katmeup7

I live in the area you are speaking of. I love it here and have lived here for over 20 years. You couldn't pay me to live in snow and cold again, EVER! This is a great time to buy a house. It's true groceries are more expensive here. Utilities are not. There's no state income tax. There are some good schools; you have to be "in the know" to figure that out. My daughter got a crappy education here. My granddaughter is getting an excellent education. Same town, different schools. Salaries vary. You could expect about $27-28 an hour at a local hospital with only two years of experience. $30 if you're per diem. Is it worth it to live here? DEFINITELY! I love it.

Here's an update: I finally addressed this issue with my boss. I presented him with the reasons why I felt my job description wasn't appropriate and why 'clinical manager' wasn't an accurate moniker for what I do. He point blank asked me what the real reason I wanted to change my job title was, so I advised him that the education piece to satisfy Magnet was the bottom line, and the fact that I don't even report to Nursing seemed incongruous with the expectation. He immediately agreed with me. I told him I'd write my new job description and suggested a new title that doesn't involve the word 'clinical or nurse' in it. He's 100% behind me, and I am 100% relieved. I've run it past HR and they have helped me as well. I'll probably go with something like "practice administrator." By this move, it shows me that my boss values my experience, track record, and unique contribution to our hospital and community. I suspect he also recognizes that as a 60 yr old employee, it's not in my best interest to add the stress of more school to my already overburdened plate. I waited patiently until the timing was right to address this, and it worked!

I'm not sure what ultimate avenue you are pursuing. Do you want to do research? Teach? Be an administrator? There are a lot of other avenues for nurses besides "bedside nursing" even if you your education isn't beyond a BSN. Certainly with an MSN you are currently pursuing there are multiple opportunities even with that. I think it's more where your interest lies that will be the determining factor.

Even though I am an ASN nurse with a BA in a related field, I am glad that a BSN is becoming the standard of entry level nursing. I believe it is what the profession of nursing needs to legitimize itself once and for all. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone for my BSN, but probably after obtaining my ADN and then working and letting a hospital help me pay for a BSN. I'm reaching retirement age now and do not regret my path, but I've certainly met a lot of ADN RNs in my career who needed a broader education. I think the ADN of today is considered the LPN of the past. As an aside, however, it's been my experience that a lot of medical schools are becoming easier, and some of the med school grads I interact with seem like highly educated physician assistants. Go figure.

In my case, nursing was a 2nd career for me that began in a hospital setting at age 40. Never thought I'd be in a leadership position, and never really strived for that path. Life has a way of putting us in places we never expected to be though, doesn't it? Again, thanks.

Thanks. It's good to know I'm not the only one in this dilemma. I'm never opposed to more education and have considerable other nursing education and certifications, but feel like I don't want to do anymore, and when I consider a retirement career, it may have nothing to do with nursing and therefore I'm exploring what that may be. My financial advisor also says getting a BSN is not in my financial best interest at this age. Life and career gets complicated at this point in life!

Thank you. Option 2 is what I have been considering discussing with my boss. I don't even report to nursing, although there is a dotted line there. They definitely value my years of service, of this I'm sure, but I do think changing my job description to a non-nursing manager might be the ticket. I just hope they agree, and my timing might be the issue here. I don't want to wait until the last minute...probably time to get out of that nursing loop sooner rather than later. Getting a whole new job is definitely a consideration and one I've contemplated more often lately. Thank you for your input; I appreciate your thoughts.

HouTx, I agree with you from a contractual viewpoint. From a human perspective however, I don't have the time, energy or desire to obtain the degree at this point in my career to make them "look good on paper." The degree I obtained is relevant and applicable to my area of work, and getting a BSN will not improve my skill set or abilities...this I know for a fact...I've already looked at several curriculums of BSN programs and am left shaking my head. It is not worth destroying my life for the next 2 years from a health and financial perspective...when I should be socking away that $ for my impending retirement. Does that make sense? I feel like I'm caught in a donut hole.

I am an RN with an ASN degree who has worked for the same hospital for 20 years. In 2003 I was promoted to a clinical leadership position that required a BSN or a Bachelor's in a related field. I chose the related field and got a BA in Human Development which was actually more applicable to the work I am doing than a BSN curriculum. Our hospital obtained Magnet status in 2006. I received a second promotion in 2006 to a clinical leadership position which included administrative duties which I have held ever since, and graduated with my BA in 2007. The current position required that I have a BSN by 2011 and that no nursing leader without a BSN will practice after 2013. Since I was just finishing a degree which required a great deal of time, energy and money, I verbally advised the HR representative involved in the promotion and my director at the time (now gone) that there was no way I was turning around and going back to school again after just finishing up a bachelor's just because they were now wanting to look good on paper for Magnet and because they changed the rules midstream. Nonetheless, I signed a paper stating that I understood I was required to obtain a BSN for the position by 2013; the HR rep said, "Sign it. Who knows what the rules will be by then!" Now, every year, I'm asked what my "plan" is for their Magnet report. I am one of only 4 or 5 people left in the entire organization without a BSN in a leadership position. I should mention I am not in an acute care setting. I am in a unique area in an outpatient setting. My BA is very relevant to this area and I am 60 years old. I would like to keep my job for the next 5 years and finish out my career, but this whole BSN dilemma is really beginning to make me think it may not happen. I am not willing to go back to school at this point. I've considered asking for a new title that doesn't involve "clinical" leadership. Other than that, I have no idea how to deal with this. Any thoughts?

interesting discussion; i'm sure institutions weigh the need vs. experience issue all the time with specialty areas, but having worked in an ED recently for a couple of years, and it being the first yr. management decided to do new grad internships, i can tell you it was, for the most part, a disaster. one nurse out of the six thrived, the rest were phenomenally dangerous.