals never close, so that means working holidays. My hospital schedules us on one "minor" (Labor Day, 4th of July, or Memorial Day) and one "major" (Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year) holiday. We have learned to work around this. Who says Thanksgiving can't be on a Wednesday or Friday? Kids loved celebrating Christmas a few days early last year. But, it can feel different celebrating on a different day.

Clinic considerations: Have you discussed which parent will take off work if a kid is sick or has appointments? I have seen people lose their jobs for calling out frequently because of childcare-related things. A common misconception is that outpatient means slower than inpatient. Nope. I had to multitask like nobody's business working outpatient because whatever I didn't get done was waiting for me the next day, along with that day's work. We also had to deal with medical emergencies (for some reason people think going to their PCP first will get them seen faster at the ED).

I will be honest, after 7 years of nights, I am looking to return to a more traditional position working M-F 9-5. I am in my late 40's, and know that I will not be able to keep up with the physical demands of my current job forever. But, that is me. I work with a few women that are nearing retirement and they run circles around the 20-year-olds. You have to consider what works best for you and your family.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Jul 3

You may want to be come an NP, since you said you want to treat. Like you, I was in the corporate world for the first half of my life. I started an Accelerated BSN at age 53, went straight on to NP school and became an NP at age 56. You don't need to work as an RN first to become a primary care or psych NP.

FNP might be a good choice - it offers the most options for jobs. While there are some telehealth jobs available, most require you to go to a clinic. Typical schedule is M-F 8 hours per day or 4 days of 10 hour days.

Psych NP (PMHNP) offers the most flexibility, as there are many telehealth jobs available, meaning you could work from home.

I'm working as a telehealth PMHNP and my employer is very flexible. I set my own schedule (within reason) and work from home. They also have a physical office, so some NPs work a hybrid schedule or some prefer to only work within the office. They pay extremely well, so I work 32 hours per week and make almost as much as I did in the corporate world.

If you already have a Bachelor's degree, you could look at Accelerated BSN or Master's Entry programs.

There are also other options for RN jobs besides working in a hospital. You could consider school nursing. Another option might be to work in a nursing home. These are less strenuous that working in a hospital.

Good luck.

Note: to the naysayers who say you have work as an RN to be an NP, I say no. The evidence does NOT support that - you can find an evidence review I posted by searching on my screen name.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 3

I got my ADN when I was 48. Though no fault of my own, I lost my job as a teacher (RIFfed teachers with masters who did not have tenure). Had a biology degree so a 2 year nursing degree was easy to get into.

I worked as a home health aide while I was in school. I would recommend doing a 2 year RN degree, LPNs and CMAs were not worth it to me at my age. After 2 years of working, I was able to do my RN-BSN in one calendar year and my hosp paid for it.

Go for it! Never too old. I am 60 now and still going strong.

allnurses Guide · Jul 4

FullGlass said:

Another option might be to work in a nursing home. These are less strenuous that working in a hospital.

This comment made me laugh as I never worked harder than I did the year I worked in a nursing home. Every day I came home completely drained.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Jul 4

hppygr8ful said:

This comment made me laugh as I never worked harder than I did the year I worked in a nursing home. Every day I came home completely drained.

Right? that work is not for everyone. I did it early in my career as a 20-something year old RN in the 90's and it's a revolving door and only hardcore nurses who genuinely love that kind of work stay. There are no staff to nurse ratios, you have hundreds of medications to pass out to more than 20 residents half of whom you are trying to track down from any specific room/wing/dining room/or activity room, you are calling physicians via answering services about worrisome labs reported to you from a specimen drawn yesterday, a CNA calls you and wants you to look at a new skin breakdown, all while trying to send a semi-crashing patient to the ED! fun.

cutiepie2012, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN, NP · Jul 6

If you really want to be a nurse, you can work in the clinic as an RN or LPN. You would work 8-9 hour day shifts. I will say LPN opportunities are mostly limited to nursing home jobs. If you want more opportunities, go for RN. I have seen many MAs struggle to find work and the pay is bad. I wouldn't waste time and money on MA school.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Jul 7

Working as an LPN or MA the days will be as long and stressful as an RN workday so don't change your education plans just based on fear of the workload you'll encounter as a nurse.

I won't try to sugarcoat this for you. Should you decide to pursue a nursing degree working as an entry-level nurse, no matter the level of license is hard. Depending on the setting you are hired into the level of physical work can be grueling. The advantage of the RN is you will very likely have more job opportunities, much more flexibility in finding employment in various work settings, and a much better chance to transition into a non-bedside role when you decide the physicality of working as a bedside nurse is too much.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Jul 9

Corey Narry said:

Right? that work is not for everyone. I did it early in my career as a 20-something year old RN in the 90's and it's a revolving door and only hardcore nurses who genuinely love that kind of work stay. There are no staff to nurse ratios, you have hundreds of medications to pass out to more than 20 residents half of whom you are trying to track down from any specific room/wing/dining room/or activity room, you are calling physicians via answering services about worrisome labs reported to you from a specimen drawn yesterday, a CNA calls you and wants you to look at a new skin breakdown, all while trying to send a semi-crashing patient to the ED! fun.

I'm in CA and we have strict ratios. I also did a clinical rotation in a nursing home in MD. My mother suffered from a long terminal decine and spent a lot of time in nursing homes and I did too, as a result. The CNAs or techs passed most meds.

I understood the OP to be concerned about physically grueling work as an RN. What you described above is hectic brain work, not physical work.

In the nursing homes I spent time in, it was the CNAs that did the physically grueling work.

The RNs I know who suffered physical injuries at work - usually the result of trying to lift or move heavy patients w/o the proper assistance or equipment. Some RNs develop overuse-type issues/injuries.