chili2641

I apologize I know this is off topic. But, why did you become a lawyer? Is that what you always wanted to be or did you change careers? Did you put yourself through law school by working as a nurse?

I am a cna and will be a law student. I for one could care less about becoming a nurse. However I work in the nursing field and I consider myself part of the nursing team. Yes, there are differences between nurses and aids but we are all taking care of the sick. We all wade through bodily fluids and are subject to abuse from combative patients. All of us are responsible for patient care and the patients safety. Nurse aids have a huge responsibility and their job is very important. Does that make me a nurse no. But frankly I am over it.

I was trying to make the point that nurses work in the human services. Their work is helping other people. Most people who work in human services do it for more than just the money. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Susy K, I can assure you that a little bashing doesnt scare me. I posed a very simple question one that required a very simple answer. ------------------ Nursing assistant

I should not have to say this but here goes. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice. Yes, I know a little bit about the field. However, I have worked as a cna for eight years so nursing is also an interest of mine. I have worked with many fine nurses over the years and I enjoy talking about the issues. Yes, as a professional my career is in the criminal justice field. Nursing will always be a part of who I am just because I moved on does not mean that I have forgotten my coworkers. I also have been asked to speak with pre-nursing students as a guest speaker in a health occupations class. SO THERE! PS. Police officers in most states are required to possess the minimum of an associates degree. Many of the officers I know have Bachelors degrees. Sounds a little like nursing we have the same levels of entry issues. But I here very little complaining. No, I am not a cop but in criminal justice we work as a team and we take many of the same classes. You bet there are great cops who have just a high school diploma they are some of are best! ------------------ Nursing assistant

I should not have to say this but here goes. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice. Yes, I know a little bit about the field. However, I have worked as a cna for eight years so nursing is also an interest of mine. I have worked with many fine nurses over the years and I enjoy talking about the issues. Yes, as a professional my career is in the criminal justice field. Nursing will always be a part of who I am just because I moved on does not mean that I have forgotten my coworkers. I also have been asked to speak with pre-nursing students as a guest speaker in a health occupations class. SO THERE! PS. Police officers in most states are required to possess the minimum of an associates degree. Many of the officers I know have Bachelors degrees. Sounds a little like nursing we have the same levels of entry issues. But I here very little complaining. No, I am not a cop but in criminal justice we work as a team and we take many of the same classes. You bet there are great cops who have just a high school diploma they are some of are best! ------------------ Nursing assistant

Susy K, As you said earlier we all have choices. If nurses are going to complain about the money they should leave the field. Other professionals who work in the human services make less than nurses. A good example is social workers, police officers, correction officers, prison counselors, probation and parole officers. Most of the above positions require a Bachelors degree. Police officers and correction officers are encouraged to complete the minimum of an associates degree. The pay of these folks ranges from thirteen dollars an hour to around twenty dollars an hour. I very rarely hera these folks complain about there wages and there education levels can be compared to that of nurses. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Nursing student Laura, I was refering to the pay of professionals working out side of nursing. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Peggy, You should talk to her first and see what is going on with her. Let her know about your concerns. You are the boss so it is your responsibility to be proactive and prevent any future harm if this person is endangering any patients. I am not a nurse and have only heard the term ativan so it is up to you to use good judgement. ------------------ Nursing assistant

I am a twenty-five year old cna from Michigan. I just recently left the field of nursing to pursue other goals. I work with young offenders by helping them to complete their GED's. I will be starting graduate school soon. I hope to one day work as a prison counselor or a public defender. I am an advocate for cnas and I am always in the mood to respectfully argue with others. ------------------ Nursing assistant

I am curious how can nurses argue that they are under paid. Try to support a family on a nursing assistants wage sometime. Nurses are paid very well compared to other professionals. ------------------ Nursing assistant

I would just like to say this. I see a lot of disrespect being directed at BSN's and NP's. The level of education does matter in all fields. The individuals who took the time and effort to obtain advanced degrees deserve to be recognized for their efforts. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Nursing student, It is ok to be book smart! Keep up the good work in nursing school. Mabe you are meant to be an academic in this field and not a bedside nurse. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Hang In There, I have worked as a cna for over eight years. Working as a nurse aid taught me about human compassion and humility. Sure there were times when I felt helpless and inferior, mabe even less educated. I too went to college mabe in some ways out of spite. I have been asked to come and speak in a health occupations class. The students in this class are all learning to be nurse aids. The teacher wants me to talk about my nurse aid experience and how I worked my way through college by working as a cna. I feel very torn about this. Its not that I felt degraded working as a cna;I felt misplaced. I do not know why she chose me to come and speak. I never went to nursing school and I am no nurse. In college I studied criminal justice and behavioral science. This experience should be very interesting. I hope I do not scare them off. ------------------ Nursing assistant

