No I wouldn't recommend nursing

Nurses Career Support

Published

You are reading page 11 of No I wouldn't recommend nursing

NaomieRN

1,853 Posts

35/hr???? I made $15/hr at the hospital I just resigned from!!!!!!! As an RN! The part I hate about nursing is that it is such a huge responsibility. That is what makes me want to leave the profession. One error and it could mean someone's life.

I cant believe you only making $15/hr as an RN. In Connecticut the CNAs make about that in some nursing homes and hospitals. Lpns make about $26/hr and RNs $30 and up.

If you are in the profession for love, you wont see all the responsibilities. I know RNs who have worked in hospitals for 30 plus years and still look forward to go to work everyday because they have a love for the profession. Nursing is a calling from God, if you do not have that calling, you wont make it. I think that is the reason so many people are frustrated, they do not have the calling. God did not call them to take care of the sick because taking care of the sick, requires love and patient. Not everyone was born to be a nurse. Some people do it for the money; others for the passion. You know the ones who are in it for the passion. They dont complain, they go out of their way to help the sick. They go the extra mile.

One thing I like about nursing is the many opportunities that you have. You can do home care, hospitals, clinics, Dr's office, school nurse, research etc. What other professions can you have all these options?

God will only recommends nursing to people who have love and passion for the field. If that's not you, get out now people someone gets hurt. I know in my heart, that God has called me to be a nurse b/c after reading all the frustrations of unhappy nurses, I am still on fire to be a nurse. I cannot wait to start helping the sick and the needy around the world.

scampi710

71 Posts

:uhoh3: HMMMMM. Let me see. Went to work. Had 5 critical patients. Had marginal monitoring equipment (the hospital is "renovating"). Had to use the computer before I could start on my patients....OR if the patient is drawing his last breath, I have to save his life, perform the interventions, get the meds from pyxsis (more codes), get the pt. stabilized, then put all into the computer, get the pt. to ICU, satisfy the beancounters that I am turning my patients over in timely acceptability, deal with incompetent administration, make $25.00/hr (in TX that's GOOD), keep up with more critical patients as they are rolling in from EMS, lifting obese pts. from guerny to stretcher (often with minimal help since the rest of the staff is also pounding out pts.), not have a bathroom break, and protect the hospital from lawsuits despite the fact the administration does nothing to make my job easier (i.e. computer etc.).

HMMMM. Went to the bank. Three people there. Quiet enviorment. Occassional customer. Lovely surroundings. Long lunches. Full Benefits. Soft music in background. Plenty of help. No responsibility for saving a life or the legal liability thereof.

Decent pay considering the lack of stress.

Am I burned out?:uhoh21: Would never recommend nursing.

nursemelani

213 Posts

:uhoh3: HMMMMM. Let me see. Went to work. Had 5 critical patients. Had marginal monitoring equipment (the hospital is "renovating"). Had to use the computer before I could start on my patients....OR if the patient is drawing his last breath, I have to save his life, perform the interventions, get the meds from pyxsis (more codes), get the pt. stabilized, then put all into the computer, get the pt. to ICU, satisfy the beancounters that I am turning my patients over in timely acceptability, deal with incompetent administration, make $25.00/hr (in TX that's GOOD), keep up with more critical patients as they are rolling in from EMS, lifting obese pts. from guerny to stretcher (often with minimal help since the rest of the staff is also pounding out pts.), not have a bathroom break, and protect the hospital from lawsuits despite the fact the administration does nothing to make my job easier (i.e. computer etc.).

HMMMM. Went to the bank. Three people there. Quiet enviorment.

Occassional customer. Lovely surroundings. Long lunches. Full Benefits. Soft music in background. Plenty of help. No responsibility for saving a life or the legal liability thereof.

Decent pay considering the lack of stress.

Am I burned out?:uhoh21: Would never recommend nursing.

