pookashellz

Agreed 100%. And I am one of those people who just did it for the money. bad idea; it's not enough.

my dream job is to create a successful business teaching cooking classes online. "plan B / not a dream job but better than nursing" is web development.

i'm not going to comment on this again, as I do not want to further derail what is supposed to be a topic for venting about rude/abusive/overly-entitled patients. so for clarification: I do not believe that anyone should be considered "too old" to start a new career; however, I recognize that age discrimination does happen and is rampant in certain industries, and I fear being on the receiving end of it when attempting to get out of nursing and into tech in my mid-to-late 30s. Recognizing that something happens is not the same as condoning it.

thank you so much for the encouragement; i appreciate it :)

saying that I am worried about age discrimination is "engaging in it"? ok whatever.

it's ok to calm down. i'm 35, so yeah, 40 is right around the corner and I'm terrified because I'm not naive about how much age discrimination goes on in my country, especially in tech (which is what I want to do).

I agree 100% @OP. I regret so much going into student loan debt for this stupid career only to be treated like ****. I'm so ******* tired of the lack of respect and being forced to take constant abuse with a smile. I want to change careers, but I'm terrified of failure. I'm also terrified of waking up at 40 and realizing it's too late to change careers. I wish I would have studied that I actually wanted in the first place, instead of allowing my family to pressure me into a career I knew I would hate since day 1 of job shadowing.

that's what I was thinking as well.

no, he's been unemployed and looking for work since January, hence his frustration. and yeah, I'm also REALLY concerned about "what if it doesn't work out in another state and we have to move back?" because I currently work at the only decent company in our tiny state; most facilities here have been bought by one of two giant corporations and the working conditions suck. yes of course, I've told him all of my concerns and asked if he would be willing to compromise - i.e. take a contract job here for 6 months to a year - which would likely be beneath his skill set, but it would give both of us time to save up money and it would help me to not burn bridges with the only decent SNF company in our state. He said he really wants to have a new start ASAP, and that we could do long-distance for a few months until I'm ready to move. Obviously I don't want to do that, so that's why I wanted to get some insight from other people in nursing re: how long would I have to stay at this job to leave on a good note and/or how to quit without burning bridges if necessary? I'm really hoping he manages to find a job here and then we won't have to worry about it, so I'm trying to gently convince him to at least keep LOOKING in this area.

i've been working for my current company PRN (per diem but often full time hours because I took every shift that was up for grabs ) for 5 years. 4 months ago I applied for a full time position and got it. Recently my fiance got fed up with the lack of professional opportunity in this area for him and has been applying for jobs in other states. I was specifically asked in the interview "is there any chance you might be relocating anytime soon?" because the RN i was replacing had just quit due to her partner transferring out of state. At the time of course I said no, we're settled here. it's just been in the past two weeks that my fiance came up with this idea that he has to move to get ahead in his career. He assumes it will be no problem for me to relocate because "there are hospitals everywhere". but I'm afraid of burning bridges at my current job if he does manage to land a job out of state soon. I've worked for the company for 5 years PRN, but have only been full time staff for 4 months, and I specifically said in the FT interview that I wasn't going anywhere. Every time my fiance talks about out of state jobs he applied to or opportunities that someone in his professional network told him about, my stress level goes through the roof. Do you have any advice on how to handle this? If he does land an out of state gig, how long do you think I have to stay at my current job in order to leave on a positive note with good references?

I know. When I did a local contract before, I made sure it was 50+ miles from my tax home, and I stayed with my aunt while working and paid her rent (via online banking so I could create receipts as proof). Really the only thing I'm worried about is being blackballed because my second travel contract didn't go well.

No, it has to be agency (which is what I'm doing now) and contract work because to be honest, I don't want to be a nurse. Getting into this was a mistake, and now I have to pick the job with the highest actual pay (and ideally tax-free stipends) so I can blow through my student loan debt and then make a career change.

Yep, it was one of those. And yes I have to work in my home state for the next several years because I am the primary caregiver for a family member. So maybe I should count on just being submitted to other companies instead?

Yes, but it didn't go well- I apologized for not coming in and explained that I had not received any notification that they were going to start putting me on their schedule. The DON said "well I sent you a text; I don't know why you didn't get it, but I accept your apology". (And then apparently held a grudge and started using PRNs to cover their scheduling needs instead of putting me on schedule.) And yes, I did leave Facility #1 on good terms, and have been working at my current job for 3 years and counting. That might actually be a good idea. I'm not sure that I or a friend could convincingly do that, but there are companies who check references for the purpose of reporting back to you what they're saying- that might be a useful investment.

