Please help I am starting to lose hope in becoming a nurse

amoLucia · Nov 13, 2014

Have you thought of applying to school over the river?

RNNONursingJobs · Nov 14, 2014

I am sorry to post the God's honest truth about the nursing profession. The false propaganda that has nursing pegged as a wonderful career option cannot be further from the truth. 14 years ago I also fell for the myth that nursing was the best option for a career, that there was a nursing shortage, and that the field was wide open for growth, achievment, earning ability , and success for those who wanted to excel. I found out the hard way that none of this was even close to being true. I took out loans to go to nursing school as a second career, and have found out, that its almost impossible to support oneself on nursing wages. I have seen the entire profession turn into a downward spiral of per diem jobs with no longevity, no benefits and paultry earning opportunities.

Dont go into nursing. Its a house of horrors on the inside. Great nurses are harassed, backstabbed and fired without cause. Lousy nurses are continually retained and treated like queens. Its been 14 years of hell for me, and I'm sorry I spent the money to get a degree. My loans still remain unpaid, because I have not had even one sustainable job in 14 years.

ErisEDRN1Day · Nov 14, 2014

I feel for you amoLucia. I am facing something similar.

Think about the reasons you want to become an RN. That's the most important thing I think. Because if it's just for the money you will end up bitter no matter how many years you work or what kind of job you get- that's just my guess. The fact is it's hard to get a good job in any field and the economy in the US is in the toilet. BUT ...no matter what anyone says nurses always have and always will be needed worldwide.

amoLucia · Nov 15, 2014

I think the previous post was meant for the other poster.

ErisEDRN1Day · Nov 15, 2014

Oops. I switched your name with the OP amoLucia. Sorry about that.

iPink, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2014

I am sorry to post the God's honest truth about the nursing profession. The false propaganda that has nursing pegged as a wonderful career option cannot be further from the truth. 14 years ago I also fell for the myth that nursing was the best option for a career, that there was a nursing shortage, and that the field was wide open for growth, achievment, earning ability , and success for those who wanted to excel. I found out the hard way that none of this was even close to being true. I took out loans to go to nursing school as a second career, and have found out, that its almost impossible to support oneself on nursing wages. I have seen the entire profession turn into a downward spiral of per diem jobs with no longevity, no benefits and paultry earning opportunities.
Dont go into nursing. Its a house of horrors on the inside. Great nurses are harassed, backstabbed and fired without cause. Lousy nurses are continually retained and treated like queens. Its been 14 years of hell for me, and I'm sorry I spent the money to get a degree. My loans still remain unpaid, because I have not had even one sustainable job in 14 years.

I'm sorry what you're going through. I sense the hurt in your post, but I don't share your opinions. Nursing is my second career and my first year was harsh in that it took my awhile to get a job. But that was due to my selection process, I only applied to certain positions and excluded others like rehab and LTC facilities. When I finally landed the hospital job, I truly got an understanding of what real nursing was about. Nursing school can only do so much. You are literally everything to that patient - a waiter, a garbage collector, a handyman, a confidant - everything in addition to a nurse. I was miserable and thought I made a career choice mistake. But things changed. All of a sudden out of the blue, my patients would take me by the hand and tell me I was meant to be a nurse and that I'm doing a wonderful job. They told me to stop doubting my decision. God knows I needed a confirmation, and to get it from my very own patients sent chills up my spine.

So I stayed and it continues to pay off till this day. I was able to transfer to a unit and hospital I've wanted for a while. I've gotten three pay increases since being there two years. I'm single and hardly do overtime. My nursing salary pays my mortgage and other bills and expenses. My other coworkers at my hospital who are married say they are the breadwinners in their family. Their nursing salaries can pay all the bills. I make more as a nurse than I did in my previous career. What we do as nurses, we deserve a million dollar salary, but I'm ok with mine for now.

I enjoy what I do and only regret not getting into nursing sooner. OP, I knew there was no nursing shortage when I decided to go into nursing, but I didn't care. You may want to try outside of NY if you are willing to do whatever it takes to get into a nursing program. Good luck!

Sent via iPink's phone using allnurses

KirkWasher · Nov 20, 2014

I am sorry to post the God's honest truth about the nursing profession. The false propaganda that has nursing pegged as a wonderful career option cannot be further from the truth. 14 years ago I also fell for the myth that nursing was the best option for a career, that there was a nursing shortage, and that the field was wide open for growth, achievment, earning ability , and success for those who wanted to excel. I found out the hard way that none of this was even close to being true. I took out loans to go to nursing school as a second career, and have found out, that its almost impossible to support oneself on nursing wages. I have seen the entire profession turn into a downward spiral of per diem jobs with no longevity, no benefits and paultry earning opportunities.
Dont go into nursing. Its a house of horrors on the inside. Great nurses are harassed, backstabbed and fired without cause. Lousy nurses are continually retained and treated like queens. Its been 14 years of hell for me, and I'm sorry I spent the money to get a degree. My loans still remain unpaid, because I have not had even one sustainable job in 14 years.

What career do you suggest then?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 20, 2014

I know that it's extremely a difficult field to get into and I am willing to do whatever it takes to become an RN. I'm just feeling lost and I need some kind of guidance. Please help! I appreciate any kind of info

Click on this link: https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/i-want-nurse-916987.html

mellowdude · Nov 20, 2014

Never give up. This journey is like climbing a mountain. Sometimes you will face situations when you have to take a different route to get to the summit.

Find a RN student who is attending the program you want to attend. Ask them how they achieved the goal of getting into an RN program. Ask them about study habits, interview techniques(if your program has one). Ask the school what qualities they want in a student.

Replace the words "Difficult" and "Hard" with "challenging". It will motivate you to achieve your goals.

How is the school giving you a run around? Perhaps it is time to look at a new school? If a school gives pre-nursing students the run around, they probably give the RN students the run around too. In my experience, schools and employers that do that, do not have a very good program.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Nov 20, 2014

I am sorry to post the God's honest truth about the nursing profession. The false propaganda that has nursing pegged as a wonderful career option cannot be further from the truth. 14 years ago I also fell for the myth that nursing was the best option for a career, that there was a nursing shortage, and that the field was wide open for growth, achievment, earning ability , and success for those who wanted to excel. I found out the hard way that none of this was even close to being true. I took out loans to go to nursing school as a second career, and have found out, that its almost impossible to support oneself on nursing wages. I have seen the entire profession turn into a downward spiral of per diem jobs with no longevity, no benefits and paultry earning opportunities.
Dont go into nursing. Its a house of horrors on the inside. Great nurses are harassed, backstabbed and fired without cause. Lousy nurses are continually retained and treated like queens. Its been 14 years of hell for me, and I'm sorry I spent the money to get a degree. My loans still remain unpaid, because I have not had even one sustainable job in 14 years.

The two comments or yours that I have put in bold concern me. While it's true that nurses are not in much demand in most places in this country, I have to wonder how it is that you have been working as a nurse for 14 years and still cannot pay off your loans? Did you take out too much for a private school and it wasn't a good investment? I see nursing, for those with experience, as a very decently-paying career.....how is it you have had "not even one sustainable job in 14 years"? Something seems wrong to me.

wantstobeRN · Nov 20, 2014

Have you thought of applying to school over the river?

I haven't really thought of that. Do you have any suggestions?