Whatever happened to going to school to be a nurse?

bloom127 · Dec 7, 2016

Has anyone considered that the mental acuity and intelligence to pass nursing exams weeds out many of the caring, loving people who truly would make good nurses? The rigor of a RN education mandates the caliber of students that have other options. They could choose a higher paying field, if they chose to, but many are looking for the flexibility. Many of my classmates did not have a caring bone in their body, aced every exam and scorned hands on patient care. I also had classmates that were very attentive and truly wanted to be a nurse to take care of patients and could not pass some of the exams. Nursing is a field that is creating its own death spiral. It recruits nursing students with the notion they can excel and move along into other nursing avenues with so many opportunities available in the field. It also chokes when nurses want to move up or leave for better opportunities. As a newer RN with a little over a year of experience I left my hospital position because I never wanted to be like the more "experienced" nurses that were single, bitter and full of venom for the patient and other staff members. I'm not sorry I furthered my education so I can obtain a position with no nights or weekends. I'm not sorry that I don't have to take anymore abuse from more "experienced" nurses or patient family members. I'm not sorry I no longer care for 7 patients on a 42 telemetry bed unit with 1 aide. I'm not sorry that I want a better life for me and my family. They come first. No amount of money is worth my sanity and my family. I wish all of the bedside nurses the best. They are special people that are taken advantage of by the hospitals. Nursing is a broken profession because there is no unity. On most of the discussions on this site there is a lot of discourse. It would be great if it was channeled properly. I have been invited to be a part of a focus group by my previous employer to better understand what they can do to improve their organization. I have agreed to participate and I pray that this is a start of something positive for the sake of future healthcare. I also hope everyone can find their niche for their sanity and for patient safety.

AngelKissed857, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2016

Okay, I have to jump back into the fray. Out of my class if 54, I can count on one hand the ones I wouldn't want to take care if me someday. The love, caring, and dedication of the students with whom I am honored to share this journey are amazing. The prep they put into their clinical days, the respect and concern in their tone as we discuss our patients, all of it is wonderful. We are in an ADN program, and probably 25% of us are in a concurrent BSN program. Most of those plan on continuing their education from there. Many say they want options down the road, but fully intend to spend at least a few years in MedSurg to learn as much as possible. They are hard workers, and will be amazing RNs in due time.

Jules A, MSN · Dec 7, 2016

If bedside nursing was really what Magnet sells it to be then...
.

You could have stopped right here, lol. I personally am not buying anything Magnet is selling. :)

comebackseason13 · Dec 7, 2016

I am a Canadian educated nurse, here to be a RN you must have a degree. The entry requirements to get onto nursing programs in Canada is fierce - a high school final year average (biology,chem, math and advanced english are a must) of 85% is standard. Some even more prestigious universities have a 90% grade average acceptance. A lot of the students going into these programs could easily have went onto a science based program and continued onto medical school because they were most likely the top 5% of their graduating class. These students have a unrealistic expectation of nursing, a lot of them actually believed that nurses don't do personal care AT ALL and they are far too educated to be doing such "lowly" work.

Personally, I go exhausted just 2 year into my career post graduation. Bedside nursing is hard work, and part of me wanted to drop out of nursing during university and do something else but I had already invested so much money into it. I moved into a public health position which luckily I was able to secure.

A lot of the students I went to university with were overachievers and thought they were far too intelligent to be providing personal care to strangers. Truth be told maybe I felt that way too sometimes. It is degrading when your patients treat you like crap, because this customer service attitude with nursing makes many patients feel they are entitled to 5 star hotel service.

Many of the students I graduated with moved onto different roles in nursing -family health clinics, public health, masters degrees, cosmetic nursing, NPs, and even complete and total career changes (medical malpractice lawyers and MBAs).