2 years ago I took a contract at a facility owned by a giant corporation. Actually I was supposed to float between two of their facilities. Facility #1 gave me 15-20 hours a week (the facility was a small group home and they didn't have full-time hours). Facility #2, a regular SNF, gave me nothing the first two weeks because their census was low, then 2 hours the third week (not a typo! two hours). The fourth week I got an angry text from Facility #2 saying that they had scheduled me for a full day and where was I? I swear I did not get any text or email from that facility informing me that they had hours for me. And I didn't think to automatically go there without notification, because so far in the three weeks since I started the contract, they had only had me do ONE new pt admit (hence the 2 hours of work). After that my recruiter said that the DON at Facility #2 was offended about the miscommunication and considered me a no-show and was using PRNs instead of scheduling me. My stipend and pay were getting cut because I wasn't working full time hours in facility #1, so I talked to the DON there and explained that I had to give 30 days' notice. She was actually really understanding and thanked me for giving 30 days (only two weeks were required in my contract). I want to get back into travel therapy, but I'm worried that I'm wasting my time because what if this experience has made me ineligible to work in any facilities owned by this corporation? Do entire companies blackball travel RNs for situations like what I've described? I suppose I could request that my new recruiter/agency not submit me for any contracts owned by this corporation, but they seem to own so much of the market that I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get any contracts. I would be really grateful for any advice you could give me re: the best way to go about getting another contract. Thanks in advance.

right?! disgusting. I didn't think any "job requirement" could be more violating than peeing in a cup with someone watching you. Trust the healthcare field to come up with new ways to remind you that they own you!

I am working to change careers (lack of bodily autonomy is one of many unacceptable things about nursing); however completely transitioning out of the field by this November is unlikely. Hence why I'm thinking religious exemption. I was raised CS and while i'm currently spiritual-not-religious, it's worth it to me to go back to church for a signed exemption form this year.

I wish my company gave us a choice! i'd wear a mask for sure. Instead, the only people who aren't forced to get a flu shot as a condition of employment are the people who can get paperwork signed by a leader of an organized religion or who have documentation of having severe/anaphylactic allergy or Guillain-barre. Flu shots weren't a requirement when I started nursing school, or when I started working in the field. If it was, I definitely would have gone to school for something else. Legit considering starting to go to a Christian Science church before this year's flu shot deadline.

and this is why i can't stand old people- they force us all to live in the past, instead of realizing that society progresses and updating their views. also, there should be NO judgment of others -for purple hair or anything else- when you can't even wipe your own ass; they should just be grateful they're being taken care of and ****.

OP, I have about the same amount of debt as you (slightly more actually). I applied and was approved for the pay as you earn program. It's only available for federal/government-issued student loans, but if you qualify for the program, it limits your payment amount to 10% of your income and can make the difference between drowning in debt and actually being able to have a life. after 20 years of income-adjusted payments, the remaining balance is forgiven (you do have to file an Offer In Compromise with the IRS to avoid paying taxes on the forgiven amount).

RN and OT both have to deal with stifling paperwork and mediocre pay, but on top of that RNs also have to deal with working nights, more bodily fluids and ADL grunt-work, and multiple patients at a time (usually a ridiculous number of patients because corporations are greedy and don't want to staff properly). RNs are also the punching bag that every other department dumps on just because they can, whereas PT and OT get treated with a bit more respect as professionals.

one of the charge nurses at a previous job: "you look white but your last name is weird; what are you?" i tell her i was born in the US and she says "No I mean where are you *really* from?" well my family is Romani. "what's that?" i explain it's what people refer to as "gypsies" but that's actually a racist/offensive term and you shouldn't call people that, and she says "i'm going to have to keep a closer eye on you; you people are known for being sneaky!"

what about trying some blue clip-in extensions instead? easy to put in after work, gives you the fun pop of colour you're looking for, and way less expensive and less damaging to your hair than upkeep on bleaching/toning/coloring. :)

this! do COTA or PTA. Both are two-year programs at community college. COTA is slightly more in demand than PTA at the moment in most geographic areas, and both are more in demand than nurses; also, comperable pay and a normal work schedule without being forced to work nights!

i'm a little weirded out by the fact her responses sound like cringe-worthy corporate training manual 'empathetic scripting', but hey.