OMG, posts like these just confirm that I never want to work in acute care. Except maybe L&D/post-partum.

Loving home health. Those laser skin centers hire RNs to zap wrinkles. That is a nice spa-like environment. hmmmmmmmm...

Kelly_the_Great

553 Posts

Specializes in home & public health, med-surg, hospice.
If you are in the profession for love, you wont see all the responsibilities. I know RNs who have worked in hospitals for 30 plus years and still look forward to go to work everyday because they have a love for the profession. Nursing is a calling from God, if you do not have that calling, you wont make it. I think that is the reason so many people are frustrated, they do not have the calling. God did not call them to take care of the sick because taking care of the sick, requires love and patient. Not everyone was born to be a nurse. Some people do it for the money; others for the passion. You know the ones who are in it for the passion. They dont complain, they go out of their way to help the sick. They go the extra mile.

God will only recommends nursing to people who have love and passion for the field. If that's not you, get out now people someone gets hurt. I know in my heart, that God has called me to be a nurse b/c after reading all the frustrations of unhappy nurses, I am still on fire to be a nurse. I cannot wait to start helping the sick and the needy around the world.

FutureNurse35,

I really admire your enthusiasm! :)

Word of caution though, be careful not to over-romanticize your view of the nurse's role. It's a lot of hard work and responsibility, often w/ very little support. Frequently, new nurses who have an unrealistic view/expectations of the actual nursing environment are the 1st to crash and burn, unfortunately, because you haven't been prepared for what is to come. The world of "NCLEX" hospitals/patients/doctors/coworkers do not exist in reality.

Also, please know nurses should have the right to demand and expect a fair wage for all they do. This is a defining characteristic of a professional and there should be no shame in it, whatsoever! It's a "divide & conquer" issue, promoted by those that truly have neither the nurse nor the patient's best interest at heart (rather the bottom dollar), to believe it must be one or the other - working as a nurse for money vs. a "calling" to help others.

Best of luck to you.

nursemelani

213 Posts

FutureNurse35,

I really admire your enthusiasm! :)

Word of caution though, be careful not to over-romanticize your view of the nurse's role. It's a lot of hard work and responsibility, often w/ very little support. Frequently, new nurses who have an unrealistic view/expectations of the actual nursing environment are the 1st to crash and burn, unfortunately, because you haven't been prepared for what is to come. The world of "NCLEX" hospitals/patients/doctors/coworkers do not exist in reality.

Also, please know nurses should have the right to demand and expect a fair wage for all they do. This is a defining characteristic of a professional and there should be no shame in it, whatsoever! It's a "divide & conquer" issue, promoted by those that truly have neither the nurse nor the patient's best interest at heart (rather the bottom dollar), to believe it must be one or the other - working as a nurse for money vs. a "calling" to help others.

Best of luck to you.

Amen to that. You definately need a loving/caring attitude to be a nurse, but that is a small fraction of what it takes to be a nurse. And hey, nursing school is really hard, and working in the hospital is extremely stressful. Nurses deserve to be paid well. If you want to do loving, hands on care, and don't care about the money, a CNA would probably be a better job. The higher you go in nursing, the less direct patient care and more paperwork there is.

wincha

339 Posts

I cant believe you only making $15/hr as an RN. In Connecticut the CNAs make about that in some nursing homes and hospitals. Lpns make about $26/hr and RNs $30 and up.

If you are in the profession for love, you wont see all the responsibilities. I know RNs who have worked in hospitals for 30 plus years and still look forward to go to work everyday because they have a love for the profession. Nursing is a calling from God, if you do not have that calling, you wont make it. I think that is the reason so many people are frustrated, they do not have the calling. God did not call them to take care of the sick because taking care of the sick, requires love and patient. Not everyone was born to be a nurse. Some people do it for the money; others for the passion. You know the ones who are in it for the passion. They dont complain, they go out of their way to help the sick. They go the extra mile.

