None of you will like what I have to say. But let me kick the hard truth to you. Honestly about 50% of people I talk to are in nursing school or are taking pre-reqs for nursing school. This is a major red flag for several reasons. If you have not noticed, nursing wages/benefits have been on the down trend.
Pension?? goodbye.
Crud 401k 403b plans hello. Raise? LOL "sorry hospital is working out financial issues, maybe next year".
Nevermind if you work for a community/SNF agency. Yet insurance companies, medicare derived/gov agencies, and anyone else from the top 1% will continue to blast the RN as "shortage" in order to drive drones of students into nursing schools pulling each others hair out on the way to land a seat. Proof of this is, let's see (ABSN ***** ADN, BSN, diploma, LPN/LVN bridge to RN programs, RN to BSN) Why do these different routes exist? To flood the RN market as fast as possible to drive the wage, need, and profession into the ground.
Let's look at our oh so loyal CNA's. If you can find one that isn't in nursing school to be a nurse, ask them how much they make?
Look at LPN's 20-30 years ago and look at them today??
Surely the ANA and other organizations treated them with respect. The RN is next, so make sure to support your local nursing agency so they can do nothing for you. So they can be paid off by organizations so powerful that no one can say no and "not have the power to stop a bill". So they can continue to cry nursing shortage when this is not true.
RNs today are treated like children and are required to demonstrate fundamental task and other skills in inservices which were designed for nothing else but cut throat. To place blame of UTI's and poor patient satisfaction on the nurse.
If you are an RN today, your only safety net is to become an APRN if you want to live comfortably but in several decades the APRN will be under attack just like the LPN had been an RNs currently are. "OH the aging population is going to need nurses" You really think so?
Nursing homes are shutting down and now elderly people live at home with "24 hour care takers" that get paid **** wages and do things only an RN should be doing. You don't think so? Wake up.
None of this is to say that I hate nursing. I love helping people who are mentally ill, suffering from dementia, sick, or on their death beds. It is when we do great things for them that my love for nursing shines. There aren't other people standing around to reward you for your great deeds.
When the family comes in the next day complaining about everything, they never had a chance to see how well their dying loved one was cared for. Your good deeds will never be rewarded, but in a safe place in your heart.
I am just here to open the eyes of people who are intelligent and looking for a new career. I think you may find better job security else where. Invest your time in classes and money else where. Nursing is honestly under great attack right now and the future is black.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I had the unfortunate experience of attempting to orient a Clinical Nurse Leader new grad who had not even given an IM injection and couldn't figure out how to accurately fill the syringe. However she could blabber on about how superior her Masters Degree education was compared to my community college one. She was "asked to leave" two floor RN positions and then went on to get her NP.
Here's the scary aspect: a number of these types of nurses eventually slip through the cracks and end up attaining nursing leadership positions. The thought sends literal and figurative chills up and down my spine.
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
elkpark,
I just posted on the LPN thread about my school being attached to a hospital and how we got TONS of clinical experience; the result was, like you said, being floor-duty ready from Day One.
Nurses who don't get enough clinical hands-on experience in a long, expensive education are being cheated, IMHO.
Here's the scary aspect: a number of these types of nurses eventually slip through the cracks and end up attaining nursing leadership positions. The thought sends literal and figurative chills up and down my spine.
Absolutely and because nursing in general is very enamored with fancy credentials there will continue to be a plethora of these people who quickly climb the ladder without so much as ever laying hands on a live patient.
Well, No its not needed. But what do you expect when the job market is tight for new ADN graduates? I know a lot of hospitals in my area (Chicago) are requiring the BSN (a consequence of the pursuit of magnet status). On the flip side I guess you don't have to work in the hospital. LTC, Nursing homes, SNF and home healthcare agencies are more than willing to hire a new ADN graduate. The issue is, as you've stated, a lot of grads/students don't want to "climb the ropes." And Yes they expect to get hospital jobs!!!
I will be entering an ADN program and I do plan to work as a CNA. Hopefully working while in school will give me the opportunity to develop my clinical skills. I will tell you that a lot of students do not want to work as a CNA (climb the ropes).They want to get their BSN or ADN and then...delegate..delegate..delegate. Maybe schools should require CNA experience as a pre-req into nursing school?
"if you weren't lucky enough to have a full scholarship or wealthy parents who paid for your education you freaking worked! Yup, while in school!"
Lol. Daddy government is very rich, and is willing to pay for the education of all its offspring (oops I mean citizens). It is ridiculous! And when you consider the fact that more student drop out without obtaining a degree, its even more ridiculous.
But, this is what our society is perpetuating. We live in a society where people with yearssss of proven competency is being told to get a degree. Why?