? ------------------ Nursing assistant

I have sometimes said some things on this B/B that I would like to take back. I think we all do that sometimes. I too have been a witness to infighting among the nurses. I have witnessed first hand this power tripping behavior. I have also had the privelege to work beside some great nurses. I am the first in my family to go to college. My father worked as a factory supervisor and my mother stayed home and raised her children. In high school I took two years of health occupations classes. My plan was to be a nurses aid. I wanted nothing to do with college and I loved to take care of the elderly. The experience of working as nursing assistant is what changed my mind. In nursing there is great emphasis put on individual titles. There is a clear rank and file order. Some nurses treat there assistants as less thans. That is so sad to me. It makes me get on the defensive. I have never experienced this in any other job. I have never felt the need to boast about my education in any other field. Nursing however puts me on the defensive for some reason unknown to me. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Wow, this post was rough. I know that I have said some things on this B/B that I would like to take back. I worked as a cna for several years. I heard this debate and I witnessed a lot of power tripping by several nurses. I also had the privelege of working beside some of the best. I am a first generation college grad. My father was a factory supervisor and my mother was a house wife. I was planning on working as a nurse aid. I also wanted to get married and have a family. I had no intentions of ever going to college it did not appeal to me at all. It was my experience working as a nurse aid that changed my mind. In nursing there is a clear rank and file. Tittles are very important and the one thing that allows someone to move up in the chain is going to school and obtaining an education. Is a cna a nurse no. Why? Because they have not gone to school. Is a nurse aid with a BS a nurse? No but they are now educated and can leave the field. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Wow, this post was rough. I know that I have said some things on this B/B that I would like to take back. I worked as a cna for several years. I heard this debate and I witnessed a lot of power tripping by several nurses. I also had the privelege of working beside some of the best. I am a first generation college grad. My father was a factory supervisor and my mother was a house wife. I was planning on working as a nurse aid. I also wanted to get married and have a family. I had no intentions of ever going to college it did not appeal to me at all. It was my experience working as a nurse aid that changed my mind. In nursing there is a clear rank and file. Tittles are very important and the one thing that allows someone to move up in the chain is going to school and obtaining an education. Is a cna a nurse no. Why? Because they have not gone to school. Is a nurse aid with a BS a nurse? No but they are now educated and can leave the field. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Should drugs be a public health issue. By that I am refering to the the harm reduction theory. Should we treat addicts or incarcerate them? Should we spend more time educating against drug use? It is clear to me that we have lost the war on drugs. Still we incarcerate first time drug offenders at an alarming rate. Should we treat addicts and punish only the dealers that have delivered or sold large quantities? Who has any ideas from a public health perspective. I am not an advocate for legalizing drugs. On the other hand I do not think long prison terms is the answer. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Why don't you consider a college degree in a different field. A major in criminal justice with a concentration in criminalistics or forensics. ------------------ Nursing assistant

This is a very interesting topic. I started working as a cna when I was seventeen years old. I am now twenty-five years old. I can not speak for the young nurses. Working as an aid was a smack in the face a real shocker to my system. It was my first job and I wanted out from day one. I spent the next eight years trying to get out of nursing. Now, just because nursing was not for me does not mean that I lacked work ethic or compassion. It just wasn't for me. I worked fulltime as an aid for three years. Once I started college I was jumping around like a rabbit. It was something if I would stay somewhere for three months. In my other life I never missed a class and maintained a 4.0 grade point average. I was so dedicated to school; work was just a job and it always came second. I would call in if I had a final exam to study for. I started to realize that my co-workers were paying the price. My decision was to leave nursing all together. That is something that I should have done a long time a go. But I felt stuck. Nursing is a great job for students because it is so flexible and they are always so desparate for help. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Yes, I completly agree with what you have said. I am afraid if our economy keeps going down the tubes. Nurse aid work will look very attractive to the wrong people. Resentment for having to do this work and bad feelings towards nurses will sky rocket. I think we can all agree that not every one is cut out to work in nursing. This is something to watch out for! ------------------ Nursing assistant

I agree with your position. I think part of the problem is this. Imagine being trained for a couple of weeks on basic nursing duties. After the training you are thrown into this complex world of nursing. There seems to be a secret handshake that the nurse aid never learns. The nurses have nursing school in common they are the experts. You are told to do things but have no idea why you are doing them. Some nurse aids want to become nurses and for what ever reason they have not been able to do so. Some nurse aids are living off of the welfare system and they are mad at the nurse even resentful at times. We are told to be professionals what does that mean? I have heard nurse aids refer to themselves as buttwipers. What does that tell you? Good observation some nurse aids feel that they need to have some control. Take it a step further. Why do they feel this way? I am not looking for some deep analysis from you. I know you are not a psychologist. But you brought it up so it must be a problem for you. One thing I have learned from this BB is that nurses are good problem solvers. So what is the solution? ------------------ Nursing assistant

We all need help sometimes. I am glad to see the nurses helping you out. ------------------ Nursing assistant

Hey, Remind this nurse that she is not a FBI agent. ------------------ Nursing assistant