i am graduating in may after waiting years to become a nurse. i have always, since the tender age of about 9, wanted to be a nurse.
i simply cannot express how much it :angryfire burns my hide :angryfire that everyone and their mother wants to be a nurse now. what's with the sudden enthusiasm and interest in nursing??? particularly in ca, in seems that everyone is telling me that they are doing pre-req's for nursing. ***?? my friend (also graduating with me in may) pointed out that it seems more and more men are coming into nursing. now, maybe she and i will get raked over the coals for this one, but before the $$ spike for nursing pay, men would be laughed at (a la ben stiller in meet the parents) for being a nurse.
i just find it so frustrating that everyone wants to be a nurse now, especially since nursing has become quite the lucrative career. what happened to wanting to be a nurse because you (*gasp*) care about people and like (*gasp #2*) helping others???????
this is all boiling over with me because i see quite a few of my classmates that clearly are in this for the money. i, personally, would rather die than be their patients - that's how greedy, selfish, money-hungry some of my lovely classmates are.
sorry - i just have to vent.
**please note: i absolutely do not mean that men should not be in nursing - i think it's great. i am generally frustrated at seemingly everyone (both men and women) being interested in nursing, now that it pays so well (esp. in ca). please do not accuse me of being sexist**.
If I were in it for the money I would have been a plumber. The one that was here yesterday made $245/hr.
That's just funny! I am the 'and their mother' that was mentioned in the original post. I had 2 or 3 things that I wanted to be in high school - and yes, a nurse was one of them. Didn't think I could do it - the idea of needles freaked me out. A cat with kidney failure (needed LR SQ) and 2 kids changed that. Like several of the other posters, I too was in IT. I had a great job in a very specialized area and made better money at what I did than I probably ever will as a nurse. Sometimes there are more important things in life than how much money you make. There's something special about feeling like you've made a difference. I will graduate in May and believe me, with 2 kids, a dog, a husband, etc. it hasn't been easy. On most days, the feeling that I go home with after a day of clinical, beats the pants off the feeling you have when you schlep out of the cubicle at the end of the day. At my age (42), it was a now or never kind of thing. I could go through the rest of my life wondering what it would have been like to do something that I truly enjoy or I could take the plunge, do something about it and find out! For me personally, I don't think that it would have been the same for me had I gone that route straight out of high school. I believe that the life experiences that I've had are making it a different experience for me than it would have been 20 years ago. I think you're just upset about the competition - the older students in my class are the ones with the impressive GPAs.
Haha when I was 9 I wanted to be a cartoonist because, like all kids that age, I loved cartoons and loved drawing. As I got older, I realized my drawing really wasn't that good and that I was interested in other things.
Nowadays if I wasn't to do nursing, the only other thing I can think of that I would enjoy (thanks to have to take microbiology for nursing) is clinical lab.
I'm a male and I got into nursing (2nd career after being laid off from a large corporation) for the solid pay, flexible schedule, and the variety of paths I can take my career. I didn't feel any great need to care for people and I'm definately not huggy/touchy-feely/emotional. "Ka-ching", as you say, is all I hear when I'm doing something I'm not excited about doing in the hospital. I focus on the fact that I'm doing this to support my family by visualizing my overtime check and whatever I'm doing doesn't bother me so much. Not only that but I spend a lot of time marketing myself to different hospitals and healthcare agencies looking for the best deal ($$$ WOHOO!). I'm exactly what you were talking about and I'm here to stay.
I also have a sense of humor about the profession. The other night the wife and I were watching a show on making chocolate and I told her the melted milk chocolate looked like C-Diff just to mess with her. I'm not going to be serious all the time because I'm a nurse. Oh and guys make fun of me(been called "Gaylord" or Murse a 1,000 times each), but we all make fun of each other so it's a good time.
None of this makes me a bad nurse, in fact I believe quit the opposite. I don't get emotional or worked up over things I can't control so my focus is always on my responsibilities. I think competence and a good work ethic are the two main qualities of a good nurse. I'll save my hugs for my dog.
