Retired Police Officer

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Iam a retired Police Officer from the Miami area that is interested in being a nurse on the west coast of Florida. Im finding that there's alot of testing and pre-reqs. waiting lists, etc. just to enter the program.

I can immediately enter a program with more support, financial assistance and no waiting lists to be a certified: Automotive Mechanic (35Kyear), HVAC(35Kyear), Forklift Training(30kyear), etc. than a Registered Nurse.

I understand this process of becoming a Registered Nurse is in place to protect patients and standardize the profession, but why not more schools? with more programs? It seems that there is a shortage of Nurses Nationwide in part, due to the limited number of schools that offer either LPN, or RN programs along with there selection process.

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Specializes in Nursing Education.
Iam a retired Police Officer from the Miami area that is interested in being a nurse on the west coast of Florida. Im finding that there's alot of testing and pre-reqs. waiting lists, etc. just to enter the program.

I can immediately enter a program with more support, financial assistance and no waiting lists to be a certified: Automotive Mechanic (35Kyear), HVAC(35Kyear), Forklift Training(30kyear), etc. than a Registered Nurse.

I understand this process of becoming a Registered Nurse is in place to protect patients and standardize the profession, but why not more schools? with more programs? It seems that there is a shortage of Nurses Nationwide in part, due to the limited number of schools that offer either LPN, or RN programs along with there selection process.

Congrats on your desire to become a Registered Nurse.

The long and short of this story is that there are simply not enough nursing faculty to open more programs. The nursing shortage does not only impact acute care hospitals, home health agencies and long term care, it is also impacting the availability of qualified nursing instructors to teach the programs. This is the reason there is a national push to educate nurses so they can teach.

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Iam a retired Police Officer from the Miami area that is interested in being a nurse on the west coast of Florida. Im finding that there's alot of testing and pre-reqs. waiting lists, etc. just to enter the program.

I can immediately enter a program with more support, financial assistance and no waiting lists to be a certified: Automotive Mechanic (35Kyear), HVAC(35Kyear), Forklift Training(30kyear), etc. than a Registered Nurse.

I understand this process of becoming a Registered Nurse is in place to protect patients and standardize the profession, but why not more schools? with more programs? It seems that there is a shortage of Nurses Nationwide in part, due to the limited number of schools that offer either LPN, or RN programs along with there selection process.

More schools would not solve the problem....mainly because there is no nursing shortage.

Now if you want to be a nurse I would suggest start taking the pre reqs and while you are waiting to get into nursing school I highly suggest a job like a CNA in a hospital or nursing home. It will help you a lot. The schools do have waiting lists but people drop out change their minds etc so the wait usually isn't as long as they say.

Good luck to you. I think a retired police officer would be a great assett to the nursing community. I really like working with people from all different backgrounds.

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Great comments here. I fully agree: there is no nursing "shortage" but only management with a big hammer inadequately staffing floors to save $$$. This not only results in out of whack nurse/patient ratios, but leads to staffing shortfalls at the last minute resulting in panic calls to find people to come in or work overtime.

You mentioned comparable salaries for different careers, but would humbly suggest (in my limited experience) not to get in nursing for the salary. Guess it depends where you work, but it readily becomes apparent why the burnout in nursing is around the five year point for many and why "some" nurses are pretty disgruntled. That being said, it's great to see the dedicated, hard-working coworkers grinding out everyday and willing to help us "newbies."

I finished nursing school last year (retired USAF and 55) and would also recommend you jump at the chance to be a CNA or PSA to gain some clinical hands-on experience. It will give you a good insight into what you're getting into and provide invaluable experience that will help you in clinicals.

Best of luck to you.

Phil

More schools would not solve the problem....mainly because there is no nursing shortage.

Now if you want to be a nurse I would suggest start taking the pre reqs and while you are waiting to get into nursing school I highly suggest a job like a CNA in a hospital or nursing home. It will help you a lot. The schools do have waiting lists but people drop out change their minds etc so the wait usually isn't as long as they say.

Good luck to you. I think a retired police officer would be a great assett to the nursing community. I really like working with people from all different backgrounds.

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Great comments here. I fully agree: there is no nursing "shortage" but only management with a big hammer inadequately staffing floors to save $$$. This not only results in out of whack nurse/patient ratios, but leads to staffing shortfalls at the last minute resulting in panic calls to find people to come in or work overtime.

You mentioned comparable salaries for different careers, but would humbly suggest (in my limited experience) not to get in nursing for the salary. Guess it depends where you work, but it readily becomes apparent why the burnout in nursing is around the five year point for many and why "some" nurses are pretty disgruntled. That being said, it's great to see the dedicated, hard-working coworkers grinding out everyday and willing to help us "newbies."

I finished nursing school last year (retired USAF and 55) and would also recommend you jump at the chance to be a CNA or PSA to gain some clinical hands-on experience. It will give you a good insight into what you're getting into and provide invaluable experience that will help you in clinicals.

Best of luck to you.

Phil

Nursing salaries in the Northeast are the highest. New grads in the Greater Hartford, Connecticut area are making $50,000/year to start.

It all depends on where you are and what specialty you are in.

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Congrats on your desire to become a Registered Nurse.

The long and short of this story is that there are simply not enough nursing faculty to open more programs. The nursing shortage does not only impact acute care hospitals, home health agencies and long term care, it is also impacting the availability of qualified nursing instructors to teach the programs. This is the reason there is a national push to educate nurses so they can teach.

Thanks for quick response. Your comments are appreciated and helpful.

Best Regards.

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