Perseus Mandate

I work the later part of the afternoon now, getting home at 10:30 PM - I actually can't stand it. By the time I'm out of work, everyone's already drunk or at a party, or too tired to come out because the night's already over. This sucks, since all of my friends are out of their jobs earlier. I love twilight, too. It's my favorite part of the day. I guess as an RN, it won't matter much anyway - working three days means four days a week off, no matter how you cut it - that's a nice chunk of free time, and I'm not gonna find much better. Anyway, I figured switching back and forth would be a hassle - that's something I would never do. Thanks everyone!

Alright, thanks for the info. I wish it was straight days, and I wish you could choose all day or all evening shifts though. Having alternating shifts means your sleep schedule is fairly erratic, no? That's one thing I wouldn't like much.

A traditional D/N schedule? Is it the case, then, that most nurses work both days and nights? You said it's rare to have someone with strictly day shifts?

What are the benefits of being with a nursing agency, as opposed to going it alone? What are the drawbacks?

Yes, I was talking about a hospital setting or something of that nature. I didn't mean to sound as if I deserve to have those days off - whatever I have to do, I'll do. I just wanted to have a general idea of what I was getting into. I didn't want to glorify the field of nursing in my mind, and be in for a bad time when I got there. Everything about nursing, thus far, sounds ideal for me. One big thing is, I want to have a lot of time off and make decent money - enough to support myself. I like the option of being able to have 4 days in a row off, so I can go on mini-vacations (you know, go visit a friend for a 4-day weekend, etc.). Obviously, some weekends or nights would be covered - and I'd be more than willing to help out another RN who needed it. I want to head into the field for numerous reasons, one of them being so I can care for people. In particular, I'd want to care to children - just something about their innocence that makes me want to really reach out and help them feel secure when they're ill. I'm hoping to go into PICU, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, I wouldn't mind taking one for the team - I know it would likely be appreciated, and I don't need EVERY weekend off - I just want TOTAL free time to be a lot - and from what I'm hearing, it sounds like it will be, especially compared to other jobs and other fields. IT? 60-80 hour work weeks. Investment banking? 70-100. Law? Varies, but it's certainly got a fair share of work. Nursing gives me: Quick entry into medicine - I can help people, be there for them, feel good about what I do Quick entry into a job - $28.73/hour for new grads on Long Island? Pfft, of course I'll take it! Only an associate's degree. Time off - 3 12's, and of course some extra here and there, but eventually I'm sure, depending on where I go, that will settle Lateral Opportunity - the ability to move into so many different areas of nursing. A doctor chooses a specialty, and he's stuck with it after his residency. An RN can go anywhere, at most any time. Career Advancement Opportunity - from having an ADN, I can go to earn my BSN, and from there, aim for a CRNA program if I desire. Also, I believe you can go for PA or NP as well, right? Just seems like nursing is a great thing. A lot of stress, hard work, but what job doesn't have that? You pay your dues with every job.

For those of you who are new to being an RN, can you tell me what your shifts are like? Do you initially get stuck with all the crappy shifts, working weekends, nights and/or a lot of holidays? I'd imagine senior nurses choose the day shifts and all the new people get stuck working 6 PM to 6 AM, and working holidays and weekends. For the senior RNs, do you find yourself working weekends or holidays a lot anyway, or does it generally stick to the 3 / 12's week in, week out? Also, a final question - how is vacation time as a nurse? Do you get a lot of weeks off in the year? Paid vacation? One week? Two? Is it like a typical business, where you get 3 weeks after 5 years or what?

Okay, good to know - obviously money isn't the only factor to consider, but we all want to be well compensated for the job we do, which is why I wanted to look into it. I suppose people in the medical field will always be compensated fairly well though.

Well I know that salaries can fluctuate like that and everything, but I swore I heard people discussing why they will soon have salaries slashed on the whole for one reason or another.

Lots of views; no discussion?

Yeah, I know I need those prerequisite courses, so I'll just get my ADN, go to school for a Biology BS and try to medical school. If I don't get in, I can either find a CRNA program that accepts non-BSN graduates, or just go back and finish off my BSN if I must. Are the CRNA programs that don't require BSN graduates any less qualified or are they looked down upon compared to those that do?

Just a quick question regarding the salaries of CRNAs. Currently, they're very well compensated for the job they do, and for good reason. However, I've heard in recent months that the salary of the average CRNA can be expected to drop a good deal over the coming years. I've heard reasons cited, but I forget what they were. Is there truth to this? Is there some reason CRNA salaries will be dropping?

Nice. Yes, same here. I have years of supervisor experience at UPS, and will have a few more under my belt by the time I achieve my ADN, then quit and go to work as an RN. This way, when I get my BSN, if I decide for a "clipboard" position, I'll be a shoe-in candidate due to my vast experience.

That's what I was afraid of. Damn. Well, my plan is to aim for medical school first, and if that fails, a CRNA program, and if I don't get in to that, stay as an RN. Right now, I'm working on my ADN, then I can either enter a BSN program or get a BS in biology or something, and take the premedical requisites. What would you think? Since med school is my first attempt, go for the Biology degree? The thing is, if I do that and fail to get accepted, then I have to go back and get my BSN on top of that, before I can try to be a CRNA anyway, right? Are there any programs to go from a BS degree to a BSN (if you already had your ADN before) in something like a year?

Yeah, that's what I'm finding out. I looked at about 10 programs, and they all require a BSN, and not any bachelors. What about the Stony Brook BSN program, then? There's no organic chemistry or physics or anything, right? Is that common, or do BSN programs usually have those courses? I doubt it'd be feasible to cram in two semesters of physics, organic chemistry, and a semester of calculus on top of the 71 credits for a BSN.

Good to know. Thanks again, everyone.