RN that doesn't want to be an NP

rearviewmirror, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2015

I have biased opinion becasuse I hate being a nurse. Not only apart from the public view on the dirty, demeaning bedside work, I got sick of way we were treated even though we had the title "professional", it was merely a self-praise for blue-collared workers. You can disagree with me and that is totally fine, but working in the ED gave me a thought that human life is not really that much worth of saving when most people don't give a damn about their own lives anyways and have a stroke or stemi and expect miracles and hotel service at the hospital, while being under our tax money for expenses. These include the types that come to hospital for nothing, and still don't expect to pay a cent. Really? When I think of staff nurses (myself included), I think of a work ant in the hierarchy of ant colony; take orders, wipe butts, take complaints, whine, etc. Providers on the other hand, are held with respect by the public. Nurses don't in general and it's simple as that.

I also don't have any desire to become a NP, and this comes from a person who got accepted into one of best NP program in the state, and I decided to not follow through. Even within the NP community, they agree on the fact that there is no consistency with the NP education. I have my mind set on PA for couple reasons: resembles medical model, resembles training and education similar to MD and DO, better clinical training, cadaver dissection, science-heavy. Plus I want to have authority to order, diagnose, think, and prescribe, as nurse we cannot do that. I will take extra classes to go into PA school instead of having free march into NP school, and say goodbye to nursing.

I know this post sounds harsh, but it's just my opinion about my own life, no disrespect to other nurses.

allnurses Guide · Sep 10, 2015

They are just very different roles and there are many other options for advancement than just NP.

babyNP., APRN · Sep 10, 2015

Just fyi, the link you posted was for the organization, "National Association for Neonatal Nurse Practitioners"- so it would make sense that they have a majority of NPs on that council.

I think that bedside nurses are great and should be considered highly valuable & respected members of the health care team, personally.

NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN · Sep 11, 2015

My answer is always the same:

"Have fun with that."

I don't ever want to leave the bedside. I agree with the OP that it seems like being a nurse is viewed as demeaning and most people want to skip past it as quickly as possible.

I'm completely ok with that. If you can't wipe a bottom without telling the patient how disgusting it is or beneath you, then you shouldn't be a nurse. Please do the rest of us a favor and go as quickly as you can.

As much as I like to complain, I love my job. I will never leave being an RN. I will be one of those 90 year old RNS some day.

LakeEmerald · Sep 11, 2015

I don't want to be an NP. And I'm sure I could if I wanted to, I've always done very well in school. But, I love being at the bedside, where the action is!

It's worth it to wipe a few butts occasionally to have the privilege to be intimately involved in helping to stabilize people who are swirling the drain. I love codes and emergent situations (just not too many at once), and I am involved in them daily at work. The NPs I know work in doctor's offices doing very important work, but the pace and level of intensity are too slow for me.

Like NOAMotorcycle said, my reply would be, "Have fun with that!" The grad student was obviously ill-mannered. Don't let her/his uncouth-ness get you down. Just do what you love, and do it well, and you will shine while you're doing it!

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Sep 11, 2015

They are just very different roles and there are many other options for advancement than just NP.

Completely agree with this. When I graduate next May and hopefully pass NCLEX around August, I want to do bedside for a while. I'm not sure what specialty I would like to go into yet, but there are several I've been considering. Once I figure out my niche which may take a couple of years, I will at that point contemplate where I want to go. But I do not want to be an NP, I do know that. I have been tossing around becoming an Advanced Practicing RN. I think I would like to find my niche and then just become really good in that area and get all the education, practice, and knowledge I can.

I see lots of younger people immediately just wanting to become the NP. And while that is a great end result that is going to probably earn you the most money in nursing, I also think it can come with the biggest headaches. You also miss out on lots of areas in nursing that can be fun to do. I'm looking forward to working bedside whether it's in an ER, children's hospital, medsurg floor, where ever. Nursing has so many different and interesting areas to work in. It's one of the great things about this profession.

allnurses Guide · Sep 11, 2015

But I do not want to be an NP, I do know that. I have been tossing around becoming an Advanced Practicing RN.

