Growing up, I always wanted to be either a Nurse or a Dental Hygienist. My first job as a teenager was in a dentist office so that is where the interest in dental hygiene started. I have always wanted to have a job where I help people so Nursing has been a close second.
So I grew up, got a career in retail, got married and started to live happily ever after. Shortly after I got married, my hours started getting cut because I had the audacity to start asking for days off here and there, if I requested one day off, I would only get 4 hours for the whole week. So I decided it was time for a career change and pursued my CNA. Fell in love with the field and decided to pursue an RN at my local community college. I quit work to peruse my RN full time and this, along with a lot of unforeseen expenses, generally poorly managing our money, and my inability to tell my husband "no" when he wanted things we couldn't afford because I didn't feel like I had a right to... Or he wouldn't listen to me because I wasn't contributing to the household (huge marital resentment but that is besides the point)... Forced me to stop perusing my career goals.
So I dropped out of Nursing school and started using my CNA for the first time. My first job being in LTC. WORST WORK EXPERIENCE EVER!
Don't get me wrong. I love being a CNA. I love being able to help the residents do things they can't do for themselves. There is nothing about the nature of the job that bothers me.
I hate that staffing is constantly such an issue. I hate that they make someone go home half way through each shift because of labor costs, and census, while they let people work ridiculous amounts of OT at time and a half because they don't know how to schedule coverage. No joke. For example on Christmas Day, afternoon shift, there are 3 CNAs scheduled when there should be a minimum of 7 with 1 person going home halfway through the shift. This isn't an isolated incident. It happens about half the time.
Sterile Technique is nothing like I learned in nursing school.
Nurses do not watch residents take their medications.
Residents rights are a joke.
The field is nothing like I imagined it to be.... The list goes on.
I'm not sure if all nursing homes are terrible places to work at. I have heard that they are all the same.
One thing that attracts me to nursing is the flexibility, and various places a nursing license can take me.
Things that defer me from going into nursing are the high patient load, the long shifts, the shift work, and the fact that I hate working in LTC, but will probably have to start out in LTC or Med-Surge (which I hear also sucks)
So this brings me to the point of the post. I am almost to a point where I can go back to school with or without my husbands help. I could make few more sacrifices and have a career in dental hygiene (the pre reqs were pretty much all the same, but i would have to commute or move 2 hours away to peruse this) but it would be easier and more convenient to peruse the nursing career.
Does it get better? Am I looking at things as CNA when as a nurse things are way better?
*****Does anybody have regrets about choosing nursing over another field?*****
Being a dental hygienist would probably give you a better quality of life and not having to worry about under staffing a major problem in most hospitals and nursing homes in America. Nothing is going to change to improve staffing levels short of increased unionization or a national patient ratio law a la California! Also I don't understand how the current staffing levels for nursing homes count nurses in admin that do not provide direct patient care, that is just ridiculous!
When I was a secretary I never worried about the job and felt free to quit and try different jobs out. As a nurse I feel it is almost impossible to switch jobs and find sane fair staffing levels. Even if you can find such a place, without a union or patient ratio law it can change on a dime as soon as the place starts cost cutting, restructuring, new management or ownership and you have no say in working conditions, left to accept the worsening conditions or look for a decent place to move to which is truly like looking for a needle in a haystack! If you can find a place with fair staffing ratios is just the first step, then is management fair or are they capricious! Are coworkers kind or is their a hostile bullying atmosphere. It is discouraging knowing how things are getting worse and not having any real control over working conditions, yet being expected to be supernurse.
I just don't think you would be dealing with these issues if you were in another field such as dental hygienist. I don't think it could be too understaffed and bet working conditions and morale are better than you will find in the nursing/CNA healthcare setting. Why would you want to pursue nursing knowing you are risking your emotional and even physical health when you could go into another field that provides better quality of life and decent wages?
I agree not all nursing homes are the same. I work in a skilled nursing facility, but I work on the subacute rehab floor. So our patients come to us a few days out of the hospital stay for 1week-3months depending, and then go home. I only have 16 patients on 3-11 and about 23 on nights.
I was sick to my stomach about having to work in a skilled nursing factility at first. I had nothing but bad experiences in clinicals at SNFs. Im an LPN, just finished my RN this past semester so I didnt really have a choice at the time. However I ended up falling in love with it. I really do like my job. I enjoy working in geriatrics. Go figure. I believe it is the facility, rather than the profession or specialty area that makes the difference.
However, the jobs our CNA's do, is drastically diffrent from what I do as a nurse. Im not sure I could handle being a CNA. So keep that in mind.
I enjoy nursing. But, like others some days I wish I would have pursued OT, PT, or Speech Language Therapy. Nursing is great, but many nurses are overworked and underpaid in comparison to these other professions with A LOT more responsibility.
I can think of at least three careers that I'd choose over nursing (airline pilot, orthopedic surgeon, firefighter) but my only regret with nursing is that I started at age 45 instead of at age 25.
*****Does anybody have regrets about choosing nursing over another field?*****
Not one regret here.
I worked in a horrible nursing home my first job as a CNA. The first thing I learned was that I, and no one else, was responsible for how I did my job.
I completely regret becoming a nurse, and wouldn't do it again if I had the choice. If I could go back in time, I would have gotten a master's or become a PT.
I have been a nurse for nearly 3 years ( come Jan) and have been on the floor. I like nursing but I'm wanting to get out of bedside nursing and maybe get into case mgt or home care
You took the words right out of my mouth. I feel the same exact way. I feel that if someone had given me a crystal ball and I could look into my future, I don't think I would have chosen nursing. I have about 20 nurses friends I'm associated with and most of them are miserable. I feel that I spend most of time trying to go back to school or find jobs that that keep my away from the floor. You are right. I would never recommend this profession to anyone I care about and love. On the surface it seems like a noble profession, but it a grinder. Ok, I have said enough. I would have chosen to become an interior designer or something creative. It's the only time I feel free. I feel like I help people more when I use my creative talents. To all the nurses the still in struggle, keep your head up.
MomRN0913
1,131 Posts
Yes, I regret my decision these days. I should have become a physical therapist