The Nursing School to Welfare Pipeline

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I am sure many people have heard of the social issue/ cause "school to prison pipeline" that many civic groups are trying to eradicate. I am here to draw attention to a similar related problem , the college to welfare pipeline.

Due to an intricate , intimate, and covert relationship between big government politicos, higher education, Bureau of Occupational affairs, and the Federal/ State Department of labor, we have a serious student debt problem in the nursing field that is only going to get worse. Nurses need to wake up and take note of the LPN to RN hoax, and the RN-BSN hoax. These are all well publicized , propaganda driven falsities that are crushing nurses into debt driven higher education requirements. These propaganda driven requirements brainwash nurses into believing that without the extra education, they will not be employed.

And to a certain degree, they are correct, but its important for nurses to see the pitfall, before taking the dive. There is little to no difference in responsibility or pay rate from LPN to RN, and most RNs are taking the lower wage, just to have a job. There is zero difference in job responsibility or pay from RN to BSN, but the dollars spent to get there are substantial. The RN to BSN pipeline is a grotesque narrative that is being sung, for the sole purpose of enriching nursing schools. The NCLEX exam is identical for RNs and BSNs, the scope of practice is identical, and so are all the pay rates. A staff nurse is a staff nurse, is a staff nurse, too.

So why go for your BSN? Its because the hospitals and other various 24/ 7 institutional care providers say so. They have all built a united wall against the ADN RN. We are becoming an extinct species, because no one will hire us. Is the BSN a job guarantee? Of course not. Is any higher education a job guarantee? Nope. Big government politicos want student debt to skyrocket , so that they can fly in and save everyone with free bailouts, loan forgiveness, and thousands of more votes on election day.

May the buyer beware, until that utopia comes to fruition. In the meantime, take a serious look inward into the pitfalls, tricks and traps of higher education in the nursing field. The powers that be want you to keep jumping hurdles , spending more and more money, hoping to get hired, and falling deeper and deeper into debt, during the process. The higher you jump, the more you spend, and the less you earn. For many nurses who fell for these schemes, the financial devastation has been both swift and severe.

Specializes in LDRP.
8 minutes ago, NurseBlaq said:

Do what YOU want to do and don't let others opinions ruin your future.

......


Neither side is right or wrong as it depends on several other factors.

My heart is in nursing, and that is the field I'm most passionate about. ❤️ If I hadn't stumbled across this thread, I wouldn't have even questioned anything. I truly appreciate reading opinions on both sides. I am going to stay the course and complete my LPN next year. ? I live in a bigger area and have no problem commuting to neighboring smaller towns if I need to in order to work as a nurse and build experience/build rapport. I'm one of the odd ones who won't have any student loan debt upon graduation, and I won't need to work full-time right away (although I would love to work full-time eventually). I think my unique circumstances might make the whole transition into nursing less "stressful" for me when compared to those who need to work full-time (understandably so) and who also have large amounts of school loans to repay. Thank you for your reply! I truly appreciate the encouragement! ?

This post/topic and every posting has immensely valuable/pertinent information, yet I have seen one line from any nursing manager, administrator, recruiter challenging the dialogue. This tells me they have absolutely no defense of the unscrupulous methods used by the mega health systems to obtain labor. These systems pay ridiculously low wages compared to other professions that have nowhere near the education requirements and nowhere near the liability that nursing requires. Why isn't someone from that arena on this forum giving any feedback??? They are bought and paid for by the very system they represent. And you are so right about bringing in international nurses who need the job so badly, are willing to tolerate unspeakable conditions..Where are the organizations we pay dues to, supposedly representing us and making conditions better for us??? They are in their ivory towers writing some theory, in their bubbles with no clue to what the real world of nursing is about. I say bring the unions back. But then they will simply "certify" a tech type to do all we do as healthcare has done in many many areas(Maine has been using "med techs" for eons) and the public will be as unaware as they are now.