NP is one type of APRN; the others are clinical nurse specialists (CNS), nurse anesthetists (CRNA), and certified nurse midwife (CNW).

Annaiya, NP · Sep 11, 2015

I feel like a lot of this attitude comes from the nursing schools who are pushing everyone to become NPs. My nursing school told my class over and over that they expected all of us to get master's degrees. They make it seem like you're a failure if you stop at RN and work at the bedside, which is so messed up. We need good bedside nurses, and I love working with the experienced nurses at work. I see them constantly suggesting things and intervening in ways that significantly help their patients. Even if other people try to devalue the role, nurses at least should understand that difference.

I find comments like the one you mentioned often come from new nurses or nursing students who still haven't figured out what it means to be a nurse. They are so focused on tasks and procedures, they aren't in a place in their practice yet to be able to understand the fine art of being an awesome nurse. And with an attitude like that, she never will. She also won't be a good NP either, IMO.

I went the NP route, not because I felt like it's a "better" job. In a lot of ways, an RN career is way better. But for my personality, I am a better NP than I could ever be a bedside nurse. I love pediatrics and my patients, but I don't have the personality to be one of the really amazing pediatric nurses. I hate feeding and holding babies, I'm not the type to play games with my patient and I don't joke around. But I'm great at evaluating data and figuring out what's going on and what interventions and therapies the patient needs. So I am happier in the NP role, and I think I can serve my patients better in this role. I can't understand why nurses aren't more supportive of each other. We all have valuable roles and the same end goal of improving the health and wellbeing of our patients.

hawaiicarl, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2015

The NP market is unstable at best, many states have very few NP positions at all. I am currently working with people that have their NP designation, and are stuck at the bedside, either because of politics or lack of opportunity. So in addition to their RN loans they get to pay their NP loans with the same wage I am making. I prefer doing my 3 12s a week and going home, not carrying a pager, and not being a sycophant to my supervising physician. :)

Cheers

PulmNP25, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2015

@rearviewmirror You should choose a different field of nursing to work in. Go work for an insurance company or case management. An assisted living. Peds. I respect that you are un happy because of the grit work but when I'm sick I wouldn't want my life in the hands of someone that feels the way you do. I work in the ER I completely get what your saying. People do not take care of their bodies or their health and we end up having to take care of them and even possibly saving their lives for them to turn around and not maintain life style changes. They abuse the ER and think it is a PCP. I get it but if you're this frustrated is it not better to move on?

samist · Sep 12, 2015

Thouhts on this matter....
I was orienting an agency nurse the other day and she mentioned that she was in grad school. I asked her what her major and she said it was nurse practitioner. Good for her, right? That doesn't bother me at all. What bothered me was when she said "definitely not stopping at RN, I'm too smart for that!" I was floored. I had never looked at it that way before? Not all nirses want to be practitioners. Some of them are smarter than the physicians but they still don't want to take on that role. They are happy at the bedside.
I guess I felt discouraged by the comment. Not only that, when I read articles online hat pertain to bedside nursing, there is always commentary from an NP in there. Don't get me wrong, I respect those that are practitioners and know what a tough job they have. It seems funny, though, that you would interview an NP in an article directly related to bedside care. Same goes for advisory boards. Take the National association of neonatal nurses for instance. Look at their governing board and you will see many NPs on there. It just seems that if we are going to speak about bedside nursing and if we are going to have advisory boards about bedside nursing, shouldn't the bedside nurses be the ones on the board?
It it just seems like more and more people go into nursing anymore just to be a practitioner. What happened to those interested in being "just and RN?"
Please, nobody take offense to my comment. Just wanted some thoughts.
ps: here's the like to the board members that I was mentioning. Most are NPs.
NANNP Council | Content

Yeah....that comment had me laughing! Like if you're "that smart" why didn't you go to medical school, why be a "nurse"? Honestly, I don't see what all the hype is about about NP schools, but that's just my opinion. I feel like the inconsistent scopes of practice from state to state is somewhat off putting and the market depending on what area you're can be super saturated. Why aren't nursing schools focusing on encouraging students to see nursing education as a viable and honorable option?