I notice some students or others seem to think that because they've heard about a nursing shortage, that means that they will get a day position in their dream unit, and be welcomed with open arms as if they are the reserve troops come to save the day.
I don't think that's really the case. You still have to take the less desirable shifts, prove yourself, be accepted by your co-workers, and earn respect. Yes, there are toxic units, and those ones are probably more in need of extra help, so you might be more likely to get a job there.
If you are a newbie, you still have to 'pay your dues' in some way, that's usually the way life works in many arenas.
Boy what a funny line of thinking this OP is. I'm in nursing school and I fully expect to hit the ground running when I get out. I'll be looking for a job that fits my family's needs first and foremost. What fits their needs is a 7am- 3:30pm (or other daytime hours) shift for me. If this "steps on the toes" of more senior nurses it doesn't concern or phase me. My family's toes are the toes I'm avoiding. I'm not afraid of competition and I'm not particular about what type of floor or home health care I work for. I fully expect to market myself my entire career from instituition to instituition for the best mix of hours/benefits/pay that I can find. Instead of complaining about new grads getting good jobs, quit whining and go out there and compete with them for those jobs.
I have worked on several hospital floors as an aide so spare me the whole "You'll see when you get here" spiel. I've seen all the politics and because I'm friendly and helpful to everyone, but buddies with no one (Have very little in common with most nurses) I get to sit alone on my little cloud and watch the silliness of co-workers below.
You want the job I'm going for? Come compete with me for it.
I don't think this was the premise of the OP (if it was, please correct me) and I don't think anyone is trying to be overtly negative to ALL new grads. I believe the complaint was the abnormally high expectations of a new grad and not competition-based for job placement. I'm sure the senior nurses have the shifts they want already and are certainly not competing for new grad positions. I know where I live, most new nurses work 12 hour night shift to start at many of the area hospitals. If that's not the case where you live, then that's great for you and your family.
As a CNA, I think you will certainly have the advantage of maybe knowing the right people to have the job you want at your facility and being better at many of the skills a new grad without CNA experience has. That will surely be a valued asset (I would hope).
Having a family and time constraints set with them is completely understandable; however, you won't be the only one out there with those responsibilities. Look around at your classmates: I'm sure a high number of them have the same family commitments you do. Aren't you getting your RN for a better salary = better life for your family?
When I graduate, I know I will be headed full throttle toward what I want also. Am I expecting to get it as a new grad? Let's just say I'm not pinning my hopes on it. I certainly wouldn't be DEMANDING certain expectations from a potential employer as I know that would detrimentally weaken my chances of obtaining that position.
I'm sorry, but as a fellow student, your post was offensive and demeaning to student nurses because posts like yours and new grads who think like you are the type of people the OP was referring to.
Instead of complaining about new grads getting good jobs, quit whining and go out there and compete with them for those jobs.
You want the job I'm going for? Come compete with me for it.
Compete with you? Nah...I'd get it before you, if I want it. That's not the point.
The point of the OP's post was that it can get very tiresome to hear from students (and potential students) that they are only interested in working premium hours and THEY complain when they find they frequently have to work less than desirable shifts in less than desirable places.
We're not the slightest worried that we have to compete with you for jobs WE want (LOL!); we are tired of YOUR "whining" (not specifically you, but the collective 'you', being students) that you aren't being thrown buckets of money for whatever hours you are willing to work. The attitude that they should be able to do whatever, wherever, because they are so very, very "needed".
I don't think there is anything wrong with a new grad shopping around for the best work environment for them. For some, it means a year of med-surg. For others, this may mean going into a specialty.
As for me, when I finished school, I asked for and received the hours I wanted. Was there some resentment? Yes, by some that got treated like absolute dirt when they were new. I feel badly that people had to go through that but I expected better for myself, because I know that when I am in an environment where I am happy, I do my best work. I love my job and I am proud to be a nurse, but I am always going to look after myself first when it comes to my career, and my life. If I'm not getting what I need from a particular workplace, well, plenty of other places. I have never been afraid to start over if that's what I need to do to thrive.
IMO, we're all different and that's what is so great about nursing-not everyone has to walk the same road.
If that means doing a fair share of holidays, then yes I agree. However, if that means night shift in med-surg, then I disagree.
I don't see anything wrong with a new grad going for a day position in a specialty area; if management is willing to spend the money it takes to extensively train a new grad in a specialty area and day shift is open. . .go get it newbie!
To me, day shift is a "less than desireable" shift. I hate getting up that early, and being so wiped out when I get home. I love evening shift because I can sleep in, and I still have a few hours before work to get things done. I also really like my pattern. I never work more than four days in a row, unless I sign up for extra shifts. As for working holidays, that's no biggie to me, since my previous career was also in a 24/7 business, so I've already learned that having to work on a holiday is not the end of the world, and in fact, has its good points (like getting paid time and a half and being a little slower paced). As far as getting into a specialty right away, I did that too.
