Second Career Nurses

[RachieH]

Do you all who are currently working as nurses find that those who change careers to become nurses make good ones? I would think that they bring a whole new maturity level that maybe some younger nurses don't have. On top of that, I would think that a lot of them would be good at it because they wanted it badly enough to change their lives for it.

Any thoughts?

[RN4NICU, LPN, LVN]

It's literally impossible to generalize like that. It is all individual, just like the rest of nursing, and the rest of the working world, actually. Those that make the change because it is something they've always wanted to do, because it interests and excites them are likely to do well. It is perfectly acceptable and rational for these people also to be looking to increase their income and job security as well. However, people that look to nursing, JUST because they think there is "big money in it", or that it is an easy job, a "cool job", or a secure job, yet (obviously) do not have the first clue what nursing is all about, are likely to fall flat on their faces early on in their careers. There is a large amount of work and sacrifice for that paycheck. Some people don't take that into account.

Some people have an image of nursing in their mind that is nowhere close to reality - they have NO concept about how hard nursing is: some think that nurses just sit around and get up every couple of hours or so to pass pills - they thing night shift sleeps until the call lights go off. Some think that if you work in an ER, you will be "saving lives" and coding people all day long - they don't think about the activated charcoal part, or the LOL from the nursing home part, or the people that will call an ambulance rather than a taxi, the people that will b**** and moan constantly b/c they have to wait regardless of the fact that they have a cold, while someone else is having chest pains. You get what I'm saying - I have yet to find a "glamorous" nursing job - if you enter the field expecting glamour, prestige, money, and clean hands - you will not be happy no matter how many prior careers you've had.

If you know what you're getting into and you're happy about it anyway - likely to succeed.

If you don't know what you're getting into, or if you have been told what you are getting into, but you think it will be different for you somehow - not likely to succeed.