I am considering going back to school for nursing. I've been a CNA for 11 years and have worked in various aspects of nursing. I enjoy the patient contact and the caring/helping part of nursing.
Not to mention the flexibility that I have in this field.
I have many concerns, though. The high patient loads, the politics, the backbiting, the sad and depressing things that I will encounter, etc. What if I make a mistake? This is someone's LIFE!
Are all of these feelings normal?
Would like to hear from other registered nurses who would or would not considering nursing again.
I love nursing and can not imagine doing anything else but my answer is no, I wouldn't do it again. Mine are not the "typical" reasons: staffing levels/patient loads, wages, lack of professional recognition.
When I started school September 1986 at 22 years old there was no reason to suspect that I have a defective spine and that the basic physical activities/demands of nursing would accelerate its deterioration and leave me disabled before 40.
I've invested a lot of time and effort in constantly upgrading my computer skills, only to watch them become obsolete within a year's time. Now that sucks.
Originally posted by Hellllllo Nurse
I've been thinking of getting a BS in computer science in order to leave nursing. Is this a bad idea?
Only if you want a job that pays well. (Just kidding )
IT might come back, but I doubt it will be the same as five years ago.
The problem now is many companies are transferring a lot of those jobs to places like India and Asia, where they can pay programmers $10,000 a year or less for the same work.
I've been thinking of getting a BS in computer science in order to leave nursing.
Is this a bad idea? I'd really like a drastic change. Staring at a computer screen all day and not dealing with people very much sounds good to me.
Bad idea? depends on your passion. If you are "into" computing, then it's not a "bad" idea. It's a difficult career path though. There are a LOT of very talented people who were layed off because of the the dot.com bust, the bad economy, AND the outsourcing to cheaper labor in India, Pakistan, etc.. The competition for jobs is unreal.
And . . . It can be quite rewarding.
Beautiful thing about computing is you can "try before you commit" as a hobbiest. So build a couple PCs, set up a home network with Linux and Windows, write some PERL\Javascript programs, create a blog site detailing your experience and have a blast. If you can do this in a way that complements your current job\nursing, then that's the way to go.
If you get excited, your coffee consumption increases dramatically at night, then take a couple of courses at the local community college and join your local LUG (Linux user group). If you get bored after a couple months -- well, you've learned something before committing to a BS in CS.
Another idea -- figure out how to leverage your Nursing experience. That could lead to such things as insurance underwriter, risk analyst, worker's comp specialist, lab technician, author of nursing books, etc. These professions rely heavily on computers and get a good amount to screen time.
It's refreshing NOT to hear the "you must be burned out and all jobs have their draw-backs" line often posted on this type of thread by people who are not yet nurses.
Excellent point as well. If my posts came off that way, I apologize since that certainly wasn't my intent.:)
At my age, after being downsized to death in various professions --- lousy bosses and politics in all of them --- you start looking at the hardcore economics of it.
Nursing fit the bill in many respects. You can't hire someone off the street to do it. You can't export the job overseas. And, if demand remains high with the aging baby boom generation, I can hopefully jump around until I find the right situation.
If I end up hating it, well, I hated all my other jobs too. (Just kidding) :chuckle
At least I'll still be able to pay the bills until, once again, I figure out something else.
As opposed to what? Sure I could go back to teaching and maybe I could be placed back in a classroom where 50% are ESL (Spanish speaking, specifically) and I know some French and that is about it. I could try to educate some young minds while other young minds are high on drugs and doing everything in their power to inhibit the educational experience. Or how about the overcrowded classrooms and absolutely no support from admin...maybe this sounds familiar to some?
How 'bout back into retail management where the highlight of my day is directing some little ole lady who is looking at chapstick, asking "is this where the laxatives are?" How fullfilling. Combine that with the low pay, excessive work hours and often being in charge of a work force of teenagers who could care less about what they are doing.
As a child I wanted to be a doctor. I spent my entire education working towards that goal. Thanks to a test (rather the inability to finish the test) that did not happen. After exploring the aforementioned careers I decided to return to school and work towards paralleling my childhood dream of being an MD. I met several nurses and soon realized nursing would be the perfect marriage of my passions...caring and psychology. So here I am today. I certainly hear and understand the concerns that have been expressed by others on here--pt ratios, respect, pay, hours, etc. It still boils down to 1 thing. I help people. I care for them. And I would rather do that in less than perfect conditions than anything else in perfect conditions. You ask if I would enter nursing if I had to do it all over again. I am responding with a resounding ...YES!!! I am blessed to be a nurse.
I supervise people "Who could care less about what they are doing" only they aren't teens in retail, they're techs and CNAS. Most are in their 40s and 50s.
Good point. But I do think it's more of a level playing field.
This issue actually came up on another thread recently. At least foreign nurses have the same cost of living as we do. It's not the same as an overseas Indian computer programmer who will gladly work for peanuts.
I realize that a lot of companies hire foreign nurses for cheap. But they will hopefully clue into the job market and demand the same wages. I just ran across an EEOC case where Filipino nurses successfully sued for more compensation.
Someone also mentioned that foreign nurses now have to fulfill new English language requirements. If this is true, it may not be as easy for them to come here in the future.
In the end, I'd prefer the import issue, rather than the export issue which, I believe, can be much more of a problem. But, of course, I could be wrong.
As of this writing my daughter wants to be a rock star (or lawyer) and my son wants to be a professional football player.
-HBS
:chuckle Our children seem to be the "I want to be famous" generation....I saw a psychology commentary on Tv about this the other day. The doctor surmised it was due to the Reality TV, Survivor, American Idol, pop and sports icons the media exposes our kids to at every turn.
My son at 21 STILL keeps dreaming he can be famous at something...anything....bless him! :roll
No. It has been quite an experience and I have to admit it has, in large part, molded me into who I am today, but if I could start all over again? No way would I follow the same path.
I love being a nurse however if I was 18 again and could start over I would be a surgeon..plastic surgeon to be exact..yes, I would do the tummy tucks, etc but I would also do burn victims, birth defects and the like...what a great thing to be able to make people look and feel better about themselves. I love to paint and do craft stuff so to me that would be the ultimate project..either that or I would have my own flower shop and deliver flowers..everyone loves to get flowers....Erin
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kids
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I love nursing and can not imagine doing anything else but my answer is no, I wouldn't do it again. Mine are not the "typical" reasons: staffing levels/patient loads, wages, lack of professional recognition.
When I started school September 1986 at 22 years old there was no reason to suspect that I have a defective spine and that the basic physical activities/demands of nursing would accelerate its deterioration and leave me disabled before 40.