zdjoe

First of all I want to thank each and every one of you who has posted or emailed me with feedback about my question. I appreciate the time you have spent answering my question. This alone proves, to me, that many nurses are caring as well as passionate about their profession. I will take all of the advice and warnings to heart. Now, many of the problems you encounter as nurses I have also found in the Lab setting. 1.Labs are relying more and more on new technology and centralized Labs to replace Lab workers at the expense of accuracy and turnaround times. I work there I know. The way administration looks at it, is that you will never know. I could give details but you as nurses have enough to worry about already. 2.Attempts to help the working environment by speaking to administration about staffing and faulty new equipment that in some cases have techs having to guess at what the true lab results should be. Result, in many of the people you are trying to help, think that you are trying to get them fired. 3.For the most part, Lab techs don't stick together because we are a dime a dozen and can be easily replaced. 4.I was converted to TB positive by a patient while doing phlebotomy and I have a very good friend that got hepatitis C from a needle stick. And at least every 3 weeks I get a needle stick blood that I have to process from a nurse or doctor who got stuck. (Hazard pay for nursing, where is it?) 5. Problems not corrected when discovered, so that incident reports could be made. 6.You can't argue or point out the problems with many lab directors or supervisors because they all agree with you. But, are unable or unwilling to voice their concerns with the powers that be 7. My lab Director told me that I had many valid points but he was not going to lose his job by fighting administration. He said hospitals are going to continue cost cutting no matter who objects, be it him, Doctors or Nurses. I've seen it, he is right 7. Many labs are so understaffed that when you call to speak to a supervisor you are likely to get the supervisor of the day. That means just a regular tech that has to do QC, reports, a bench, keep track of phlebotomist and answer nurses and doctor's questions. Note: We are a 400 plus bed hospital. You can see that my profession is very similar to yours. However, you guys and gals command more respect, money and power. Yes, POWER. Because when a nurse does not like the way things are going. A nurse can complain and if no action is taken the Nurse can walk and have new a job, in some cases the very next day. I like to help others and I've reached the end of the road in the Lab. I see that nursing will present many of the same issues I faced as a Lab Technologist. However, the security and diversity nursing offers still make it a career that I should have chosen from the beginning. The advice I have received here about nursing and read elsewhere on the board has helped to take the rose colored glasses I was wearing off. I see that the grass is not always greener but it is not brown like mine is Thanks to all ZDjoe

I start Nursing School in May. I Have a BS in Lab Science and have worked in a Hospital lab for 11 years. Since I have a BS, I got into a 1 year program that will make me a BSN. However, much of my excitement has tempered by this site. Talk about depressing. I'm changing fields because Labs are downsizing big time, pay is low ,we have little job security and the work is ultra boring. It looks like with nursing I will have a whole new host of problems. I want to become a Nurse because from the outside it seems to me that Nursing offers the most opportunity to make a diffrence as well as plenty of job security. I have always admired the nurses and found them to be more competent than some Doctors at times. But many members in this site seem to discourge people from becoming a nurse. I know I would do the same if I found a site called "ALL LAB.COM" but the lab really does stink as a career. If you have any postive insights as to why Nursing is not as bad as I read on this forum please post it. It would really be nice to read about the positive side of nursing. Also any advise on how to avoid the pitfalls that have turned so many away from nursing would also help. Thanks ZDjoe