3 hours ago, momofm1998 said:

This post/topic and every posting has immensely valuable/pertinent information, yet I have seen one line from any nursing manager, administrator, recruiter challenging the dialogue. This tells me they have absolutely no defense of the unscrupulous methods used by the mega health systems to obtain labor. These systems pay ridiculously low wages compared to other professions that have nowhere near the education requirements and nowhere near the liability that nursing requires. Why isn't someone from that arena on this forum giving any feedback??? They are bought and paid for by the very system they represent. And you are so right about bringing in international nurses who need the job so badly, are willing to tolerate unspeakable conditions..Where are the organizations we pay dues to, supposedly representing us and making conditions better for us??? They are in their ivory towers writing some theory, in their bubbles with no clue to what the real world of nursing is about. I say bring the unions back. But then they will simply "certify" a tech type to do all we do as healthcare has done in many many areas(Maine has been using "med techs" for eons) and the public will be as unaware as they are now.

I have continually seen RN and LPN jobs wiped out in favor of "techs"...the new word that means cheap labor. Its in every single outpatient center, office clinic, and also in ORs, Surgery Centers. I remember years ago hearing a few nursing school clinical instructors bemoaning how expensive it has become to work as a nurse with all of the certs, education, and goal post always being moved to the right, and that they (the powers that be who control the workforce wages) are going to have to increase the wages paid to nurses substantially to keep attracting/ keeping people in the profession. Its 20 years later and my area hospital is still paying the same $$$ starting rate for RN-BSN that they were paying 15 years ago for RN-ADN. How about them apples?

Specializes in Pediatric Specialty RN.
On 5/22/2019 at 4:52 PM, NurseMomTo8 said:

I read through this whole topic yesterday and today between errands and caring for my kids. As someone who has dreamed of being a nurse for the better part of ten years, I have to now wonder what in the world I’m signing myself up for. I’m currently planning on heading into an LPN program at my local community college, which will be followed by another year to earn my ADN. I had planned on getting my MSN eventually, but now I’m questioning if that will even be worth it. It appears the BSN (not mandatory but preferred in my living area) may be something to forego until I have years of experience under my belt. Or maybe I should bypass nursing in general? Lots to think on after reading this thread, but I truly do appreciate hearing from both ends of the spectrum in regards to experiences and opinions on the matter. ?

Please do not let the negative nellie's of this thread scare you off. For every person here posting, there are many many more that are too busy enjoying their careers to be here whining. I was where you were a few years ago. I came here, I read, and they scared the bejeesus out of me. I thought EVERYONE hates their job and EVERYONE is treated terribly, etc....It sidetracked me for a good 5 years before I decided that what I was seeing and hearing from my nurse friends was not what I was seeing and hearing here. So I went for it. At 45 years old, I went to nursing school, graduated with honors at 47 years old and had a job waiting for me 6 months prior to graduation. I didn't know anyone who helped me get the job. I just applied and interviewed and was hired just like everyone else. Had I listened to those that told me that with a diploma I'd never get hired, I wouldn't be here now. Diploma grads in my neck of the woods are actually highly sought after because we get more clinical time than any other program.

I am in the same state as the OP but have not had the experience she describes, nor have any of my classmates. Even just across the state, things can be very different.

I don't start my first job until June, so I can't comment on the administration issues etc, but I will say that in my 1200 + clinical hours and working with many different nurses and administrators along the way, I have not heard the complaints that are in this thread.

I encourage you to follow your dreams, but also verify that the jobs will be available in your area. Many places in the country are not like the OP describes at ALL.

