What a coincidence. . .every single student nurse who shadows me. . .

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jul 28, 2012

I do support the BSN as the entry level point for nursing. Not only would it weed out those just looking for a job they can jump into as quickly as possible, it would also make the argument about nursing being underpaid when the counter-argument is no longer, "You can go from high school student to RN in two years. Not much more time than it took my niece to get her Cosmetology license."

What's wrong with wanting to jump into a job as quickly as possible? It's a very practical thing to want. I spent a grand total of ten months in PN school and "jumped" into a LPN job making 22.00 an hr. BSN students can laugh at me all they want. I'm laughing, too... all the way to the bank. I started maybe a dollar less an hr than a BSN would start at my local hospital. What do I care if BSN nurses view LPNs as a "drag" on the profession? Why do people waste their lives caring what other people think?

SF_RescueNinja · Jul 28, 2012

as a high school peer adviser for students interested in nursing here in california, i applaud students who have a goal in mind - working in a particular unit, those who want to go to grad school and become np's and work in 3rd world countries or whichever goal. i encourage it whenever i can. however, i bring them a reality that they haven't considered. i make their goals more realistic for them. i don't sugar coat the fact that whatever goal they have in mind might take longer than they expect, only that they should keep trying harder if this is what they want to do. i agree with lilarox in so many ways. i am a snf/ltc cna and i'll be starting nursing school in less than a month. i've told many lvn/lpn's and rn's (bs and asn) that i got into nursing school and they are excited for me. of course they ask what field of nursing i want to enter but i never fail to tell them that i respect what they do, even though i don't want a career in snf/ltc. they don't get offended, but rather, encourage me to be open and experience everything so i know what i want.

"

this is where the feared and respected seasoned nurse comes in to guide us along until we get there."

agreed.

thesundowner · Jul 28, 2012

I just knew I'd upset a bunch of people by making the comment that I am tired of every nursing student standing there talking about how they are going to go to CRNA school and make a zillion dollars instead of actually paying attention to what I was trying to teach them. Whatever - we all have our opinions and we all feel so good about them lol. Good luck with reality, y'all!

tokebi · Jul 28, 2012

we all have our opinions and we all feel so good about them lol.

Isn't that the truth, lol!

There are students who set their eyes on CRNA and don't care anything else about nursing -- good for you, have fun with the $$!

There are bedside nurses seasoned and wise but under-appreciated -- my hats off to you!

There are smart and competent LPNs and then there are RNs with all sorts of fancy degree who are totally lost on the floor.

There are nurses -- LPNs or RNs alike -- who are horrendously lacking in either empathy department or intelligence department and should not even be in the profession.

We all know this. Let's stop feeling personally offended each time someone makes an observation.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2012

........I'm just happy to have a job..corrections might not be the "dream" specialty, but boy am I learning a lot :yeah:

mom_coach_nurse, LPN · Jul 28, 2012

I would be more suprized if your students told you they wanted to get into prison nursing, long term care or geriatrics out of school.There is a status to being in certain specialty fields that reflect what our society values, and it isn't the elderly, disabled, imprisoned, chronically ill, or psychiatric patients. So it is not unexpected that students gravitate to the higher status fields.Credentialing is becoming more important too. Opening up nursing to higher degrees is going to attract people who have been trained from birth to value the attainment of the highest level of education.As a result, nursing is becoming more stratified and diverse.

I actually am that student that would love to work LTC. It is the reason, at 38, I'm going back to school.

After the care my Gram received, I'd love to make another family feel that way. If I cant do that, I'd like working at my doctors office, or even, a prison (it seems exciting to me, lol)

I also have no desire to be a boss, or get an advanced degree.

I must be in the minority.

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Jul 28, 2012

Well by the same token you could ask med students what specialities they want to be (something with glory like surgery or cushy like dermatology) in or cadets in the police academy what kind of police work they'd like to do (homocide or swat team)

Also those specialties are the ones that student are aware of. Not many TV shows about wound care specialist or dialysis nurses

FionaA · Jul 28, 2012

I used to be that way, a lot of my fellow nurses are like that too. However, I recently graduated and have been job hunting for 3 months. At this point I will work any where and take any job! lol

SarahB84 · Jul 28, 2012

it's snotty comments like the one the original poster started with, that made me answer "I don't know yet" any time a nurse would ask me what area I'd like to work in. they don't really want to know what area you want work in, they're just looking for another reason to complain about something.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2012

I wanted to work in emergency nursing when I was in school. I lucked in to a job in emergency nursing after I graduated, and loved it as much as I thought I would. Sometimes we're lucky enough not only to get what we want, but to also have wanted the right thing.

metal_m0nk, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2012

I can think of better things to care about.

But then, I don't criticize my 4 year old for wanting to be an astronaut...or a cowboy...or a rock star either.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jul 28, 2012

Well by the same token you could ask med students what specialities they want to be (something with glory like surgery or cushy like dermatology) in or cadets in the police academy what kind of police work they'd like to do (homocide or swat team)Also those specialties are the ones that student are aware of. Not many TV shows about wound care specialist or dialysis nurses

Good point.

I just wonder how these students can remain so naive, investing as much time and money as they do. Before I worked in healthcare, my only conception of nursing was based on the show ER, too. But I would NEVER have started something as big as nursingschool without researching where nurses in my area are actually getting hired first. I did my homework and quickly realized as a LPN I was LTC bound. I even researched which facilities paid the most and knew where my best bet was from day one of school. How could anyone just walk blindly into a profession and just hope for the best, dreaming of that "glory" job they see in the movies or on TV? Sometimes a healthy dose of cynicism is a good thing.