I definitely not recommend nursing.

Jojo ford · Aug 7, 2002

I think you misunderstood my previous message. I have nurses for years and still enjoy my profesion. I do not think that telling a prospective canditate that it is all a hoot would provide them with much help. Nursing Education is no longer a cheap method of enlightenment through the apprentice style training it used to be. It is now quite an expensive course that does little to enlighten the student as to the trials and tribulations the career path will provide and I believe it is the shock they encounter that sees many opt out before they have completed the degree or simply move onto another degree or career path that may still be human service oriented but alas not in nursing. I still have patients I cared for many years before who give me a smile in thanks for my efforts and that is what keeps me in the job...certainly not the income which is hardly commensurate with the responsibility we labour under. I enjoy keeping Doctors on their toes and have saved them from many major boo boos and this is purely to fulfil my role as ensurer of patient safety and care. Have a nice day!

JennieJenRN · Mar 9, 2004

Is there any field out there that does not have it's up and downs? I think i you hate your job look for a new one. If you wok with adults try peds. nursing has such avast aray o things yu can do! you have to be able to find your place and sometimes that place may change. I love the field would encourage anyone who is hinking to shadow a nurse because Yes some people have no idea what we do and can't handle the demands of it. We just hired a new tech she had a full ride a very impessive school an one week on the unit she is now a teaching major! you have your ups and downs to that ield also! As far as pay ou new grads sat at 20 and you get a raise on your anniver. date and on our conract date!! has anyone ever thought of UNION??? With all of the extras we get we need to add 10% to our houly wage. All because of union!! just a thouht

Blackcat99 · Mar 9, 2004

Becoming a nurse was the biggest mistake of my life. If I had to do it over I would definately find a different profession. :crying2:

movealong · Mar 9, 2004

Nursing? It's a yes and no type thing for me. Over the years there have been times when I wanted to leave nursing. I wanted to know what a job would be like that didn't not involve death and dying. That was when I was an oncology nurse and I transferred out of that ward shortly after I realized I was burnt out.

Changing the areas I worked have helped over the years. From hospitals to clinics to doctors offices to private companies and so.

It is good to know you can stay employed almost anywhere you move to. It may not be exactly the area of nursing you want, but you can work. This was important to me as I am single and always have taken care of myself.

But bad hours and sometimes unreasonable expectations from employers: patient load, safety issues and hours can drag one down over time. If I had to do it all again? I'm not so sure I would. I think I might have liked a job where everything is not so serious all the time.

soltera · Mar 9, 2004

I basically gave up 2 years of my sons lives when they were 8 and 10 to complete my RN. I never saw them awake till the weekend. I had school from 0630 till 12:45 and worked as a secretary on a psych unit from 1400 till 2230. I thought I was doing it to provide them with a secure future. All it gave them was a mother who was stressed out, had back surgery twice, and missed their school concerts and PTA meetings because she was always at work. Luckily they are now grown and have turned out well. But I missed too much, and I can't get it back. I don't feel we are compensated for our sacrifices, nor are we supported or respected by "mahogany hall" administrators. And I would like to know where in this country an RN makes $25.00 to $30.00 an hour. I've been an ICU nurse for 10 years and the best I pull is $18.00. No it's not just about the money, it's about not having the time to give the nursing care you want to give. If I have a patient going for CABG, and they are nervous and scared, I don't have time to sit and explain and encourage, but I'm supposed to take the time to write on the education sheet the teaching I've done. That's hypocritical, but it's the facts. No I wouldn't recommend this back wrenching, exhausting , thankless, tiring, heart wrenching, disrespected job to anyone.

you asked about salary,, here in ny rns make 45 an hour!!

