morr4336

I would have to agree with Kora! finish your education, you dont want to regret it in the future.

Is it possible that hospital care will be so "specialized" that RN's will be phased out, or have a drastically reduce role in hospitals. With all of these techs that are in the hospitals doing what RN's use to do for a fraction of the cost, it seems that in the mist of this nursing shortage a quick fix could be to train techs to do more. Already at some facilities Paramedics and EMT's are being staffed in emergency rooms at a fraction of the cost of the average ED RN. With the advent of the "techs" in the hospital setting, do any of you nurses see a trend of deminished roles in the primary care setting for RN's. WHats your opinion on this. The reason I ask is because at a human resources conference that I recently attended, this issue was brought up. I got the feeling that management some how places blame on the nurses for the shortage, and would love to stick it to them by replacing them with "cheaper" and less qualified staff they feel can do the same job. What do you think?

What school did you attend? ADN or BSN.

Unfortunately I dont. It seems like if you are salaried, than you can get screwed that way (in reference to overtime). Have you been offered employment anywhere else?. How is the job market?

The VA Hospital in Brockton is salaried for nurses. They start at about $45.000 per for a new RN. Is that simular to what you were offered?

Good day to all of the hard working nurses out there! I really appreciate all that you do! I have read in many of the threads about management not caring about the staff. Are the managers nurses, or are they persons with degrees in health care administration. Being in the military medical system, the majority of the managers come from within, meaning that if I start out as a new employee (Hospital Corpsman) some time down the line, with promotions, I will eventually become a clinic administrator (at least it is this way in the Coast Guard) so I would have a good idea of what the issues and concerns are, therfore I am more in touch with whats going on. From what I have read, there is an "us vs them" mentality in the civilian sector. I also realize that a big difference in the two systems is money. We try to work within our budget, but if we run out of money, we just ask for more and usually get it (From my prospective we do not manage wisely because of this). I am the assistant clinic administrator of the hospital that I work at and am surprised by the wedge between nurses and management in civilian facilities. At my facility, we let the doctors, nurses, and hospital corpsman perform their duties while we the admin folks prepare the budget and keep staffing level adequate ( along with maintaining HIPPA, and keeping AAAHC, JACHO, CLIA, people happy!) I will be starting nursing school soon and hope to join you in the real worl. I am sure that it is going to be a culture shock working outside of military medicine. Do you think hospitals are more concerned about the bottom line than patient care? Its a shame that our health care system worries more about the bottom line, than the health and well being of the patients. I know, long thread, but thanks for reading and sharing. I do value all of your opinions! Gerard

The school I will be attending has an NCLEX pass rate of 86%. Is that good or bad? State average is 85%. Thanks for the reply.

Insecurities can pop up. my wife has incesurities about me going to nusring school, and is insecure about the women to men ratio of nusring in the nursing profession. I am going to try like heck to do what ever it takes to curb her insecurities. I know going through school will be tough in its own right, I dont want other issues cropping up to make things harder than they will already be.

My brother put his wife thru school, and 4 months later she left him. It does happen sorry to say.

Welcome aboard Eric! I wish you well in your career. I am not a nurse yet but will be starting school in January. This site can give you wonderful insight on the nursing profession. Once again welcome. Gerard

Wow what a schedule! Last summer I took Chemisrty, and Biology. Worked all day (7-3:30), with an1:20 min commute, then went to class in the evening (5:30-9:00). Did for 2 1/2 months, but passed both classes! I know it may seem hard but you can do it!!!!

I do agree, very scary and I am glad California did away with it. For years independent duty corpsman and certain Army medics were able to challenge the board. I had my application in and was ready to take the test before it was discontinued. I think I could have passed the test, but in no way would I have been able to function as a nurse! I am only speaking for myself, as I know some who have done it and it has worked out fine for them.

Gomer, great point! I did not even think about the other beneys! Health care is only part of the bene package!

Thanks for the info! When I retire from the Coast Guard, all of my health care needs will be met by the governmnt to include my family. I would hate to be forced to pay for health coverage that I wont use!