Specializes in LDRP.
29 minutes ago, Jenbripsu said:

Please do not let the negative nellie's of this thread scare you off. For every person here posting, there are many many more that are too busy enjoying their careers to be here whining. I was where you were a few years ago. I came here, I read, and they scared the bejeesus out of me. I thought EVERYONE hates their job and EVERYONE is treated terribly, etc....It sidetracked me for a good 5 years before I decided that what I was seeing and hearing from my nurse friends was not what I was seeing and hearing here. So I went for it. At 45 years old, I went to nursing school, graduated with honors at 47 years old and had a job waiting for me 6 months prior to graduation. I didn't know anyone who helped me get the job. I just applied and interviewed and was hired just like everyone else. Had I listened to those that told me that with a diploma I'd never get hired, I wouldn't be here now. Diploma grads in my neck of the woods are actually highly sought after because we get more clinical time than any other program.

I am in the same state as the OP but have not had the experience she describes, nor have any of my classmates. Even just across the state, things can be very different.

I don't start my first job until June, so I can't comment on the administration issues etc, but I will say that in my 1200 + clinical hours and working with many different nurses and administrators along the way, I have not heard the complaints that are in this thread.

I encourage you to follow your dreams, but also verify that the jobs will be available in your area. Many places in the country are not like the OP describes at ALL.

That is encouraging! Thank you! ❤️ And best wishes as you start your new career. Congrats!!

Specializes in Cardiology.
45 minutes ago, NurseMomTo8 said:

That is encouraging! Thank you! ❤️ And best wishes as you start your new career. Congrats!!

There is also no problem for new grads, ADN or BSN, in getting a job after graduation in my area.

Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
17 hours ago, Jenbripsu said:

Please do not let the negative nellie's of this thread scare you off. For every person here posting, there are many many more that are too busy enjoying their careers to be here whining.

I was where you were a few years ago. I came here, I read, and they scared the bejeesus out of me. At 45 years old, I went to nursing school, graduated with honors at 47 years old and had a job waiting for me 6 months prior to graduation. I didn't know anyone who helped me get the job. I just applied and interviewed and was hired just like everyone else.

I am in the same state as the OP but have not had the experience

I don't start my first job until June, so I can't comment on the administration issues etc, but I will say that in my 1200 + clinical hours and working with many different nurses and administrators along the way, I have not heard the complaints that are in this thread.

You don’t start your first job until June? Then you have not lived our experience. I take offense that we are “whining”. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you that my despair at wasting time and money on two degrees only to be in exactly the same job I was 11 years ago is a huge slap in the face.

Busy enjoying our careers? I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I am busy sitting on the couch on my day off because I spent the day before on my feet for 18 hours, being verbally abused by patients, being talked down to by the clinic manager who has no medical background whatsoever, and chewed out by a doctor for calling him after he told me to call him for everything. I have to sit on a heating pad, pop some Advil and wait four hours until I feel well enough to get up and move around. There isn’t a word in the English language to describe how much I hate my job, but I can’t find another one and I have spent 10 years trying My boss tortures me because he knows I’m stuck and I can’t quit What am I going to do about it? If I don’t like his petty, vindictive nonsense, well too bad

You didn’t hear complaints? That’s called professionalism Bad mouthing your job to a nursing not student shows lack of maturity, poor judgment and could get you fired

I graduated nursing school with honors at the age of 45 And you know what? Nobody cares Not once has anyone showed any interest in my GPA or the honors courses I took. I have a master’s degree and yesterday I spent 45 minutes mopping up dialysate that was shooting out of the wall box because the tech didn’t push in the connector all the way. We are up to our eyeballs in catheters that our non clinical boss accepted into the clinic and doesn’t care that it’s a higher strain on the nurses to have to work them, while the techs sit around looking at their phones.

And don’t even get me started about having no power to do anything about techs who don’t do their job, and run to our non-clinical boss and tattle on us for being mean, and then he writes us up for harassment.

Enjoying our careers. Aaahhh hahahahahahaha. Hahahahahaha. Just you wait.

4 minutes ago, Natkat said:

You don’t start your first job until June? Then you have not lived our experience. I take offense that we are “whining”. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you that my despair at wasting time and money on two degrees only to be in exactly the same job I was 11 years ago is a huge slap in the face.