1styear · Mar 17, 2004

Originally Posted by tremmi

"I basically gave up 2 years of my sons lives when they were 8 and 10 to complete my RN. I never saw them awake till the weekend. I had school from 0630 till 12:45 and worked as a secretary on a psych unit from 1400 till 2230. I thought I was doing it to provide them with a secure future. All it gave them was a mother who was stressed out, had back surgery twice, and missed their school concerts and PTA meetings because she was always at work. Luckily they are now grown and have turned out well. But I missed too much, and I can't get it back. I don't feel we are compensated for our sacrifices, nor are we supported or respected by "mahogany hall" administrators. And I would like to know where in this country an RN makes $25.00 to $30.00 an hour. I've been an ICU nurse for 10 years and the best I pull is $18.00. No it's not just about the money, it's about not having the time to give the nursing care you want to give. If I have a patient going for CABG, and they are nervous and scared, I don't have time to sit and explain and encourage, but I'm supposed to take the time to write on the education sheet the teaching I've done. That's hypocritical, but it's the facts. No I wouldn't recommend this back wrenching, exhausting , thankless, tiring, heart wrenching, disrespected job to anyone."

Someone having to work an insane amount of hours while in nursing school is not a reflection of nursing but is one on their lifestyle. Same goes for missing out on childrens activities. Job is thankless? Maybe the pts have no reason to be thankful for your care? NY pays nurses $30 an hour and that's a low estimate for some parts. You don't make that? You're unhappy with your wages --change positions or employer. Your back hurts? Go work in a doctor's office or become a school nurse or a pharm rep or work for a plastic surgeon. The options are so plentiful that there's no justifying some of your complaints.

Asiancutie · Mar 17, 2004

ditto to above post. yeah, why didn't you take student loans while going to school so you don't have to work. don't you have tuition reimbursements at work? i really want to have kids but im holdin it off because i want to finish school first. life is what you make it and you create the circumstances around you is my opinion. but don't listen to me. i'm young, inexperienced and stupid.

KarenAR · Apr 18, 2004

Someone having to work an insane amount of hours while in nursing school is not a reflection of nursing but is one on their lifestyle. Same goes for missing out on childrens activities. Job is thankless? Maybe the pts have no reason to be thankful for your care? NY pays nurses $30 an hour and that's a low estimate for some parts. You don't make that? You're unhappy with your wages --change positions or employer. Your back hurts? Go work in a doctor's office or become a school nurse or a pharm rep or work for a plastic surgeon. The options are so plentiful that there's no justifying some of your complaints.

I must say, this was a vicious response to the original post, and was definitely spoken like someone who has not had to walk a mile in this nurse's shoes! You should be thankful that you are apparently so fortunate as to have never experienced these frustrations. Please take a second to step back and realize the following:

(1) Some people DO have to work to put themselves through school and cannot take on student loans.

(2) Some people ARE at risk of losing their jobs if they miss too many days due to kids' activities. Some people DO have to miss kids' activities if they want to be able to keep feeding/clothing/housing those same kids.

(3) MANY areas of the country pay WAY less than NY, no matter who the employer is. MANY people cannot just pick up and move to NY for the pay.

(4) Non-hospital options are not instantly available overnight. They often require EXPERIENCE in those specific areas. Just because there are many different types of nursing, that doesn't mean you can just switch areas whenever you want, as quickly as you want to.

And - as for your suggestion that maybe Tremmi's patients had no reason to be thankful for her care - good grief! I hope you don't take the same attitude with YOUR patients that you took with Tremmi! Maybe try a little more sensitivity to where people are coming from???? Geez..... :angryfire

renerian, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2004

I missed alot too but it gave my children food on the table, clothes, healthcare, prescriptions, and a safe home. Worked with little kids and went to night school. Worked full time to get my other degrees. Yes it is a sacrifice.

