TXPARAMURSE

I left. Did a six-month contract, then took a 5 week vacation. Now I'm considering going back; they've improved conditions and pay, meanwhile agency pay has dropped precipitously. Part of my thought process is that working for the team I helped build is more fulfilling to me for the time I'm at work. Yes, as bedside I could put in my hours and leave it all at work, but I didn't feel like I was building anything bigger than myself. So it all came down to cost vs. benefit. How much money is it worth to leave a job that's more fulfilling? This includes the cost of benefits. It's an individual question. I have a family, for example, so the money that I can use to take care of my kids may more quickly outweigh job satisfaction than it might for a single person who only needs to keep the lights on for one. Other factors included the facility, which I didn't think would matter to me, but the environment where I previously worked was much better and less oppressive feeling than the small, outdated hospitals where contracts tended to send me. This has less to do with leadership vs. bedside, but just an example of other factors to consider.

Contemplating leaving a nursing management position for a contract as bedside at another hospital. Not gonna lie, it's about the money. I make OK pay (high 30s/hr), but I have a family to feed. It seems like I'm missing an opportunity if I'm an experienced nurse in 2021 and I'm burdened with debt bc of bills. I'd be leaving: a good hospital, good health insurance but no pension or retirement, medium pay, and a good position as a manager, but my hourly pay would be tripled for at least four months. Tripled. It's self scheduling and in the same town in Texas. Should I leave a mid-level management position for a way higher paying bedside position?

Although I don't meet the criteria you asked for (I work as a paramedic), I can tell you that I do not advise this program to anyone who has another option, ESPECIALLY if you aren't experienced in the medical field. It is a "here's the book, midterm in two weeks" school, that is TERRIBLY unorganized, EXPENSIVE ($35k, not including travel, books, subscriptions, scrubs, etc.) and difficult. Not only is it difficult to make decent grades (the teachers give virtually zero guidance on what to study for the test, they just want you to know it all, and give standardized tests), the teachers have been notoriously hard to contact for any problems. I could go on. If there's no other option, it's a way to get the piece of paper, sure. Like for me, I have a family and have to keep working, work 24 hr shifts so there's no way I can go to night school or anything. I don't know how many times I've had to fall back on previous medical knowledge to get through tests, same with the rest of my class. Of 20 students or so that we started with, there are 8 in my cohort now. Six chiropractors and me- one other works in home health. I can't wait to be done, and don't recommend this school at all.

Congratulations! You're a success story and a spark of hope for other 3.2'ers with CRNA hopes like myself!

I am currently a paramedic having a very difficult time transitioning to nursing. Not because class is hard, but because EMS is usually a full time job. I crawl into class often after not having slept in 2 days. I'll not whine here. Just do the RN. Usually people are either flight RNs or flight medics. Not usually both, and they both do the exact same thing, but the medic gets paid less. As far as school, it's apples to oranges. If it can't kill you in the next hour, medic school won't spend much time on it. On the other side, I can't imagine that RN school goes into nearly the depth as EMS on cardiology, etc.