I find that the nurses like you who have an arrogance about how good they are for their intentions about becoming nurses are a lot more likely to burn out and leave the profession when they find out health care is not Utopia.
i simply cannot express how much it :angryfire burns my hide :angryfire that everyone and their mother wants to be a nurse now. what's with the sudden enthusiasm and interest in nursing??? particularly in ca, in seems that everyone is telling me that they are doing pre-req's for nursing. ***?? my friend (also graduating with me in may) pointed out that it seems more and more men are coming into nursing. now, maybe she and i will get raked over the coals for this one, but before the $$ spike for nursing pay, men would be laughed at (a la ben stiller in meet the parents) for being a nurse.
i just find it so frustrating that everyone wants to be a nurse now, especially since nursing has become quite the lucrative career. what happened to wanting to be a nurse because you (*gasp*) care about people and like (*gasp #2*) helping others???????
this is all boiling over with me because i see quite a few of my classmates that clearly are in this for the money. i, personally, would rather die than be their patients - that's how greedy, selfish, money-hungry some of my lovely classmates are.
what i'm trying to understand is why do you even care about what others are doing? i'm not even in nursing school yet (taking my pre-reqs and applying for fall 2009) but i'm one of those who decided last minute to go into nursing. i'm a second careerer - already got a ba in a non-nursing field. wanted to go into nursing 5 years ago..but decided to go into corporate america instead. well, corporate america sucks and is boring to me..so i'm making the switch.
i've always been fascinated by the human body..i do care about helping others..but i also want to make a decent pay and have flexibility. i'm not greedy, selfish or money-hungry..but ya know what..i don't care if my classmates are. i'm not focused on what other people are doing..the only concern i have..is for myself. who cares what they do..they aren't doing anything for me.
granted, you may have opinions about whether someone will be a "good nurse"..or "deserves" to be in the program..but what does that have to do with you, your life and your career?
i am graduating in may after waiting years to become a nurse. i have always, since the tender age of about 9, wanted to be a nurse.
i simply cannot express how much it :angryfire burns my hide :angryfire that everyone and their mother wants to be a nurse now. what's with the sudden enthusiasm and interest in nursing??? particularly in ca, in seems that everyone is telling me that they are doing pre-req's for nursing. ***?? my friend (also graduating with me in may) pointed out that it seems more and more men are coming into nursing. now, maybe she and i will get raked over the coals for this one, but before the $$ spike for nursing pay, men would be laughed at (a la ben stiller in meet the parents) for being a nurse.
i just find it so frustrating that everyone wants to be a nurse now, especially since nursing has become quite the lucrative career. what happened to wanting to be a nurse because you (*gasp*) care about people and like (*gasp #2*) helping others???????
this is all boiling over with me because i see quite a few of my classmates that clearly are in this for the money. i, personally, would rather die than be their patients - that's how greedy, selfish, money-hungry some of my lovely classmates are.
sorry - i just have to vent.
**please note: i absolutely do not mean that men should not be in nursing - i think it's great. i am generally frustrated at seemingly everyone (both men and women) being interested in nursing, now that it pays so well (esp. in ca). please do not accuse me of being sexist**.
there is a huge nursing shortage if you weren't aware, so if you are as driven by the humanitarian aspect of nursing as you claim to be, you should be overwhelmed with joy over the influx of new nursing students. i must say, i am glad this thread was made because i have always thought there may be people who feel like i'm a poser or don't belong simply because of the volume of new nurses and the increase in male applicants. i will admit, i care most about money because i need it to survive! simply being a caring person doesn't pay my mortgage or grocery bill. however, this isn't going to stop me from being a caring, attentive, and compassionate member of a healthcare team...i can do both!!! it's not like i get paid more for giving poor quality care to patients. that is the best part in nursing we get the money and the opportunity to enrich people's lives. please take a step back and realize this glass is definitely half full.
I was just venting (key word) -perhaps mistakenly - that several of my classmates are absolutely ruthless, selfish, unkind people that do not (in my humble opinion) belong in a field that is based on CARING for other people.
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THere are these kinds of people out there. But, let me just say that because of the long waiting lists and the strict requirements that we have now, some of those people are weeded out.
