CruisingRN

When I first got out of Nsg School in '96 I didn't see the point of getting the BSN... I was happy with myself and my skills and saw no reason... then I decided I wanted to be a nurse practitioner (adult or family) so I started taking classes. It was tough working, going to classes, etc.. so I took some time off and found myself in the travel business. So now I work still as a nurse, and part time as a travel agent. It works for me. The only reason I decided I had to have an advanced degree was if I was going for my MSN; do I need it now? No. I have no use for the degree for what I am doing now. I won't get paid anything extra, and the cost and time that would be needed just aren't worth it to me. And, it certainly won't make me any better of a nurse than I already am! :pumpiron: Do what is best for you; doing it immediately after nursing school isn't the way to go in my opinion. You have to learn your profession inside and out, be confident and successful - and when you know where you are going in the field, you will know if you need those extra letters after your name! I'm not against advanced degrees, quite the contrary. However, I think that getting them just to 'have' them is no use to anyone. Get your degree for a good reason, otherwise, keep up with current events and practices in nursing and you will do fine. Best of luck! Happy Trails! Happy Sails! A. Dieterich, RN

my mom and i are both nurses, and worked in a prison. i was only prn/per diem, but mom worked part-time. they decided about 2 years ago they would get rid of all the lpns and replace them with these 'certified med techs' it was a bit to-do. all the nurses (rn/lpn) were very upset. although the lpns in the facility were primarily responsible for giving medications, they were a much more integral part of the team than a med tech could ever be, and could function in other roles aside from medication administration. the lpns assisted with sick call, emergencies, first aide, etc.; how could they justify replacing a trained nurse with a med tech? that was the part they did not take into consideration. on any given night when mom worked, there would be either 3 or 4 nurses to staff a unit responsible for a population of about 1500 inmates. when mom found out they were doing this she quit, and i didn't blame her at all. i myself never did anymore shifts there either. the way she looked at it was, how on earth could you expect 1 nurse to deal with an emergency situation, with no back-up or support from another nurse? (there was a satellite unit about a mile away, so 1 nurse always went there and might not be available, so the rn would be left with only a med tech!) she felt it was a risk to her license, and that is why she quit. it's a shame too, because we both liked the job. you will see this sort of thing happening more and more... untrained people performing tasks that were always a part of the nurses' duties. it kind of takes us to the adn / bsn debate a bit... if we require all nurse to have bsns, we are making the pool of nurses even smaller than it already is. this gives the powers that be the opportunity to create new postions to take the place of a nurse. so, instead of a trained rn caring for patients, you will see more and more 'techs' than there already are. sometimes nurses are our own worst enemy. be careful what you wish for, because sometimes you really get it! i am definitely not opposed to having a bsn; i actually went back to school a few years ago to start the process and found that what i was learning had absolutely nothing to do with how good of a nurse i am. i chose to stop pursuing my bsn after i found another career that i enjoy immensely. i enjoy traveling, so became a travel agent part-time. it give a nice balance to my life. i don't need a bsn to show how good of a nurse i am. i am a great nurse; competent and skilled. fortunately i will be grandfathered in with my aas degree if it becomes a requirement. if they weren't grandfathering, it would be such a loss to not have me as a nurse. i'm sure there are many other excellent nurses out there who can't go back to school for their bsn; it will be a crime to see any of them lose their licenses. i think nursing leaders need to re-think their postion. who would you rather supervise or have care for your loved one... a patient care tech??? or a registered nurse? you know my answer! amanda dieterich, rn

I am a visual learner too, so having to read hundreds of pages a night for class really didn't work that well for me. The best thing I did was to pay close attention in class, take really good notes; when I write something down I remember it. Tape your lectures if you can so you don't miss anything. Maybe some videos would be good for you if you are a visual learner; there are videos on every subject. I'm a bit out of the education loop, as I am going on 11 years out of school, but I'm sure you'll find some sites out there with what you need. As for all the reading... I didn't read half of what was assigned; it was humanly impossible. Focus on the important, learn the rest as you go. I got the best part of my education once I graduated; on the job training - there is no substitution for working side by side with a seasoned nurse preceptor. To be a good nurse requires the following ingredients: desire, a lot of common sense and intuition, flexibility, confidence, a broad knowledge base and great on the job training! Every nurse should work a MINIMUM of 1 year on a med/surg floor to learn what nursing really is; the knowledge you get from it will carry you through your career and life as a competent, confident nurse. My famous saying to describe what kind of nurse I am... I know a little about alot. Great knowledge base, but not so much that it clouds the accuracy; if I need more info about something I look it up or figure it out through deductive reasoning. I'm a great nurse, I am proud to say. I may not have an advanced degree, but I don't need it for what I am doing. I did go back to school twice and took undergrad classes for BSN and was going to enroll in BSN/MSN FNP program, but sometimes there are bumps in the road, it's called life. I found another passion besides nursing; travel. So for now, I am Nurse by day... Travel Agent by night... and it suits me just fine. Best of luck, I'm sure you'll do fine! Amanda, RN

Another fun thing that only nurses are blessed to be able handle is the dreaded disimpaction...:barf01: Newbies...if you don't know, it's the one thing that no one really likes... digital disimpactions... i'm sure you'll figure it out! I can't imagine a doctor ever doing it, yet they will so nicely delegate this task to us. Give me the grossest wound and I have no problem............ ask me to disimpact someone and I just might run the other way!:innerconf Ah, the joys of nursing!