I'm so sick of being accused of trying to discourage potential nursing students when I tell them the job market is tight or that many new grads are having a hard time getting jobs.
They usually say to me, "well, I'm different and its really my dream and I have always wanted to be a nurse". Then I say, "Well,what about the others who thought the same as you and are unemployed?" Then I add, "You may end up working in a nursing home or home health, will you be okay with that? "They then respond, "No,I want to work in the area I choose, and it will happen because it's my dream."
I am in no way trying to discourage them, but I also don't want to lie to them and say there are plenty of jobs in any specialty you want.
Then when they graduate they end up asking why no one told them the truth. I even tell them to read Allnurses and the troubles new grads are having. They then respond "well it has always been my dream and nothing is going to stop me. Some people are trying to discourage me because they don't want others to take their jobs and make as much money as they do."
Is there any other way that I could bring up the subject with statistics and without it making it seem I'm trying to discourage others?
I'm so sick of being accused of trying to discourage potential nursing students when I tell them the job market is tight or that many new grads are having a hard time getting jobs.
They usually say to me, "well, I'm different and its really my dream and I have always wanted to be a nurse". Then I say, "Well,what about the others who thought the same as you and are unemployed?" Then I add, "You may end up working in a nursing home or home health, will you be okay with that? "They then respond, "No,I want to work in the area I choose, and it will happen because it's my dream."
I am in no way trying to discourage them, but I also don't want to lie to them and say there are plenty of jobs in any specialty you want.
Then when they graduate they end up asking why no one told them the truth. I even tell them to read Allnurses and the troubles new grads are having. They then respond "well it has always been my dream and nothing is going to stop me. Some people are trying to discourage me because they don't want others to take their jobs and make as much money as they do."
Is there any other way that I could bring up the subject with statistics and without it making it seem I'm trying to discourage others?
Not really, no. What you're seeing would end up being just the same in any profession - nursing (in this regard) isn't any different. To some extent, you have to have that "dream" to motivate you to action, and yeah at some point cold, hard reality's going to set in - for me, back when I was working on my BS in CS I was stone cold convinced I was gonna set the world on fire with my programming skills. 26 years later - couldn't care less if I never saw another line of code for as long as I live. Am I sorry I did it? Nope - 'cause at least I gave it my best shot, and I had my chance at the brass ring.
About the best I can recommend (which has already been said, but bears repeating) - tell 'em to do some volunteer work or some entry-level aide type work first, and see how you feel after 6-12 months of that. Agreed that the "instant gratification" aspect tends to be annoying - but, reality'll tend to take care of that in due course.
There are just some things in life that people have to learn the hard way - keep the Betadine & Band-Aids handy for 'em, and try not to stress over it. BTDTGTTS.
I have this conversation all the time with my boyfriend who wants to become a nurse.. I keep telling him its not a glamorous job and its hell trying to find a job and getting thur nursing school. It just seem a life of a nurse never seems to get any better or easier. First you bust your butt in nursing school and passing the nclex.....then cant find a job and most likey end up working in an undesirable area like LTC with 40 something patients, never getting a break, running around like a mad woman. Nursing has thrown me around like a ragged doll and I dont want the same for him or anyone else I know. I wish someone had warned me it was going be like this but all I heard when I was going to school is you will have no problem finding a job and there like always be nursing jobs blah blah blah. People always tell me they want to be a nurse because they want to help people.. I always tell them there's plently of other ways to help people beside nursing that have better working conditions. but i guess people wont believe you until they experience it for themselves.
People ask for my advice quite a bit. (I think I started a thread about this? Sheesh, guys.) "I would suggest volunteering at a hospital or in the medical field and, if at all possible, working as a CNA. If you get into nursing school, I would highly suggest getting a nursing assistant job as soon as possible."
That's pretty much what I say when someone that wants to go into nursing is stupid enough to ask for MY opinion on it. I mean really, I'm in school right now to get OUT of nursing, and you think I'm going to tell you "Go for it! It's your DREAAAAMMMMM!!! You save lives! You dare enough to care enough!! And you get to wear SCRUBS!!!!" (Ok, I admit, now that I'm networking for my future career post nursing, I'm realizing that wearing pajamas and comfy shoes to work is actually kind of a perk for nursing.)
I mentor high school and pre-nursing students through a community organization. I see exactly what you describe: if you are realistic, you're squashing their dreams, but if you aren't honest it does them a tremendous disservice.
Many students I deal with are from low-income families and they see nursing as an opportunity to make a substantial income and have job security and flexibility as well. Unfortunately, these young adults were born ten years too late to enjoy the huge bonuses and perks available when there was a critical nursing shortage, but they believe the bonuses and limitless overtime still exist. They also have unrealistic expectations of the job, some of it based on watching too many TV programs about hospitals and also from hearing romanticized stories about nursing. I can't count the number of times I've heard students talk about 'holding the hand of a patient'.
I encourage these students to shadow a nurse for a few days. I also encourage them to sit in a nursing school classroom and see how rigorous it is. In the end, they have to make their own decisions. I suspect one of the reasons so many new nurses quit is because they never had a clear picture of the working conditions and the stresses.
Honesty is important, but it's also important not to go out of your way to give people unsolicited advice.
You don't like your job, quit the job or nursing profession and move on. Why stay in a profession that has made ur life miserable? Thats why people are going to school to become nurses and will take ur job, thats why people are going for direct BSN program. If something isn't working for you then you improvise. If it's not working for you doesn't mean it's not going to work for someone else. We all have different charasteristics at work and i am sure the way people talk or relate to co-workers at work is part of reason why work has been unbearable for some people. When you quit your nursing job, i would like to know what profession you getting into next and what qualifications you have for that job that you feel you should be hired.
