Perhaps this should be moved to the nursing career advice section, but I was browsing and found this written by an ex nurse. I take most of it as bitterness and griping, but the part about NO JOBS without a year of experience bothers me beyond words considering I am going for my adn in f05. Thoughts, please!?????
Luckily, I've put this career mistake/ nightmare behind me.
My career mistake was choosing to become a nurse. I was lied to from the beginning. I was falsely made to believe that there was a plethora of jobs waiting for me after graduating nursing school. On the contrary, every job I found wanted nurses with at least a year of experience.
A year after graduating, I found one agency that sent me out to work in various nursing homes. That was a nightmare in itself!! I wouldn't send my dog to a nursing home let alone a human being! I quit that job fast enough but I left very frustrated and angry.
A year after that, I managed to land a hospital job on a fluke. There are no words to express how absolutely horrible and unbearable I found that job to be. I hated it beyond the meaning of the word.
The worst part of it all was that they were in the middle of downsizing and the nurses were being given the additional work of taking over the duties of others. Many times I would find myself so busy that I would leave work two sometimes three hours after my shift ended, doing what else but paperwork. This was overtime I was never paid for.
I wouldn't recommend nursing to anyone. It's a thankless job with long hours, is seriously short-staffed, and the workload is astronomical. Many nurses who worked at that hospital often complained of back pain, various health problems, and psychological stress. I didn't want to end up like them so I got out quick.
Needless to say, my mother wasn't overly happy about that. She can no longer brag to her friends and relatives about my being in the medical professsion. You couldn't pay me to go back to that occupation. It was so hard to find work and what I found left me feeling so unhappy. Whenever I would finish my shift for the day, I would just sit at home and cry for hours. I got so depressed. Whenever I knew I had to go to work, I felt so miserable. Whenever I arrived at work, I felt like this lead weight was sitting on my back, I found it hard to breathe, and I had to fight to keep down the panic. When I took that job I was only in my twenties. After only a few weeks into that job, I started feeling like an old woman. I started having back pains and feeling just so unwell practically everyday. I was so aghausted all of the time. I've never in my life had a job that left me feeling so awful and I hope I never will again. I repeat, I wouldn't recommend the nursing field for anyone. I made a bad career choice, I just hope that anyone reading this won't make the same mistake I did.
I know what LPN4life means, but I will NOT martyr myself for anyone. Those days are past. WE have too MANY nurse-martyrs and that is sad to me. Nursing is on the top of the list for whom I refuse to sacrifice my health and wellbeing. If I am sick and have a fever, I potentially could make my patients or coworkers sick. Not good. I stay home if I am really sick. Other than that, I take REALLY good care of myself so I rarely get sick. Last time I "called in" I had to have unplanned major surgery in January. Other than that, I have not called in sick in over 2 years.
I can relate to the martyr attitude. I volunteer for a non profit animal organization and foster homeless pets. I see these people get so bogged down with a housefull of animals and I refuse to do it. I will take one, MAYBE two but I am not going to warehouse a bunch of animals in my 1400 sq. foot house. I got in that cycle for a couple of months where I couldn't say "no" . My marriage suffered as well as my home in general. I was exhausted, irritated, and annoyed all the time. Finally, I learned to say NO and I am a better person because of it. I feel so much better, physically and mentally. There are still people who say (women 100%) who are like "well I do it and I have a job, kids, etc. etc. " and blah blah blah but I just go on mute when I hear that. I just want to say , what works for you, might not work for me.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
thank you , my friend ! I feel really good about it, for the first time in my life, I feel positive about a career pursuit. I realize it won't be a bowl of cherries, but what job is ?
I can't say how happy I am to see you reassured like this. Aren't these boards great? Such smart wonderful people here to bounce things off of.....it really is a great place to come. Do what it takes to be a nurse; I think you will love it. It really IS what you make of it most of the time, and it can be just wonderful. Believe me. No disappointment here. :)
I can't say how happy I am to see you reassured like this. Aren't these boards great? Such smart wonderful people here to bounce things off of.....it really is a great place to come. Do what it takes to be a nurse; I think you will love it. It really IS what you make of it most of the time, and it can be just wonderful. Believe me. No disappointment here. :)
That is a great attitude and I appreciate it !
