Really scared after reading "No I wouldn't reccomend nursing"!

decartes · Jun 4, 2007

Do what you enjoy. Maybe it would help if you shadowed a nurse or somehow got yourself in a position where you can see what a nurse actually does (volunteer) and learn more about it. There are many different avenues a nurse can build his/her career. That's part of the beauty of the nursing field, the flexibility. You just have to educate and prepare yourself for what you want.

PRicanRN · Jun 4, 2007

those are 2 job fields on opposite ends of the spectrum. Like the the previous poster said, its probably best that you shadow a nurse to see what their day is like. Its a good job but its not all roses, and you can get burnt out very quickly. You have to really be in it 100%.

edgwow · Jun 4, 2007

There is such a great variety in nursing. If you like people and are a good communicator you can find a nursing job. Sometimes it takes a few tries before you find a great match. I have been a nurse 19 years, I have not loved every job I have had, but I have found some jobs that I love. I like the ability to move on when you get bored.

Jo Dirt · Jun 4, 2007

Don't expect to go into nursing and live a cushy lifestyle with a fancy house and the SUVs and speed boat in the driveway. It's basically blue collar work and you will be on about the same level wage-wise as an electrician or mechanic. Absolutely nothing wrong with that but some people seem to expect nurses should be living these jet setter lifestyles and that just isn't realistic. And you will always hear what nurses "can" make, and while it's true that some nurses do have the option of making 80K a year it isn't viable for most.

And office jobs for nurses are scarce because in most places I have seen there are nurses with seniority who are waiting to take those, and when they get them they rarely let them go.

Yes, the hours are irregular. When I worked LTC I could never go in and expect to work my 7.5 hrs. and go home. You always deal with call-ins and no shows and while the state board of nursing (in this state, at least) specifies that failure to work beyond your agreed upon shift does not constitute patient abandonment, you better believe the higher ups will try to make you think otherwise.

Then again, nursing is better than trying to live on what you could earn at Mcdonald's.

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2007

I would recommend nursing - despite the attendant problems of our profession.

Why? Because bed side nursing isn't the be all and end all of nursing. Neither is med-surg. And name one profession that doesn't have it's issues (just because we don't hear about it don't mean it doesn't exist!) ??

Nursing is such a broad, varied, enriching and rewarding field. A gifted, unique and trust worthy profession.

cheers,

Roy (bed side ortho/med/surg/tele nurse :))

Pachinko · Jun 4, 2007

I've been a nurse for about six months. From what I've experienced, the work environment largely determines whether you will like the profession. You can make generalizations about nursing and the problems inherent in the profession, but there is huge variance from unit to unit. If you have a supportive manager and good co-workers, then even very hard work can be tolerable. If you're a great nurse and love the profession, landing in a bad environment with negative people, adverserial managers and crazy patient loads will make you hate it.

I did marketing for five years before I became a nurse. I sometimes miss the slower pace, but the work was really boring and low-paying (at least where I worked). Also, there is a lot of job uncertainty with marketing. I worked for a Fortune 500 company which I thought would be pretty stable, but we underwent several waves of layoffs that were horribly stressful, and in this economy, coming by such positions isn't easy. Nursing is one of the few professions where you can get a decent-paying job just about anywhere you want.

It's all about trade-offs. At this point in my life, I'm willing to put up with physical labor, long hours and some scary moments with patients for the stability and the pay. And yes, on the best days, nursing is really rewarding. On the worst days, you never want to come back!

mediatix8 · Jun 4, 2007

I am very happy with my pay and flexibility with my job. I work in a hospital in a Medical Oncology unit. I think the starting pay for new grads now is $22 an hour... but if you work evenings (3-11) it's an extra $4 an hour and if you work nights it's an extra $5 an hour. I work nights and have been doing this for 2 years. You don't learn everything in school, so at first it's challanging and you have to ask for a lot of help from your fellow nurses. I like the night shift... I find it a lot less stressful. As far as flexibility, we have to work every other weekend. A weekend is Fri and Sat. Besides that, we fill out our own schedule. Of course, the manager can make some changes to fill in some holes but for the most part we make our own schedule. I am full time so I have a "1.0" status. That means I have to work 10 days in a 2 week period. If at anytime I want to be a .9 status (that means working 9 days in a 2 week schedule) or .5 (working 5 days in a 2 week period), etc. it would be very easy for me to do that. I would just have to tell my manager and work the remainding days of my current schedule and I could be whatever status I want. I think this will be very useful for when I have kid(s). Also, the job market for nursing is awesome. The job I have now... they called me the very next day after I applied online. In fact, most of the places I applied to called me eventually.