Alot to think about I know. Your underpaid.

renerian

orrnlori, RN · Apr 18, 2004

I must say, this was a vicious response to the original post, and was definitely spoken like someone who has not had to walk a mile in this nurse's shoes! You should be thankful that you are apparently so fortunate as to have never experienced these frustrations. Please take a second to step back and realize the following:
(1) Some people DO have to work to put themselves through school and cannot take on student loans.
(2) Some people ARE at risk of losing their jobs if they miss too many days due to kids' activities. Some people DO have to miss kids' activities if they want to be able to keep feeding/clothing/housing those same kids.
(3) MANY areas of the country pay WAY less than NY, no matter who the employer is. MANY people cannot just pick up and move to NY for the pay.
(4) Non-hospital options are not instantly available overnight. They often require EXPERIENCE in those specific areas. Just because there are many different types of nursing, that doesn't mean you can just switch areas whenever you want, as quickly as you want to.
And - as for your suggestion that maybe Tremmi's patients had no reason to be thankful for her care - good grief! I hope you don't take the same attitude with YOUR patients that you took with Tremmi! Maybe try a little more sensitivity to where people are coming from???? Geez..... :angryfire

If you look at this poster's information they are a first year nursing student. He/she has much to learn about life, and about being a nurse. If the tone of the response is indicative of attitude, this first year student will not finish.

dsczephyr · Apr 19, 2004

This particular post sure generated a lot of response! My own perspective is a bit different. I have been an RN for less than one year. I started my prereqs more than ten years ago and with a military husband, I just kept plugging away. I wanted to be a nurse so very badly. Doing volunteer EMS only whetted my appetite.

It was the high of my life (next to marrying my husband and having my children) when I graduated nursing school with high honors, took the boards and learned that I had made RN on the Fourth of July. Since then, I have become very sad and disillusioned about nursing. I started off in a major teaching hospital and left after five months. In my evaluation there I learned that I asked too many questions which showed I didn't think independently or critically. After, I felt awkward about asking questions and felt I could not stay there. I was not actually asked to leave, but knew that it was only a matter of time. So I left and went to a local community hospital.

At the end of my orientation at the community hospital I was asked to write a "nice letter of resignation." I was told that I didn't manage my time well because I talked too much to the patients and tried to solve all their problems, and I couldn't. I was told I should be doing research or teaching nursing by my nurse manager. She read a statement to me by my preceptor, a wonderful nurse who had been in nursing for decades that said that I knew more about nursing than she did. My evening preceptor told me I was "brilliant" and that my head got in the way of getting things done.

Funny. I was usually done within twenty minutes of my shift with everything the vast majority of my worked shifts while orienting on days. It changed when I went to evenings. My preceptor of evenings had been a nurse a year longer than me and had once been a classmate. With her, if I was doing "this," I should have been doing "that" and vice-versa. My timing was never what it should have been.

Today, I can't even get an interview for another nursing position. I've held two nursing positions in eight months and my guess is, no one can get past that.

So now, I work per diem as a case manager in a domestic violence shelter (work that I love, but it's not nursing). It pays $12.00 an hour. My supervisor there has told me she thinks "very highly" of my work. I also still do volunteer EMS and no one has any complaints about my time management at a scene or in the back of an ambulance.

As much as I love the case management work, I miss nursing. I would absolutely love to be able to recommend nursing as a career, but my experiences keep me from doing so. I think nursing as a profession still has a lot of 'growing up' to do in terms of how it treats its members.

KarenAR · Apr 19, 2004

dsczephyr, I am sorry you have had that experience! It is a shame that questioning and thinking - and heaven forbid, talking with patients and their families - are not valued more highly in the clinical setting.

I have also had the problem of being made to feel that I ask too many questions. (By my charge nurse, in particular...) In school, they really pounded it into us that we must always do everything the exactly right and evidence-based way...for that and my own reasons, I am always looking to find out the exactly right way to do everything before I do it.

As a new nurse, there are a lot of things that are still new to me - and unfortunately I do not have time to go look up the latest research in the middle of my shift. So I ask questions. I personally think that's better than screwing up in the middle of doing whatever it is that needs to be done!

I think nursing as a profession still has a lot of 'growing up' to do in terms of how it treats its members.

I absolutely agree with this statement!

Do you also find that nursing tends to be extremely clique-y? I feel like the more friendly I am with the nurses in my unit's "popular" clique, the easier my work life is. (Fortunately for me, I tend to be friendly with ALL my coworkers, so it works out OK - but I still don't like the feeling I get about this. What happens if I'm someday not in the clique's good graces?)