Good day to all! I am not a nurse yet, but from what I am reading, the health care coverage for nurses is not that good. Can a person ask for more money instead of the benefits? Gerard

I am a military Hospital Corpsman who thought that challanging the nursing board to recieve my RN license would be a piece of cake. About 4 years ago California did allow us to challange the board for RN if we went to independent duty school, which is a year long program, and practice as an independent duty corpsman for 2 years. Many of my instructors did this and obtained their license, and were in fact RN's. The degree RN, or should I say the conventionaly schooled RN's did not approve of this "short cut" to licensing and now I can see why! It would have never worked for me. Being in the Coast Guard we have no nurses, nor do we have any inpatient facilities. We have small clinics that employ doctors, NP's, and PA's along with Hospital Corpsman. Had I challenged the board, and passed the test, I would have been ill prepared to function as a CNA let alone an RN. I am trainied to diagnose, treat, and prescribe medication, and have very limited knowledge as to what a nurses role in the health care setting is. In the other branches of the military maybe things are different, they do have large hospitals and the corpsman are the ones actually working on the floor for the most part, so they are exsposed to long term patient care, and the nurses do the paperwork and are in supervisory/teaching roles. If any medic, or corpsman, from the other services read this, please chime in. California was the only state to my knowledge that would allow certain corpsman and medics challenge the nursing board. They discontinued that practice as of April 2000. Yes I was a bit pissed, as I saw this program as short cut to RN'sville, but now I understand why. I will be starting nursing school in Jan 05 and am glad to take the conventional route to gaining my license. I have read that California is restricting EC from participating in the RN program, does anyone know if the University of Phoenix is next. Is the jury still out on getting an online nursing degree? How do some of you feel about it. Thanks for your time! Gerard

Quincy College, Quincy Ma Jan 05

Yes you are corect in that I am sure that my views will change once I do enter the profession. I must also say that I have read about nurses that have had pleasurable experiences, so infact I may be guilty of sensationalizing this topic (as the news media frequently does). I must say that it does make me a bit nervous about becoming a nurse, but I do realize, as you stated, that there are a few bad apples in this profession, and by in large it a decent and honorable profesion.:) Thanks for the reply! I do appreciate it!!!! Gerard

Thanks for your response! Although I am not a nurse yet, I am trying to do as much research as possible. I believe that my military backround will help me as I have worked in many a difficult environment in my 22 years. What I am striving for if I should become a nurse (do not want to put the cart before the horse), is to keep a positive attitude and try to provide the best care possible. I am glad that you stayed with nursing! I am sure that your patients and co workers are the happy beneficators of your decision! Gerard

I am not yet a nurse (will start school Jan 05), from the various threads that I have read on this and other nursing sites, the nursing profession, it seems, has as many internal problems as external problems. Sure I imagine that the work is hard, the respect is not given, and the pay may not be up to par with other pofessions with simular levels of responsibility, but are nurses hurting their own cause? Now please dont torch me for this (as my flame protective jumper is in the mail), but the way nurses treat each other is as big an issue as the lack of pay, increased work load, and lack of respect are. It seems, from reading certain threads, that nursingschool students are treated more like pests than future colleagues in certain teaching institutions. And the power trip that some nurse educators displays is down right awful (so I he been told). No I dont believe that nursing school should be easy, but to play mind games will only cause resentment, hate and discontent, and hard feelings once those students are nurses. This can have a trickle down effect on the way these "newbies" will treat other "newbies" once they become "veterans". Another thing that I dont understand is this. If the conditions are so bad, than why havent the nurses formed a strong union? One national union that servres and protects the nurses? I dont know anything about labor practices, or unions, so this is just a question. Being in the Coast Guard we cant have a union, if you dont like the treatment, you just leave the service. But its not that bad.:) I still plan on persuing my nursing career, and have really enjoyed reading the not so rosey side of nursing as it has opened my eyes, and ripped off the rose colored glasses. I am sure that in every profession there are challenges, but it is nice to know up front the challenges that I will face as a nurse. Thanks Gerard

I am not surprised by the nursing shortage. I hear nuses complaining about work load and pay issues, but at the same time turning on each other to make an alreay stressful situation worse. Working in larger facilities, I can certainly see cliques develop and people left out of the proverbial loop of work place companionship. I am not a nurse yet (will start in 2005), so please dont roast me due to lack of nurse place work knowledge. I do however work in a military hospital and the same rules pretty much apply. I also believe that this is more of a human issue, rather than nursing issue. People can be nasty, devious, and all other things bad by nature. But what troubles me is that in nursing, the attitudes of the nurses may vastly affect patient care. Would you want a pissed of nurse caring for you, or a loved one? Sooner or later we are all going to need nursing care, and the nurses who are causing the work place drama may indeed one day find themself under the care of the "pissed of nurse".

There seems to be a lot of negativity in the nursing profession! From what I have heard, the work is hard, respect lacking, and the pay low. I will be a student nurse soon, and have read all of the negative threads on this, and many other sites. I have also heard from plenty of nurses who like the profession. This has been a good education for me, as I can say that my eyes are wide open. The rose colored glasses have been ripped off, but I am still eager to gain entrance into the profession of my choice.

Good day all! I am going to start my ADN progrm next January at Quincy College, and would love to hear from any Quincy College graduate! I would like to know how you would rate the program. Thanks for your time! G