Busy enjoying our careers? I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I am busy sitting on the couch on my day off because I spent the day before on my feet for 18 hours, being verbally abused by patients, being talked down to by the clinic manager who has no medical background whatsoever, and chewed out by a doctor for calling him after he told me to call him for everything. I have to sit on a heating pad, pop some Advil and wait four hours until I feel well enough to get up and move around. There isn’t a word in the English language to describe how much I hate my job, but I can’t find another one and I have spent 10 years trying My boss tortures me because he knows I’m stuck and I can’t quit What am I going to do about it? If I don’t like his petty, vindictive nonsense, well too bad

You didn’t hear complaints? That’s called professionalism Bad mouthing your job to a nursing not student shows lack of maturity, poor judgment and could get you fired

I graduated nursing school with honors at the age of 45 And you know what? Nobody cares Not once has anyone showed any interest in my GPA or the honors courses I took. I have a master’s degree and yesterday I spent 45 minutes mopping up dialysate that was shooting out of the wall box because the tech didn’t push in the connector all the way. We are up to our eyeballs in catheters that our non clinical boss accepted into the clinic and doesn’t care that it’s a higher strain on the nurses to have to work them, while the techs sit around looking at their phones.

And don’t even get me started about having no power to do anything about techs who don’t do their job, and run to our non-clinical boss and tattle on us for being mean, and then he writes us up for harassment.

Enjoying our careers. Aaahhh hahahahahahaha. Hahahahahaha. Just you wait.

Bless you, bless you. I stopped replying to her earlier in the thread. I happen to think she's a bot.

Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
On 5/16/2019 at 6:38 PM, klone said:

My master's degree opened many doors for me, allowing me to advance to a department manager, and then a director. Both positions, I moved to a different state, at a hospital I've never been to before, so it definitely wasn't due to nepotism or connections.

Please explain why that has not been the case for me. I have applied to jobs in different states as well. It’s not for lack of trying.

Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
On 5/17/2019 at 12:55 PM, Jenbripsu said:

Good lord, I think you need to mention your 3 degrees again. MANY OF US have multiple degrees. If it's not in what you want to do, then it's not appropriate for the job!

Your entire "everyone is out to get me" attitude and the "I don't have to do anything for THE MAN" might give a clue as to why you are having trouble getting a job...getting ghosted on interviews etc. Your ego is in the way. My mother's favorite saying is "It is what it is". IT IS WHAT IT IS. Either "play" by the rules or don't. But the game was well established before you got into it and no one asked you to join. I'm out too. You will not accept any other opinions and you don't want to do what needs to be done to further your career, so there is no point. The entire post was pointless if you don't want solutions.

Says the person who doesn’t have a job.

Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
On 5/17/2019 at 10:36 AM, klone said:

Western Governor's University

University of Texas, Arlington

Fort Hays University

All three of these programs you can get an RN-BS for under $10,000. At WGU, if you hustle, you can do it for around $6500.

Can confirm. Got my BSN and MSN at Western Governors and yes, it was affordable. I graduated in March 2018 and made my last loan payment his month.

But guess what? Still can’t find a job.

2 minutes ago, Natkat said:

Please explain why that has not been the case for me. I have applied to jobs in different states as well. It’s not for lack of trying.

Also know that the intricate/ intimate/ delicate relationship between enriching higher education/ false media progaganda/ lobbyists/ special interests/ department of labor, etc....all have a stake in presenting/ advertising/ incentivising the higher education hoax. ie, some of the people who are paid to push this false propaganda are the people here posting on these very threads, trying to dispel the truth. They make their living off of the unsuspecting masses who are lead like sheep to slaughter, believing the straight up lies that the media and the institutions of higher education have been pushing for years on end.

I am of the belief that Federal student loans need to be rationed for education in certain occupations that have a documented supply that outweighs the demand. A whole lot of sorrow, heart ache, and financial devastation could be avoided this way. Its a complete racket, and we need more people to talk about it.

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