One thing I like about nursing is the many opportunities that you have. You can do home care, hospitals, clinics, Dr's office, school nurse, research etc. What other professions can you have all these options?

God will only recommends nursing to people who have love and passion for the field. If that's not you, get out now people someone gets hurt. I know in my heart, that God has called me to be a nurse b/c after reading all the frustrations of unhappy nurses, I am still on fire to be a nurse. I cannot wait to start helping the sick and the needy around the world.

God? recommends people to nursing???? Oh my. There are nurses who love to care for their patients however if the hospital short staffs it does take away from "your calling" as you put it. Maybe the joining a religious order is more appropriate here giving free care while being a nurse.

Just because you complain or even leave patient care due to the staffing problems that are here these days doesn't mean you are not a good nurse. Actually there are times where it is dangerous to be a nurse and I have refused those assignments.

AtlantaRN, RN

763 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice, Home Health.

my biggest hassle with nursing is management....my issue is scheduling, but on the whole, the nursing part is what I love...poop happens...that is just the way it is and I DISPISE the nurse that WON:T clean a patient or has the pat comment "let me get your tech."

linda

WDWpixieRN, RN

2,237 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
HMMMM. Went to the bank. Three people there. Quiet enviorment. Occassional customer. Lovely surroundings. Long lunches. Full Benefits. Soft music in background. Plenty of help. No responsibility for saving a life or the legal liability thereof.

Decent pay considering the lack of stress.

Am I burned out?:uhoh21: Would never recommend nursing.

Oh, yeah...been there, done that....did you "sell" you expected quota of credit cards/mortgages/personal loans? Have you EVER dealt with people and their money? You know it's your personal fault as the teller EVERY month when their account's overdrawn (again) and the corporate bigwigs have the NERVE to charge them fees for that? It's your personal fault when the RTC comes in and takes over your bank or you're sold to another bank and they decide to renegotiate the rates (and they can) and the customers are sure it's YOUR fault?!?! Oh, and how DARE you charge them for a cashier's check or money order or whatever because they have been customers for years....them and their $25 savings account. And everything has to be run by a manager for initials or an okay or a signature because you can't make that decision. And if the customer doesn't like it, you get to hear about it. Oh, and most fun I had was wondering everytime a strange, doped up person came swaggering in if THIS was the guy with the gun and which one of us was going to be lucky enough to have him end up at their window?

And yes, the hours are set, there's sometimes nice music in the background and you do get a real lunch....but hey, for $10/hour (are they really hiring full-time and giving benefits these days?!?!), someone else can have that.

As someone pointed out earlier, there's ups and downs to every career. To each his own.:coollook:

mtngrl, ASN, RN

312 Posts

I left my low-paying hospital job in med/surg due to inadequate orientation, and the fact I was to be the charge nurse and the only RN on the floor! I did not feel that was safe for the patients at all! I am a new nurse! It is too much responsibility when you are the only RN with 30 patients on the floor and you are the only one that can do the IV pushes, etc. I would spend so much time doing the LPN's pushes that I would barely see my own patients! It is just not fair to have one RN on the floor and 5 LPN's. I do contract nursing now. A few hours a day, low stress, and much better pay.

nursemelani

213 Posts

I left my low-paying hospital job in med/surg due to inadequate orientation, and the fact I was to be the charge nurse and the only RN on the floor! I did not feel that was safe for the patients at all! I am a new nurse! It is too much responsibility when you are the only RN with 30 patients on the floor and you are the only one that can do the IV pushes, etc. I would spend so much time doing the LPN's pushes that I would barely see my own patients! It is just not fair to have one RN on the floor and 5 LPN's. I do contract nursing now. A few hours a day, low stress, and much better pay.

What is contract nursing?

marineRN

18 Posts

Specializes in PACU, ER, PAIN.

Well, this is my first post. I have been reading threads off and on for the past four years. I graduate with my BSN in May, and have finally decided to post.

