holisticallyminded

I regret it every day, it takes a toll on your body. But I’m easily employed and I won’t complain there. My main gripe is that nurses promote the Florence Nightengale story to guilt trip us into giving our own rights away “for the patients.” Last time I checked my position was paid and not coded as “volunteer.” I can do what is required but you can’t make me put anyone above my own life, health, wellbeing. No double shifts, no flu shots, no skipping breaks.

It isn’t difficult compared to other BS degrees which often have more rigorous science requirements. The BSN is minimal. Nursing school is hazing. Just get through it.

Become better informed: https://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Shingles.aspx

I enrolled in a BSN program. I have a BS in nutrition. When I realized it was not only so similar (clinical coursework focus is changed from clinical nutrition to nursing with patient care ideology remaining the same) but that my dietetics coursework involved far more science at the graduate level (5 year degree), I dropped it as a waste of my time. I have never had difficulty getting a job anywhere and I'm in Seattle. Whatever position I might be missing out on because hiring managers don't understand that a nursing BSN is a lesser degree does not deserve me. And as nursing shortages grow, the pendulum will indeed swing the other way. Don't let anyone use fear to swindle you out of your money.

You've got to be kidding! Don't let ANYONE guilt trip you into putting your life at risk for ANY reason. I do disagree with this "patients first" bs. There wouldn't BE any care if it wasn't for you and if your facility doesn't care to put you first, YOU do it and find another job! Believe me there plenty and certainly will be, fired or not.

Oh there's a shortage all right but it's a planned shortage! With plenty of nurses, facilities understaff on purpose based on a cost/risk analysis. This leads to higher turnover, higher recruitment and training costs which sends the cost/risk analysis further screwed toward insurance pay outs (settlements) vs recruitment and retention of new nursing staff (expensive for the reasons stated above in a never ending feedback loop). And nurses say they want more money!! (Technically it's up to YOU to negotiate for yourself but don't expect a business you don't own yourself to give it up easily.) if you want more money, I wouldn't pick a nursing career. In my home, it's just supplemental.

Wow, bad advice to the OP. My first year as a nurse I fell for this idea that I could sacrifice my own well-being for my patients/to get the work done. That sure changed fast!! A student should be taking breaks since rest is helpful in a learning environment. Also nurses who don't wish to burn out and run themselves dry absolutely put themselves first. Barring an absolute emergency, I take breaks, eat, rest, chat with coworkers, etc. it's like any other workplace in that regard and is just as much a job as any. God I really don't get some nurses; I sure wouldn't work for free!! I'm convinced it's a generational issue. And nope, I'm not even close to millenial.

Just WOW. Arrogant nurses who know NOTHING about the immune system (because the level of education in nursing school is sub par in this area), know nothing about vaccine adjuvants, nothing about developing immune systems and can't answer basic questions about WHY parents should be wary of vaccination HAVE NO RIGHT to help with informed decision making, let alone moralize about the safety of vaccines. I am often very embarrassed that my profession would use their license as a political tool. Ever heard of the Cochrane Review? The verdict is more than out on vaccines. You don't know what you're talking about. My patients will be provided INFORMED CONSENT.

C'mon! Where I work management brings in pizza, someone is always offering candy, cookies, other baked goods and starches and I watch all of the nurses stuff their faces while I say NO, "I don't eat junk food," and "why not nuts sometime?" Nurses are obese because they eat too much and stress is not an excuse for life choices. This isn't "body-shaming;" it's a wake up call. How can a nurse educate a patient about health topics when she can't walk the walk? Every industry is stressful. You can't blame others for your lack of self control. Harsh? Good.

Farawyn, I didn't mention "hate" did I? But the notion of "equality" in this context is highly flawed. What are you unequal to? What rights and choices do you not have? I'm sorry but I find the notion of equality between the sexes to be a worthless nothing. I have had more opportunity in my life time as an individual than any other time in all of western civilization. I think you and the other complainers need a history lesson.

Thanks Feelix, this man-hating "equality" business is absolutely ridiculous. People keep THEMSELVES down and nursing is hardly a patriarchy. Neo-feminism has become another way for the militant left to sink their claws into society. I wish I had time to tell my personal story. As a woman, listening to all of this political riff raff, I could put many voices to shame for what I have accomplished in my life based on my personal statistics. I am what I made myself: I blame no one and I take all the credit for every success.