I have worked with nurses that you describe, and it's not pretty. They're already out there sweety,, you just see them in your class... they're already working as nurses taking care of Grandma and Grandpa. And it sucks. But what can you do about it? Not much. THey will get themselves fired eventually, I've seen it happen. Just document each time this stuff happens. Write the day, time and describe the facts of the event. Once you have enough, take it to your supervisor, and they will have to deal with it. Sometimes they will really deal with it, and sometimes they won't. If you can't stand working around them anymore, find a new job. Don't ever put your license in jeopardy over these folks, it's not worth it.
OP - your comment about people going into nursing "just for the money" cracks me up. :rotfl: I left a job after 23 years that pays way better than nursing ever will. Please calm down about things over which you have no control. Actually, you come across as pretty mean-spirited. Remember that whatever anyone else does does not diminish what you have accomplished or who you are.
Personally I think anybody that completed the pre-reqs and gained admission to the program, met standards, graduated NS, and aced NCLEX deserves that they worked for.
If they're substandard or unsafe they won't last long in this job market.
Personally I think anybody that completed the pre-reqs and gained admission to the program, met standards, graduated NS, and aced NCLEX deserves that they worked for.
If they're substandard or unsafe they won't last long in this job market.
OK so I'm probably gonna get beat on for this, but in all actuality, ( and I think that every working nurse here could concur, were they honest) I don't care about every patient that I take care of....gasp!!! And believe me, I do take care of every patient that is my responsibility...do you see the difference here? I appreciate that there are nurses that have wanted to be nurses since they were in the womb, but it does NOT make a person a bad nurse if they aren't one of those. And you don't have to careabout every single person you take care of, because frankly, some of them are not very nice folks. I care enough on a human level not to allow them to suffer or die or anything, but that's about it. Otherwise the prisoner i took care of who was in jail for rape, nope, didn't care about him. But I did my job...I guess what I'm saying is that you really don't have to be super kind hearted or whatever to do the job, as evidenced by every time a nurse takes care of an awful human being, and does it well, depite the bad taste that person leaves in his/her mouth...by extension a nurse who doesn't really like people could probably still do the job fairly well, though not very sweetly(can't think of the word i'm looking for here:D), i guess...
3. Why do you feel like, just because you wanted to become a nurse at 9, then youre MORE deserving than me who wanted to become a nurse at 24?
if there's one more post about why some one is BETTER than some one else because theyve wanted to be a nurse before they were born I'm going to scream. Good grief!!! Be supportive!!! PLEASE!
And if I see one more post about me thinkiNG I'm BETTER than someone else, I'm going to scream!! I NEVER EVER EVER said that I was BETTER than others for wanting to be a nurse at 9. I was simply stating how I question why you would go into nursing if, like my classmate, you see people as "animals in a zoo".
Yep. I knew it. I should have kept this crap to myself.
I NEVER SAID I WAS BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i, personally, would rather die than be their patients - that's how greedy, selfish, money-hungry some of my lovely classmates are.
I left a job after 23 years that pays way better than nursing ever will. Please calm down about things over which you have no control. Actually, you come across as pretty mean-spirited. Remember that whatever anyone else does does not diminish what you have accomplished or who you are.
career#2
17 Posts
That's just funny!
I am the 'and their mother' that was mentioned in the original post. I had 2 or 3 things that I wanted to be in high school - and yes, a nurse was one of them. Didn't think I could do it - the idea of needles freaked me out. A cat with kidney failure (needed LR SQ) and 2 kids changed that. Like several of the other posters, I too was in IT. I had a great job in a very specialized area and made better money at what I did than I probably ever will as a nurse. Sometimes there are more important things in life than how much money you make. There's something special about feeling like you've made a difference. I will graduate in May and believe me, with 2 kids, a dog, a husband, etc. it hasn't been easy. On most days, the feeling that I go home with after a day of clinical, beats the pants off the feeling you have when you schlep out of the cubicle at the end of the day. At my age (42), it was a now or never kind of thing. I could go through the rest of my life wondering what it would have been like to do something that I truly enjoy or I could take the plunge, do something about it and find out! For me personally, I don't think that it would have been the same for me had I gone that route straight out of high school. I believe that the life experiences that I've had are making it a different experience for me than it would have been 20 years ago. I think you're just upset about the competition - the older students in my class are the ones with the impressive GPAs. 