A couple of things I have learned:

1. If you do not want to be discouraged about nursing, do not read a post with a title "No I wouldn't recommend nursing".

2. Some people like to complain. I had a Master Sergeant who used to tell us that we could either be a thermostat or a thermometer. Meaning you can simply mirror the environment you are in or you can change it. Not that I don't understand the frustrations of the nurses who have posted, I have worked as a tech for the past few years and can see some of those aspects. However, we all have the rights as civilian workers to walk if the job is that bad. I don't understand complaining about a job for years and to keep doing it.

The thruth of the matter is some people are unhappy people. They believe that if they get this degree or that job they would be happy, just like they thought that becoming an RN would be the thing to make them happy. I believe that when people become that negative about their selfappointed position in life, they need to take a step back and reassess their situation. If asked what changes would make them happy in their job, most would not have an answer. The ones that did would probably still be unhappy if all requests were met.

Happy Living.....

scampi710

71 Posts

Well, this is my first post. I have been reading threads off and on for the past four years. I graduate with my BSN in May, and have finally decided to post.

A couple of things I have learned:

1. If you do not want to be discouraged about nursing, do not read a post with a title "No I wouldn't recommend nursing".

2. Some people like to complain. I had a Master Sergeant who used to tell us that we could either be a thermostat or a thermometer. Meaning you can simply mirror the environment you are in or you can change it. Not that I don't understand the frustrations of the nurses who have posted, I have worked as a tech for the past few years and can see some of those aspects. However, we all have the rights as civilian workers to walk if the job is that bad. I don't understand complaining about a job for years and to keep doing it.

The thruth of the matter is some people are unhappy people. They believe that if they get this degree or that job they would be happy, just like they thought that becoming an RN would be the thing to make them happy. I believe that when people become that negative about their selfappointed position in life, they need to take a step back and reassess their situation. If asked what changes would make them happy in their job, most would not have an answer. The ones that did would probably still be unhappy if all requests were met.

Happy Living.....

Welcome to nursing

Nursing is not a job. It is a profession, and as such we have professional ethics, responsibilities, and standards to effect and perform quality life saving care.

In our profession there are multitudinous barriers we have to overcome on a daily basis if we are to fulfill our professional standards of care.

Our primary focii are our patients, their safety, required interventions, medications, and getting them through the system optimally with us maintaining professional non-judgemental standards of care. (That means no patient abuse) which is often apparent in emergency staffs.

Unfortunately, the hospital systems and their "mission statements" are anything but easy to deal with. The beancounters who essentially "make policy" really have very little reality orientation or clinical expertise.

They crunch numbers and write up statements that look good to the public/BOD's/and regulatory watchdog associaltions like JCHO.

The REALITY as RN's is that we are understaffed, frequently work with inadequate monitoring equipment, do not have the support of our administrators when we intervene appropriately for the patient and the intervention conflicts with "policy", are rarely supported by each other when administrators step into the arena (although we do support each other in private), are required to have vast stores of anatomical, physiological and medical knowledge, work long shifts often without breaks, are condencended to by physicians/surgeons, work weekends, holidays, rarely get requested days off or requested vacation time (because "of staffing"), have huge professional liability, and are usually scapegoated if a patient is harmed, are manipulated into feeling guilty and/or inadequate if we verbalize desent regarding policies/issues by the passive/aggressive nurse management style when the nm's state "there is no reason you can't do (whatever) everyone else does", we are hardly paid a scale commessrate to our skills/knowlege (in the south anyway), and are constantly exposed to diseases which can easily incapacitate ourselves and our families as well.

I believe anyone who has stayed in this profession has every right to verbalize their frustrations, inasmuch as there are no sounding boards or outlets for us.

When you are a professional nurse for 10 or 15 years, you might then make an empathetic and intelligent assessment as to what we are all about.

It is NOT "a job".

+ Add a Comment