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Discussion

This article disturbs me

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!?????

---------------

on www.aboutmyjob.com

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.

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Sorry!!! I didn't realize that.

I didn't write that article ! :) I ran across it while browsing for nursing sites. I agree with everything you said though. :p I am planning on starting the ADN program in 05 ! :D
  • Author

I agree with all of that. :chuckle The area i live in is REALLY growing so hopefully in 3 yrs when I finish, the jobs will be plentiful. I'd also like to work in LTC and I hear the jobs are plentiful there too.

About the griping, I guess I could do the same with counseling. I really didn't like it , and I could go on and on about the reasons, tell people not to do it, etc. etc. But then again there are some who love it. Just not me.

That's one person's opinion and just reading through the threads here, you will see there are a lot of nurses who feel differently.

Anyone with a license can get a job. Maybe not what they thought they were going to get, but a job they can get. It's up to them to make the best of it instead of the worst.

Let's face it...not everyone is meant to be a nurse!

mcdonalds_french_fries.jpg

:)

  • Author

Now, I have been lookign through RN positions and many, many of them do require 2++ yrs of experience. This worries me ! I have no problems looking aggressively for a job, but one of the problems with my last career was the lack of jobs and opportunities. I am getting too old for that ! :rotfl: If I am going to spend ANOTHER three years in school , and more $$$$, etc. etc. I HOPE there are jobs out there (entry level) once I am out......

did anyone have trouble finding a job ????

......I know if the job I have today goes away (and it might, it's research and grant supported), I can find a job within a week, if not sooner. Of course, your area may be different...but I doubt it. :)

It depends on where you live. In my area, nursing jobs are hard to find.

A lot of people go into nursing school thinking that this is going to be an easy job with fabulous pay. Where THAT rumor got started, I'd like to know.

~~

bc people compare us to waitresses, cashiers, receptionists at the doctor's office, and positions like the lab tech.

we should be compare to lawyers, physicians, teachers and engineers.

Nursing is hard work. We will never be paid what we are truly worth, but that's ok.

~~

no, no it's not.

There are times I love nursing, and other times where I feel exactly like the woman who wrote the article.

I feel the nurse who wrote the article is probably one of the many who have left nursing because of the working conditions. Thus, creating the false "shortage."

:) sure employers are going to advertise for what they hope and wish for but getting it is another thing. the hospitals in the area where i live are not in any position to be picking, choosing and refusing. most of them offer training to just about any rn experienced or not. rn positions and many, many of them do require 2++ yrs of experience. this worries me ! i have no problems looking aggressively for a job, but one of the problems with my last career was the lack of jobs and opportunities. i am getting too old for that ! :rotfl: if i am going to spend another three years in school , and more $$$$, etc. etc. i hope there are jobs out there (entry level) once i am out......

did anyone have trouble finding a job ????

Sometimes, it pays to look in the mirror to see where the real source of our misery and bad fortune comes from.........

but ah that is painful, hard work and too many won't try.

Then there are others who strive to make a life for themselves and improve their lots. They have my ultimate admiration and respect.

Nursing is a 2nd career for me, one I am proud to have chosen. No regrets. And if jobs were not plentiful here, I would take myself to where they were. I would not languish in an area where I could not find decent work. And believe me, there are plenty of nursing positions nationwide. Sometimes, ya know, we have to make our own luck and good fortune. No one will HAND it to us.

A good rule of thumb about any job is that if it was all fun, all the time, rich people would stand in line and pay to do it.

That said, I've never seen a really good nurse who hates her/his job, and I haven't seen many bad nurses. I've seen a lot of good, competent nurses have bad days, and some who really disliked their place of employment.

Re: finding a job, do you work in healthcare, now? Could you? Going to school is the most important step toward getting a job as an RN, but getting a foot in the door as an aide or other support employee can be helpful. That is, if you can balance being a good employee with being a good student--which ain't easy. But if you have to work, anyway...

  • Author
No one will HAND it to us.

I am not sure what you are implying here, if anything, but I don't want anyone to "hand" me anything. However, I cannot pack up and leave. It is not an option. My husband has lucked into a very good job and we would be crazy to leave, now or ever (as long as he is employed there). Also, considering my educational history, I have wasted alot of time and money getting a masters degree that basically was worthless (for a variety of reasons, some being ME). Even though I do want to be a nurse, I feel somewhat of a calling for it and I LOVE helping others, I do not want to spend another 3 years in school if there aren't going to be any jobs *AVAILABLE* in the area. I guess it wouldn't make sense, know what I mean ?

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