"There's A Reason There's A Nurse Shortage!!"

Tait, MSN, RN · Nov 5, 2008

I think nursing is a demanding career with high responsibility, stress and expectations. However hard work feels good for me, even if some evenings I am petrified to go in.

Either you like it and get satisfaction out of it, or you don't.

Tait

Plus, don't forget, not everyone is made to be a nurse. Walking into work each day knowing you have to shed your personal life and become someone who can be compassionate, trustworthy, responsible, patient, task-oriented, meticulous, advocating and still have the time to lend an ear to someone in the worst possible place in thier life to date is sometimes a daunting task.

Tessaprn · Nov 5, 2008

Nursing in itself is a good profession. The problem at least for my hospital is the paper work, charting, and stupid politics. You are so busy with charting and classes that you really cannot do nursing any longer.

sla2112 · Nov 5, 2008

I had to laugh when I saw the quote about the nursing shortage because I found myself saying that about 2 months after starting nursing school. I come from a family filled with nurses and each one of them tried to talk me out of going to nursing school (2nd career), but I did not listen and now I am kicking myself in the butt.

I work at a large hospital in NYC and although our staffing is pretty decent, we hardly spend any time with the patients due to the new computer technology. We recently implemented the Caret system for med admin and it takes up the majority of our time. Also, everything has to be charted in ten different places with the computer systems. We all joke around that nursing should now be a double major with computer science.

Unfortunately, I have a large amount of student loans from nursing school that I have to pay or I would have already switched my career. Many of the nurses I work with are currently in school trying to change career paths or thinking about early retirement because of the direction nursing is taking. Please do yourself a favor and think long and hard about this choice. If I could do it all over, I would have applied to medical school. Yes, MDs have a lot of paperwork/computer use, but at least they can use their knowledge to make decisions rather than being "told" what to do by a little machine.

Katnip, RN · Nov 5, 2008

Nursing as a profession does not suck. The conditions nurses work under often do.

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2008

I have only held my RN lic for a year now but I personally still have a smile on my face walking in and then out of my hospital. I love nursing.

hope3456, ASN, RN · Nov 5, 2008

some facilities treat their staff better than others. Hospitals that pay decent, have good rn/pt ratios, ect generally are not as 'short staffed' as those that do not.

SFRN · Nov 5, 2008

Nursing has been good to me! I have always had a job. I will say that the conditions nurses work in are not the best....as previously mentioned. In some places your are set up to fail. But always do your best and don't get wrapped up in what others are saying.

Pudnluv, ASN, RN · Nov 5, 2008

I love what I do! I think nursing is great profession if that is where you are so inclined. I've been doing this for a long time, and started back when the pay was crap. My first job paid $9.50 an hour! Now I make great money. But I loved nursing back then just as much! I'm proud of who I am and what I do!

mpccrn, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2008

nursing is a career probably like any other (sort of) there is good and bad. it's what YOU make it! shift work, high stress, grave responsibilities, babysitting EVERY other department in the hospital, poor benefits and no sick time are just some of the drawbacks but as with everything else, there are good points too....saving a life, easing another as they die, staying one step in front of a disease process and making a difference are some. it's all in how you look at it. did i encourage my own children to go into medicine? NO! i wanted better for them....do i regret my decision to be a nurse? NO! think long and hard before you commit to this career. there will be few thank you's and even fewer 'good job's'......nursing is what you make it. :smokin:

interleukin · Nov 5, 2008

nursing is a career probably like any other (sort of) there is good and bad. it's what YOU make it!

Problem is, we are being hobbled by poorly designed computer programs, mounting indirect tasks, and management that thinks nursing can be forever "tweaked" or micromanaged.

No matter how good you are, resign yourself to the fact that too many days your care will not be as therapeutic as you know it should be. And, unfortunately, not be able to provide the care that we know we theoretically can is debilitating and demoralizing.

This fact you have to reconcile by yourself.

ChocoholicRN · Nov 5, 2008

I have to say, it may sound crazy to some but I loved my job as a tech more than I enjoy nursing, but I still love my job as a nurse. There are just huge responsibilities as a nurse that you don't have as a tech which can make your job much more stressful. I don't think the nursing shortage is because people hate nursing as the OP mentioned. There are many other reasons why there is a nursing shortage. If you read othere posts, there are people on waiting lists for years for nursing school, so people are out there getting their degrees and looking for jobs. Hospitals can't afford to hire as many nurses as they need. My floor alone just lost 3 nurses and can only afford to hire one...and the shortage continues. There are plenty of nurses out there who love what they do and new grads who are applying everywhere and anywhere for a job, but hospitals and other facilities cannot afford to hire the staffing they need. Please don't be discouraged by the negative things you hear, every jobs has pros and cons, EVERY job. Explore the dozens of types of nursing and all your options before making a huge decision. Best of luck!

** "There's A Reason There's A Nurse Shortage!!" **

"There's A Reason There's A Nurse Shortage!!"