IGSD777

Guys, they excused me!! I only asked for a postponement and explained my situation. I'm so relieved, even though I know it isn't a huge deal, that's one less thing for me to have to worry about. Thanks for the help!

I filled the form out online and asked for a postponement. Hopefully everything will go as planned. I was too afraid to ignore the letter, and actually, I think I may have been late responding, but we'll see what happens. Thanks for all the responses. I got to thinking about it, and I'm sure I'm not the first person to be in this situation. One of the new hires today actually asked for time off for a previously scheduled vacation and they said they'll work with her.

Yup, I hear cops are excused..lucky!

Darn, I really wish they excused nurses if they wanted to be excused! There are a million other people who would love to serve on a jury, even lots of nurses who enjoy/don't mind it..just not me :)

Thanks for your reply. I think I'll try to postpone for now, just in case they deny the excuse request. I'll have to figure this all out, this is the second time I've been called for jury duty, but the first time I had a valid excuse that they approved.

Hi all! I'm looking for some suggestions as to what I can write to try to get excused from jury duty. Before anyone reminds me of my important civic duty, I want to explain that the reason I'm trying to avoid jury duty is because I just got accepted into a new grad program that requires 3 months of training and I was lucky to get in, being that there were only 5 of us hired. I understand my job can't penalize me for jury duty, this was really just terrible timing. I was thinking of explaining the new grad thing to them, but I'm also thinking I may just ask for a postponement. If I try to get excused and get denied, will I be able to postpone? Again, I'm not trying to flake out on my civic duty, this just isn't a good time for me.

Hmm, I make very good money as a private duty nurse. My rate is the same as the hospitals/facilities around, but I pick up lots of OT, whereas some facilities don't like their nurses to work OT.

I'm in the same boat as you, but RN. Some will probably disagree but, yes, I do believe it stunts career growth as a first job. I think private duty is better suited for nurses with experience, but I had no other options. I don't feel that private duty nurses get as much educational support, as facilities do. That's important as a new nurse. Even offices and LTC facilities train more than private duty agencies.

I'm an ADN RN in NJ and can tell you it will be very difficult to find a hospital job without your BSN. Everything the previous poster said was true. If you think you'll like home care, long term care, or nursing homes, the RN-BSN will be ok, but if you're looking for that hospital experience, go for the BSN. I would advise anyone in our area, looking to get into nursing, to get their BSN. The nursing field is getting tougher about increased education, even home care and LTC facilities, because they can staff LPNs for less, and in reality, they generally do what RNs do, meaning they don't have to hire as many RNs. You want to make sure you get a job after going through school.

I had plans on working in the hospital as a bedside nurse and staying there, because I really enjoyed it throughout nursing school, and thought I found my niche. I got my RN license this past April. Almost everyone in my clinical the last semester had plans to earn an advanced degree and move out of bedside asap. The professors and instructors really drive it home that nurses need to continue their education. I only have my ASN, therefore I barely have employment opportunities. I live in a metro area and NO hospitals are hiring nurses without BSNs. They are all aiming for magnet status. I work pediatric private duty, and it's ok, but I wanted a bedside job in the hospital. My job doesn't offer tuition reimbursement, so I'm forced to take out a loan to pay for my BSN, just to get a steady job (private duty/home care can be unreliable and unpredictable). It's a little depressing. My job now and the hospital pay the same rate, but I pick up lots of OT, so it's not the money that I'm after. This whole field is a mess. There are still nurses out there who actually enjoy bedside nursing, but nursing has become extremely competitive, and greedy. I've seen quite a few older bedside nurses flat out retire early because they were being forced to go back to school or be fired. These nurses haven't been in school in about 30 years! It's such a shame!

Yes, BSN is a must, even if I don't need it. I definitely think later on down the line BSN will be the minimum for an RN license.

I looked at quite a few threads who seem to agree with you! I have thought about per diem but the hospitals in my state only hire experienced per diem nurses. That's ok though, for now I'm following the, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," motto!

I've heard pretty good things about WGU, I'll definitely look into it. Congratulations on turning in your first MSN paper! I bet that feels great!

Everything you said helped put things in perspective for me! You're right, who cares, I'm still a nurse! I definitely need to check myself, I tend to care what others think often and I also tend to want to over-achieve. I will go back to school, but slowly, and stay where I am. I will learn more about my patients' conditions. The only thing I'm really worried about is, when I do decide I want a change, will other places hire me? Will I be able to catch up, skill wise? I'm also torn, should I go for the BSN even though I won't get a pay raise? I'm scared to take out that loan, which is why I haven't started on it yet. I'm pretty frugal when it comes to money.

Thank you all for your responses! I think the best option is to just continue what I'm doing now and slowly earn my BSN. I actually do enjoy my job a lot! I love the cases I have and I love working with children. If I didn't do private duty peds, I probably would never get a chance at peds. Also, I'm starting to realize I may be glorifying hospital nursing, as I read a few threads about disgruntled hospital nurses. I think since it was really a focal point in clinical, it's what I'm used to. I tend to have the misconception that busy is better, which I know isn't true. I'm really thankful for all of the responses.