If I ever do get discouraged with nursing, I will just remind myself of all the blahhhhhh jobs I have had in my life (lending and counseling to name a couple) and I know the grass isn't greener ! :imbar
Now the ?? is LPN or RN ? I'm going to an info. session tomorrow. An advisor told me to go for the RN but I'm afraid I won't get in (even though I do have alot of "points" ) .....
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
RN or LPN? Hmmm, well It depends on your goals. I went straight for an RN NOT because LPN is not "good enough"-----they are the best. But most Labor and Delivery depts do NOT hire LPN's and that was my goal---to be a Labor and Delivery nurse. I also want to teach clinical components one day to RN students, so it made even more sense to go straight for my RN.
I advise you to VERY carefully consider your goals when trying to decide which you want. And remember, if RN is your goal one day, the LPN program of study and the one for RN's can differ a LOT. Make sure you know if your college/university gives any credit for being and LPN first and does NOT make you "re-learn" many things to get through their program. Nothing feels worse than "backtracking" when trying to achieve your goals. Many LPNs do NOT get the credit they deserve when returning to become RN's. Consider this VERY carefully. More questions, just ask. That is what we are here for!
I do want to go for the RN. I am the type who likes to be too busy for my own good or I get down in the dumps....the only thing that concerns me is getting in (I do have alot of points but there are SOOOO few spots so it is a concern) and it seems as though LVNs are in more demand. But then again I am going by the newspaper ads again.
this person might just not have been cut out for nursing... needs to get a tougher skin, be more assertive when finding out where she's going to work when she takes a job, ect.
and if she couldn't find any jobs without one year experience, thats a little odd. i mean, maybe she wasn't applying for GN positions?
If you have a lot of points, and a good chance of getting in, you might as well take the route that will deliver the most money and job options.
If you need to work while in school, I understand you can take the LPN exam after one year of an RN program (correct me if I'm wrong!).
i think that depends on the state and program. in OK, you can take it after you've had your med surg and ob... that was semester three in my program. some programs do OB throughout, but we had a full semester of just OB and Peds. i was told that in MO, that it depends on the program... some programs are designed to let you sit for LPN boards after year one, and some others don't have that option.
My question is...where in the world did this person live?? I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and the nursing shortage is pretty bad here...every sunday, there's about 10 pages of want-ads for nurses in the sunday paper...there is one large corporation here with 3 major hospitals that has been advertising for nurses with t.v. commercials and billborads on I-70!! It is amazing to think the nursing jobs aren't so readily available elsewhere.
I agree with others that have wondered why this girl made it through school. Not that clinicals is 'real world' nursing, but it seems like if she hated it that much, she would have realized that in school. Also, there are tons of places that hire new grads...that whole not being able to find a job because I just graduated thing is crazy...either she was way too picky or just didn't try. At least one good thing came of all of it...she got out of nursing. I wouldn't want a nurse who was miserable taking care of me all day!
I feel really good about it, for the first time in my life, I feel positive about a career pursuit. I realize it won't be a bowl of cherries, but what job is ?
I'm going to an info. session tomorrow. An advisor told me to go for the RN but I'm afraid I won't get in (even though I do have alot of "points" ) .....
TexasPoodleMix
232 Posts
I can relate to the martyr attitude. I volunteer for a non profit animal organization and foster homeless pets. I see these people get so bogged down with a housefull of animals and I refuse to do it. I will take one, MAYBE two but I am not going to warehouse a bunch of animals in my 1400 sq. foot house. I got in that cycle for a couple of months where I couldn't say "no" . My marriage suffered as well as my home in general. I was exhausted, irritated, and annoyed all the time. Finally, I learned to say NO and I am a better person because of it. I feel so much better, physically and mentally. There are still people who say (women 100%) who are like "well I do it and I have a job, kids, etc. etc. " and blah blah blah but I just go on mute when I hear that. I just want to say , what works for you, might not work for me.
Thanks for listening to my tangent !