Palliative Care, DNP · Dec 7, 2016

It is sad. So many nurses stick their noses up at bedside nursing. Nursing almost feels like a business at times

Nursing is a business for every organization that hires us. Most people do not go into our field because they are "called", idolize Florence Nightingale, or have visions of working 12+ hour shifts without breaks. Many people enter nursing for the steady employment and income. There is nothing wrong with doing that. Also, the reality of working on the floor is not for everyone. It can be back breaking and very labor intensive. I do not begrudge anyone who decides to go back to school because the floor isn't for them. I am one that did not enjoy floor nursing at all. It does not make me a bad nurse but I did need to find my niche. For me, it is as a NP in Palliative Care. I'm not sure why other nurses and their career paths bother so many people. You do not have to agree with them. If you love floor nursing then that is wonderful as we will always need bedside nursing but it is not for everyone.

RobtheORNurse · Dec 7, 2016

I must say that I enjoyed caring for patients but grew weary of the politics of the hospital. Constantly changing policies in order to compensate for poor leadership. After 30 years of hands on nursing, I chose to go to work in industry as a nurse educator. It provided me several benefits, more time with family, no weekends, holidays, nights or call. And I got out of the hospital. Now, when I go to a facility, I hear all of the same complaints, management doesn't listen to our concerns, the administration is out of touch etc. Magnet status is a way for nurses to make changes for the better, for nurses and patients, but many facilities do not fully abide by the program, instead, administrators continue the iron fist method of management. When this happens, nurses walk.

nurselili30 · Dec 8, 2016

I am still a fetus in this whole nursing thing. I am finally applying to nursing school this spring and hopefully get in. I decided to pursue my BSN instead of an ADN for multiple reasons. I know I will work a couple years at bedside and go to graduate school for anesthesia. There's a lot of reasons why people decide to be nurses in specific specialty and I think it's fine as long as you are doing what you like.

AngelKissed857, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2016

I'm in California, and we have state mandated ratios in hospitals. Acuity of every pt is calculated by the nurse on each pt every shift. The absolute max number of pts a med surgery nurse has is 5. And if acuity is high, fewer. ICU is usually 1:1, even L& D can be 1:1, depending on acuity. Our unions and nurses fought long and hard to achieve this, along with very high hourly wages. So nursing students here know they will be well compensated for their work. I just don't understand why nurses in other states are not fighting for the same thing. Yes bedside nursing is hard work, but easier to stay with if you are well paid, even easier I think to continue loving what you do.

Broseay4 · Dec 8, 2016

I've been an ICU bedside nurse for about 7 years now and I've taught for four at a large university. It amazes me to see the shift away form the bedside so quickly. Now all my students say how they want to go back to be NPs and CRNAs when we meet them. At work, we see nurses who come to just get their one year experience and go back. It's scary (IMO) to think that nurses with only a year of experience are going back. You are just learning how to be a good nurse at a year. If you had a long orientation (ours is about 12 weeks) then they've really only been on their own for mere months before applying. Part of it goes back to the school though, I think more than one year of nursing should be required.

wolf9653 · Dec 8, 2016

Maybe they are aware that nurses often have to follow nontraditional career paths these days. It's not like it was in their parent's generation.

Jules A, MSN · Dec 8, 2016

Crud quoted the wrong post. (should be directed to the one about demanding safe staffing patterns, fair wages etc. as California bad ass RNs have for years)

This!! And I'm not sure the supposed perk of "mommy friendly hours" of M-F day shift is something most of us even care about. It is my least favorite part of being a NP.

NurseLauraM · Dec 8, 2016

There are many reasons nurses obtain advanced degrees that have nothing to do with "looking down" on bedside nursing. That being said, I have observed that a lot of individuals (both inside and outside of the nursing profession) treat RNs with condescension. I've heard things like "nursing school is easy" (so NOT true!), "all nurses do is follow orders and wipe butts", "you don't really have to think to be a nurse", and "you're too smart to be a nurse". Analyzing the origin of these myths would likely require a long, complex sociological examination. However, I do believe that this is a shared experience among the more "feminine" professions. I have a family member who is a teacher and she also experiences similar, troubling comments like this. Unfortunately, many seem to view jobs like nursing and teaching as extensions of a woman's domestic responsibilities, and thus they are not considered 'prestigious' careers. Hopefully this will change.

I apologize if I sound like an angry feminist here