Oh my, where do I start? The nursing collective as it appears to be referred to by many here is not much of a collective at all. Our common thread is our license. Aside from this, nursing is still very much a blue collar job with various points of entry for most, including various ways to travel up the ladder into management positions. We are pitted against each other from the start because many of us come from different educational backgrounds and bring a different perspective. This could be said of any group of workers but the difference is that we are making decisions about another human being and the stakes are higher. So we come in with different knowledge bases and practical life skills (nursing is often a second career these days) to contend with others who may not have much of either. This doesn't change with standard entry education because a nursing license and a nursing position is still fairly easy to obtain in comparison to jobs with similar requirements in other fields. A BS degree is a hell of a lot easier to come by these days than it was in previous decades, even if it costs more. After establishing that nursing is easier to take on than say, engineering, you have to actually look at the varied socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds of nurses, in addition to their personal motivations. These vary so widely we could have an entire thread devoted to the topic. First generation immigrants may have a more difficult time standing up for themselves in the workplace generally, for fear of rocking the boat. Younger women may not have a sense of their own voices yet; for some nursing is even a first job. Older women may be trying to bide their time for retirement. Some, like myself, prioritize my job last in a long list of priorities so that I choose to work part-time per diem only to accommodate more important interests and obligations. I may not be close to retirement but I also don't need a full-time job. As for the victimhood of women that is so popular these days (and we've been through before- I remember the 90s)- views tend to be largely generational. I see a whole lot of Millenial and baby boomer women complaining out there but less of my own generation (does this have anything to do with the fact that gen X has been more financially successful than their parents?) But I also remember growing up in a world where we shucked off the feminism of our mothers and grandmothers since we believed (and I still do) that we were living in a world with plenty of opportunity for women for the taking. Those boomers were so angry at us for not appreciating them enough (though it was their mothers and grandmothers who really did the work). So interesting that their own children are now out protesting divisivesly with silly pink hats. I'm sorry but I can't get behind the neo-women's movement. I'm doing just fine and so are many, many women that I know. I have CHOICES. So forgive me if I do not believe that the way to change nursing is with collectivism, which is the new political rage these days. I haven't any issues standing up for myself, asking for better working conditions, speaking up in a meeting, standing my ground over an important issue, asking for more pay and GETTING it, refusing work, quitting my job, or letting another nurse know that they are WRONG. I have positioned myself so that I OWN my work and that is each individual's responsibility. If we had more personal accountability and less kowtowing, we might get somewhere. Having someone else hold a gun to the head of management (unions) gets "us" very little. Wanna change nursing? Change HEALTHCARE. No, I'm not talking about lobbying for more care for the sick, I'm talking about a wellness model. KEEP people well. Advocate for alternative therapies, promote naturopathy, clean food and water, advocate for livestock health and small farms, advocate for personal choice in healthcare, model wellness to your patients. We need to change the sickcare model. You work in an INDUSTRY that operates for PROFIT and it is no different than any other, I am sorry to say. Why would you expect any more? If you lobby your state officials, perhaps you should think bigger and stop worrying so much about teeny tiny changes that frighten the beast but keep him going. And on that note, I'm going for a run.

And PAs are less educated than ARNPs! He has to feel superior to someone I guess!

I'm so sorry. What a scam. Back in the 90s when I went to college it cost $991 a semester for full time credits at my state university. Today's costs are atrocious with all of that inflation factored in! I am very in favor of creating more labor training programs in the trades so that high school students have options. I'm sorry but not everyone needs and is even a good candidate for earning a college degree. Very overrated. And the nursing push to BSN is quite the scam, seeing that the pay does not increase (a mere $1/hr could be had by changing jobs and asking for more money) and that floor nursing is learn-on-the-job training. Not everyone can be a manager or become an ARNP. I have a son who began apprenticing as an electrician at 16 and now at 26 has his own contracting company and has FAR more earning potential than his lowly nurse mother. There are options. Encourage youth to really think through other options before they sign up for the "needed" college degree (and advanced degrees!), paying off debt for years. That's the real answer to all of this talk about "loan forgiveness." Higher education is NOT A RIGHT.

As someone who floats for a living (on-call) and ALWAYS has (yes, even in my very first RN job and also before I was an RN and worked in another healthcare area), I just don't think it's a big deal. If you're a nurse, you're a nurse. If you aren't familiar with something, you ask someone else. If you're overwhelmed, you ask for help. The key is honesty and thoughtfulness. As long as you're working in a situation where there are others around (as opposed to home health, etc) there is usually someone to help. Now if there isn't, run for the hills! Otherwise, it'll all become old hat over time.