Does any of this mean I haven't had to "pay my dues"? No way. I worked full time as a CNA then as an LPN during nursing school. I worked my behind off. In my first year as a nurse (LPN), I cried my fair share. Just because I got the shift I wanted, a pattern I like, in the specialty that I wanted, right out of nursing school, does in no way, shape, or form, mean that I have not and am still not currently, paying my dues, thankyouverymuch.
I guess I've "paid my dues" after 16 years. I've gotta tell you too that as an APN, yes, I get paid quite a bit more than an RN but I have the responsibility to go with the pay! It's not always easier, neater, cooler, less "yucky" at the top.
It seems like there are two seperate issues here...
1) students shouldn't think that they are going to get the perfect job outside of school
I agree... I see a lot of expectation of entitlement, but the real world is a very good teacher and I know from experience. Everyone was young once, and we all had to learn at some point that its just not that easy
2) resentment about students who DID actually get a non-bedside job just out of school
I don't understand this. If someone feels I'm qualified for some position and I think I would enjoy it, I'm all over it. It would not be a dealbreaker for me, if a nurse who has been on the floor for 20 years doesn't feel I should have the position, not unless she is paying my salary.
My biggest concern here is this: Why don't we, as a profession, try to take care of ourselves? I can only go off of my non-nursing experience working at the hospital and off of this board, but it really seems like there is a martyr complex here. Like the longer you "suffer" the better you are. That should NOT be the case. Nobody should tolerate a bad situation because they feel they owe their dues, or because one position is "holier" than another (just guessing at the motivation here), or because we are not here for ourselves but to take care of the patients. YES, let us take care of people. I am certainly not here because of myself. BUT, let us take care of ourselves and eachother too! Be happy for someone who gets a position they are happy in, even if you don't feel they are going the route you would. Get a better position if you don't feel good in the one that you are in, and I will cheer you on in that endeavor as well. I really think that we should support eachother more, and have less contempt for those who chose (and are awarded) a different path. In the example of an administrator without floor experience... would you REALLY want that position? I've been in administration for 10 years to some degree or another and it is very empty at the end of the day. I can't imagine personally WANTING that position, so if someone else just out of school can keep it from being unfilled (and work trickles down one way or another) then I will be happy for her, and just really hope that she puts her heart into it and tries her best, and feels fulfilled at the end of the day.
Specializes in Cardiothoracic Transplant Telemetry.
jlsrn...I am a new nurse and let's not mention the less desirable patient assignments....the old paying dues attitude...gotta love it.
often those "less desirable patient assignments" are given to new nurses not because they have to pay their dues, but because though the patients may be demanding they aren't really all that sick. While you may complain you may have a charge nurse that is making assignments based upon patient acuity and skill rather than trying to make it hard on the new-bie
I think we all work hard as nurses and should be paid for giving the effort. It can take a lot to keep going when problems reflect badly onyou but are more related to corporate needs.
I don't think it's as simple as the OP is putting it. In my school at least half of the students are second career students. Many of them know where they want to go with nursing and want to get there in the shortest period of time. What I don't think is often taken into consideration is that these students can have a wealth of experience that makes the transition to the 'real world' much easier.
A lot of nurses see me as "just a student", what they don't see is the years of working in administration - including health administration at a high level, nor do they see the work I have done caring for and rehabilitating animals - work that has given me skills that I will be using as a nurse, but we have yet to learn at school (skills that interestingly enough my supervising RN encouraged me to carry out during clinical placement, even though I refused to). Yes they were non-nursing jobs, but some of the skills carry over - calculating drug doses is the same for humans as it is animals, taking out stitches etc... Legal requirements of documentation are similar in some of the fields I have worked, even if what was being documented was different. We've briefly touched on nursing and the law in lectures and classes, but not much has been mentioned on understanding, interpretation and enforcement of legislation - something else I became highly skilled at in my previous life...
That said I don't have a sense of entitlement, but I do feel that the transferable skills I have should be considered when applying for my first nursing job.
cpkRN
274 Posts
I don't think this was the premise of the OP (if it was, please correct me) and I don't think anyone is trying to be overtly negative to ALL new grads. I believe the complaint was the abnormally high expectations of a new grad and not competition-based for job placement. I'm sure the senior nurses have the shifts they want already and are certainly not competing for new grad positions. I know where I live, most new nurses work 12 hour night shift to start at many of the area hospitals. If that's not the case where you live, then that's great for you and your family.
As a CNA, I think you will certainly have the advantage of maybe knowing the right people to have the job you want at your facility and being better at many of the skills a new grad without CNA experience has. That will surely be a valued asset (I would hope).
Having a family and time constraints set with them is completely understandable; however, you won't be the only one out there with those responsibilities. Look around at your classmates: I'm sure a high number of them have the same family commitments you do. Aren't you getting your RN for a better salary = better life for your family?
When I graduate, I know I will be headed full throttle toward what I want also. Am I expecting to get it as a new grad? Let's just say I'm not pinning my hopes on it. I certainly wouldn't be DEMANDING certain expectations from a potential employer as I know that would detrimentally weaken my chances of obtaining that position.
I'm sorry, but as a fellow student, your post was offensive and demeaning to student nurses because posts like yours and new grads who think like you are the type of people the OP was referring to.