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.
Quite right, some people do have a superficial understanding of caring. Those who do not realize competence and caring are inseparable, for example.
As Libby1987 pointed out, anyone who truly did not care would not care enough to be competent.
Caring is 100% demonstrated through one's actions. Simply saying "I love my patients and helping people and sitting on the edge of the bed holding their hand etc." does not automatically make you a caring nurse. What determines if you're a caring nurse is being good at your job and advocating for your patient. Whether your motivation for becoming a nurse was altruistic or financial is completely irrelevant.
Caring enough to be competent is a good start, if one wishes to keep one's license and one's job.
Quite right, some people do have a superficial understanding of caring. Those who do not realize competence and caring are inseparable, for example.
As Libby1987 pointed out, anyone who truly did not care would not care enough to be competent.
Caring is 100% demonstrated through one's actions. Simply saying "I love my patients and helping people and sitting on the edge of the bed holding their hand etc." does not automatically make you a caring nurse. What determines if you're a caring nurse is being good at your job and advocating for your patient. Whether your motivation for becoming a nurse was altruistic or financial is completely irrelevant.
Quite right, some people do have a superficial understanding of caring. Those who do not realize competence and caring are inseparable, for example.
As Libby1987 pointed out, anyone who truly did not care would not care enough to be competent.
Caring is 100% demonstrated through one's actions. Simply saying "I love my patients and helping people and sitting on the edge of the bed holding their hand etc." does not automatically make you a caring nurse. What determines if you're a caring nurse is being good at your job and advocating for your patient. Whether your motivation for becoming a nurse was altruistic or financial is completely irrelevant.
Although it makes sense that if you are competent you care enough to ensure that competence although I can't say I agree that someone isn't caring if they are largely incompetent. I'm not sure competence is as much about a choice as about an innate talent honed by education and practice.
It sounds like I am someone who probably has a superficial understanding of caring based on the explanation you describe.
Given the climate often expressed here, understaffed and overworked, what percentage do you think are functioning in a competent capacity?
I know a lot about caring and so far have been able to practice while both caring and performing with competence but I am witnessing caring with less competency due to increasing acuity with the same or higher workload.
I'm not following you....your competency should be independent of your environment. I know statistics whether I'm at home, in my car, on a plane...or running for my life...
Although it makes sense that if you are competent you care enough to ensure that competence although I can't say I agree that someone isn't caring if they are largely incompetent. I'm not sure competence is as much about a choice as about an innate talent honed by education and practice.
It sounds like I am someone who probably has a superficial understanding of caring based on the explanation you describe.
You can care and not be competent
You can be competent and not care.
You can care and be competent
one doesn't automicatically include or exclude the other.
My mother was a teacher until forced into retirement when she was 72. She then ran for and won a seat on the Board of Education. Age has nothing to do with how long you should work. She has so much energy she makes me tired. So no, older people do not have to retire just because they are that age.
This! I've worked with elder nurses who felt that they were too "senior" to do anything. And when it came to anything that involved the computer...... Ugh.
I work for a hospital that has a union. While I have met a lot of hard-working senior (not necessarily older) nurses, I have seen quite a few of the senior (not necessarily older) nurses who absolutely took advantage of being part of union by not pulling their own weight.
Older nurses shouldn't be forced to retire, but I don't think they should be expected any special privileges or treatment. Everyone should be required to work their fair share of weekends and holidays, as well as have equal workload. If the older nurse can't or won't meet the same requirements as all other nurses, then he/she should consider another field or setting that meets his/her wants and needs.
As for the nursing "shortage"...that term is a four-letter word to my ears. There are people, even older nurses, who think that it nurses will always be demand and that there are plenty of jobs. I wish! I am on month three of my job search, and it is soul-crushing. I am applying everywhere and haven't received an offer yet. Seasoned nurses don't realize how fortunate they were to graduate in an economy that was more nurse/new-grad friendly in which they could interview for a job on a Friday and have an offer that Monday morning.
Benefits and wages are definitely stagnant. Where I work, benefits are being slashed constantly and the older nurses have complained about having to work longer for the same/less retirement package, and rightly so!
I know plenty of nurses who work a full-time job in conjunction with at least one PRN job, sometimes several. But I consider that to be a positive part of nursing...you can work three days at full-time pay while having a side-job that brings in more bucks.
I am probably old enough to be your mother, and maybe your grandmother. I bought my first computer in 1985 (early adopter in my profession) and use my current one extensively to do research, writing, illustrated reports for court exhibits, and publishing. And I was the hospital tech teacher when my hospital bought their first computerized record system ... in 1989.
Don't be snotty about old people and computers. Some of us send more time actually working on them at a higher level than you do, and less time checking out cat videos and singing nursing students on YouTube.
So true! My mom is in her fifties and she is more tech savvy than me. She has her own Twitter account...I'm in my twenties...I don't have a twitter! My grandpa is 80, has his own Facebook and knows all about computers.
I know plenty of older people who aren't clueless on the computer. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that most baby boomers are pretty "with it" in regards to technology...or else they would be unemployed!
Susie2310
2,121 Posts
Caring enough to be competent is a good start, if one wishes to keep one's license and one's job.