The downsides of nursing are: any nurse will experience working short. Meaning, working with fewer staff than you need. This may be more of a problem in nursing homes (LTC OR Long Term Care). Think of a lot of busy work and looking at your watch a lot, thinking "uh oh... only 2 hours left in my shift!). Then again, the time goes by fast and you aren't bored. When you're new, you will likely have to stay late to catch up on your work., By the end of your shift, hopefully it's just computer documenting you have left to do so at least you can just sit and type. Staying an extra hour is not unheard of... but you get more efficient as time goes on. Where I work, they cannot make you stay an extra shift if the next shift is going to be short. You only do that if you want to for extra money. They also do not have oncall... where you can be called in to work on your day off. I mean, they can call me and ask if I want to work but I don't have to. Just get caller ID and don't answer the phone. Most hopitals in my area are like this (they do not have oncall and they do not make you stay an extra shift). Another bad side to nursing is at some point you will be yelled at by some doctor. Many times it's for a mistake made by another nurse that worked the day before or the shift before you, but you are there now so you are the one to be yelled at. Working nights, I dont see many docors. Only a couple stumble in in the early mornings. But I've been yelled at over the phone. Working nights, you have to call them up at night if patient condition changes and sometimes they just don't want to be bothered. But they are not your boss. They cannot fire you. They can complain all they want that you woke them up at 3am but guess what... that is your job. And your boss, the nursing manager, wants you to report condition changes so you will not get into trouble. Most of the time, I do not get yelled at. More often they are nice or at least not yelling. But when they do yell we repeat the conversation to our fellow nurses and laugh at the doctor. Another bad side to nursing is difficult patients and families... but again working nights I avoid a lot of families. Most patients and families are nice, and when you need help I've noticed most nurses are very nice and will help you.

fultzymom · Jun 4, 2007

Please remember this is a place where we get together et complain, compare frustrations, ect about our job. EVERY job has things about it that makes us complain and wish we could quit. Working in nursing IS very flexible. Many places offer both 8 & 12 hour shifts. You can choose which you want to work. Yes, I have complained about my job. Yes, there are days when I say, "Why did I choose this profession?" But I do LOVE my job. I have worked in Day Care, a factory, been a babysitter, and many jobs. I would not leave nursing to go back to any of them. As for the pay, I do not know many jobs that you start out at as high pay that you do. Here new RN's start out at $21 per hour. Not bad pay for a new grad. Ultimately, you have to decide what is the best for you. But also remember that with nursing there are many options out there for you. Good luck in what you decide.

Trauma Columnist · Jun 4, 2007

I've been a nurse for 15 years and was in broadcasting for 10 years prior to that. Nursing by far offers more flexibility, the ability to control your income (somewhat) and the ability to change jobs if you want to. I became a nurse to have the ability to always be able to get a job. Hubby was in the military and we moved often and it was hard to find a job. However, once I became an RN, it was easy!

Like above poster said, we come here to vent sometimes. Not everyday do we save lives and go home feeling as though we contributed something wonderful. There are frustrations. However, there are frustrations with every job.

Good luck - hope you become a nurse.

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2007

Long hours, unappreciated... yes, I've been there and would still recommend nursing. Once I left the hospital opting for hospice instead, I found nursing to be the rewarding career I hoped it would be as a student. That's the beauty of the profession. There are options.

oramar · Jun 4, 2007

Ihere is a lot of job uncertainty with marketing. I worked for a Fortune 500 company which I thought would be pretty stable, but we underwent several waves of layoffs that were horribly stressful, and in this economy, coming by such positions isn't easy. Nursing is one of the few professions where you can get a decent-paying job just about anywhere you want.
!

You are new to nursing. In your short time "you can get a decent-paying job just about anywhere you want." However I have been through staff cut backs and pay freezes and pay cuts. I personally have not been taken to the street by sercurity guards but I have watched my friends go. I have also been laid off because managment can hire a newbie for 10 dollars an hour less than they can get me. Now I know everyone is saying that the great RN shortage is here to stay but they were saying that in 1980 and 1990 and cut backs came anyway. When I first posted in 1998 everyone was here to post about how shabbily they had been treated during the cutbacks of the mid 1990s. I just feel it is necessary to warn you that you can't be certain about anything EVER.