We push college on everyone! the experienced, the competent, the lazy, no one is exempt. And colleges are popping up everywhere...As one commercial advertises "You can even go to class in your pajamas"
I was considering going to a Diploma program as I need the intensive hands on training. I have decided to work as a CNA and then LPN ( the adn program has the lpn built into it) and build my skills that way. However, I wish they would start pushing hospital programs. We have one program here in IL and there are several on the East coast. They are pretty much fading away ...This is such a tragedy!
We had those for generations -- hospital-based diploma programs. I graduated from one -- I got an excellent nursing education, and graduated well-prepared to enter practice and function from Day ONE. TPTB in nursing have done everything they could to eliminate them and push nursing education into college/university settings.
Away from the bedside and into the book case. I had the unfortunate experience of attempting to orient a Clinical Nurse Leader new grad who had not even given an IM injection and couldn't figure out how to accurately fill the syringe. However she could blabber on about how superior her Masters Degree education was compared to my community college one. She was "asked to leave" two floor RN positions and then went on to get her NP.
And this should not be allowed. If you have not proven to be competent as a floor nurse, you should not be allowed entry into a MSN program! And surely not admitted into a NP program.
"Nursing needs to implement slightly higher barriers to entry. Moreover, entry requirements should be standardized and consistent across the country."
Yes! I think our standards for entry should be as high as pharmacy or physical therapy. I have so much respect for the nursing profession and what nurses do. We're not simply pill-pushers or butt-wipers. Our decisions can mean life or death for a patient. Other healthcare professionals rely on OUR diligent assessments to make their decisions. We really need to (for a lack of better phrasing) "weed out" those who don't make the cut. Nursing isn't for everyone. Yes, nurses are compassionate and kind and blah blah blah... but you have to be both compassionate AND smart; the latter doesn't get enough credit (that's why "smart nurses" are often asked the dreaded question, "Why didn't you become a doctor... you're so smart!").
I think that you are quite right. It looks like we are starting to backtrack, rather than advance in much of the nursing field. When you think about it, that is what Florence Nightingale had to deal with. She had to overcome similar problems. Nursing had been considered a vulgar, or common profession for any woman low enough to spend her time doing it. It looks like since we have forgotten to learn from history, we are repeating it.
I am not speaking about those nurses who truly have a calling and put their life into it. I do not know if I qualify in that just yet. My desire is to go overseas and do nursing there. It does annoy me to hear people say, 'get your RN, it pays more'. Sure, I understand. I am getting my LPN right now and have considered RN, but the only reason I did so was that I would have a greater knowledge of medical skills to help people. When the first reason given is to increase salary, it seems like the person is gravitating to looking at nursing more as a business.
So for all of you who are called to nursing and what it really stands for, I commend you. Keep up the good work! For those who are in it because 'it really would be cool to play around with medical stuff', and 'it is an easy way to make money', please consider a different field. We need to raise the quality of our nursing profession as something that people can appreciate, not something that can easily be replaced.
Thanks all. I have enjoyed reading the input on this topic.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
When the first reason given is to increase salary, it seems like the person is gravitating to looking at nursing more as a business.
Monetary compensation is important. Just imagine if your employer suddenly announced, "We can no longer issue a paycheck to members of nursing staff starting on the 1st of next month. Since you all were called to this profession, we already feel that the job is already paying you intangibly, so we don't feel you need anymore money. You all are being repaid with compassion, our appreciation, and praise for a job well done!"
Another person's motivations for entering a career pathway are absolutely none of our business. A person with a calling might not have the intelligence level or thinking skills to practice safely. Likewise, many people who are in it for the scientific aspects or the money are high-quality clinicians.
I am not a martyr who intends to put my life into a profession that is dominated by profits over healing. I expect nothing less than to be paid a competitive rate for the services I render; hence, I earned my RN license after four years of working as an LPN. Other health professions with businesslike mindsets have been able to elevate the caliber of new entrants, too.
Yep, I've had several nurse managers who fit that description. Their ignorance of their incompetence is laughable, and dangerous. It can border on delusional.
Here's the scary aspect: a number of these types of nurses eventually slip through the cracks and end up attaining nursing leadership positions. The thought sends literal and figurative chills up and down my spine.
Nursing was never a calling for me, I potentially had a good aptitude for it, I went into it because it was a sensible career choice. Turned out to be one of my best decisions I've ever made but I sure can't claim any altruistic motives at the time.
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
Nursing was never a calling for me, I potentially had a good aptitude for it, I went into it because it was a sensible career choice. Turned out to be one of my best decisions I've ever made but I sure can't claim any altruistic motives at the time.
Ditto.
I've told the story of being an NA and asking the nurses question after question only to have one say with good-humored exasperation, "Why don't you just go to nursing school and leave me alone!" I thought little of it right then, but later it was kind of like, "Huh, Why not?" I liked the old people and it was interesting to me.
It seemed like the thing to do. Since I needed to work to support myself, might as well work at something solid, that I had enjoyed so far....
TheCommuter, BSN, RN
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