To be fair, they might come out of nursing school and get what they want but chances are these days they will not.
I spent 3 months looking before getting offered a job in the specialty I was interested in, (which also happens to be a specialty that many folks here like to warn new grads away from), so some new grads do luck in to exactly what they want.
You know, I was super stressed about getting a job after graduating. I had classmates who weren't stressed, and some of them found jobs easily and others took longer, but in the end, they went through their job hunt without anxiety consuming their every waking moment. Perhaps the students you are so worried about enlightening are just trying to be zen about it, or perhaps they are just not worriers. And yeah, maybe they are out of touch completely and in a few months will be posting here about how no one told them the market sucked and isn't life unfair. Either way, it's not your responsibility to "make them see the light."
When I have students, I talk to them about the things that were helpful to me during the job hunt. I stress the importance of networking and perseverance, volunteer and per diem work during the job search to make yourself stand out, practicing interview skills, etc.
Are they asking for your opinion abouto the job market or are you just trying to set them up for reality once school is over?
I ask b/c if they are asking for your thoughts, then they need to accept your opinion, whether or not they like what you're saying. If you're just offering up a healthy dose of reality, I'd just stop, LOL
The truth is life is a gamble, school is a gamble, you can specialize in a job/trade that is supposedly in demand and find out it's not the case anymore because everyone else did the same thing! I remember my college days fondly when life seemed so free and easy and anything seemed possible. I don't regret school, but I'll tell you I'm still paying off student loans almost 20 years after graduation and I only took out around $25,000.
The stakes are so much higher now! I know coworkers who have taken $100,000 out on student loans and wonder how they'll pay it off. Some of them are now going back for their NP's taking out probably another $30,000 or more depending on what school they are in! That is some scary student loan debt! A mortgage without a house! Crazy! I think it's crazy that the govt lets people take out that kind of debt. There should be an absolute limit, especially since there are no consumer protections with student loan debt and they will even garnish 15% of yours or your cosigners social security!
So I would only suggest to get technical training and do what you love if you can afford to. Otherwise save what you love for a hobby or avocation aside from your regular work. Most importantly, don't get in over your head with student loans!
I found a job even before I graduated from nursing school as well as many of my classmates. Everybody in my class was able to land jobs within 2 months after graduation, some before, some after graduating. This happened within the last year by the way.
So?
If someone comes and asks me if it is hard to find a job as a nurse, even as a new grad, I would say no. Nobody is left without jobs around my area; nobody is looking for it for so long, etc. I am talking about RN's, not so sure of LPN's.
I'd like to say, when giving somebody idea about the job market, don't just talk about your experience and your friends' experience or the users' posts here and try to impose them how they are going to struggle finding jobs. Allnurses.com only has too many nurses and too many who have trouble finding jobs. There is also a real world out there where everybody else has jobs. Most of the time, people who have trouble in this career come here to share things anyway; people are less likely to come here if everything is going okay for them. So, reading this website and getting desperate is so unfortunate.
I experienced it when I was preparing for NCLEX last summer. Everybody around me was passing, all the classmates and all. Sitting here and reading people's miseries about this exam made me so miserable about NCLEX. The real world was, I passed it with flying colors as everybody else in my class. I am now regretting reading about NCLEX here and putting myself in a terrible mood for nothing.
This is such a similar thing. If people read here too much before attempting anything, they are likely to get so desperate. This includes job market.
You say nursing students don't want to hear the truth but what is the truth? You don't know. I don't know. Everything is so dynamic these days. Obamacare, for one, if upheld by the SCOTUS, will bring health care to 30 million uninsured. Who will care for thse people? Things aren't great for nurses now but maybe they will be in three or four years when these students graduate. No one knows the future. As for students having a romanticized and unrealistic view of the profession, that happens in all occupations. Blame TV and hollywood if you will. But that idealism is what sustain the students through school, what propells them to sacrifice so much to get where they want. When they get there they will inevitably have a reality shock. It happens with the police recruit who joins the force dreaming of high profile investigations and discovers he will pass most of his time writing traffic tickets. It happens with the firefighter who thinks he will be running into burning buildings to save babies when 90% of his time will be spent polishing a truck and responding to false alarms. But after the reality shock most people adapt and enjoy their careers. Don't break the students' bubble, it is all that they have right now.
I don't know where you all live, but here in Central New York there are plenty of jobs available for new grads. All 4 big hospitals in my area are always hiring. The hospitals in the outlying communities are also always hiring. Also the pay isn't too bad for a brand new nurse...approximately 50,000 base pay. The cost of living isn't as bad as many other places in the country. So the nursing shortage is alive and well here in Central New York. I think nursing is a wonderful profession to go into. I encourage anyone who is thinking about it to give it a go.
IEDave, ASN, CNA, LVN
386 Posts
Not really, no. What you're seeing would end up being just the same in any profession - nursing (in this regard) isn't any different. To some extent, you have to have that "dream" to motivate you to action, and yeah at some point cold, hard reality's going to set in - for me, back when I was working on my BS in CS I was stone cold convinced I was gonna set the world on fire with my programming skills. 26 years later - couldn't care less if I never saw another line of code for as long as I live. Am I sorry I did it? Nope - 'cause at least I gave it my best shot, and I had my chance at the brass ring.
About the best I can recommend (which has already been said, but bears repeating) - tell 'em to do some volunteer work or some entry-level aide type work first, and see how you feel after 6-12 months of that. Agreed that the "instant gratification" aspect tends to be annoying - but, reality'll tend to take care of that in due course.
There are just some things in life that people have to learn the hard way - keep the Betadine & Band-Aids handy for 'em, and try not to stress over it. BTDTGTTS.
------ Dave