Why I would tell you to stay out of nursing

Nurses General Nursing

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I have been a nurse a decade this month. I have worked Tele, med Surg, emergency, travel, coordinator, and now home health roles. I have a BSN. I have never been fired, I have never had any complaints against my license, and I have received awards at several of the institutions I worked for. But being a nurse has made my life miserable. I have 30K of debt I still need to pay from getting the "ever so necessary" BSN. Which hasn't done a damn thing for my pay because I don't want to be a manager....which is all you can really do with a BSN to get more money unless you care to go further in debt get a masters. So should any of you decide to continue your endeavor into nursing please don't believe the hype that you need a BSN. Do LPN or ASN and find any job and get a year of experience and the big bad hospitals will hire you anyway, especially ASNs. You get paid like $2 hour less and have half as much debt...so maybe you won't feel as jaded about your pay. Then the hospital can pay for your BSN or MSN when you decide you want that....but I have no ambition to do the jobs of a BSN or MSN so my life would have been a way better had I just done the bare minimum required to get a bedside job.

I like people, it is a big reason I went into nursing, but now I really kinda wish I lived somewhere I wouldn't see another soul for weeks at a time. People are demanding and often entitled and ungrateful. I am not a nun and didn't sign up to be a door mat. I wanted to help people and then go home and have my life. That rarely happens. You never get off on time and on your days off people are calling to see if you can work...all the time!!! And now that I work home health they get upset when they can't get a hold of me on my days off to ask me about my patients. I turn off both of my phones on my days off and have been told by my boss that it is unacceptable for me to do this. Really?! I work part time...it is suppose to be 48 hours a pay period and I am often hitting 60 to 70 a pay period. This is why I will NEVER work full time as a nurse again. If I were full time I would be hitting 100 hours a pay period. I am tired of being to exhausted to live my own life on my days off. I don't care about what you think is appropriate dedication to the patient anymore. If I can't have my own life then I don't want to take care of any patients. Again I am not a nun, I didn't sign up to be one when I took my oath as a nurse. Please quit confusing dedication to my patients as something I need to sacrifice my life for. Hire enough nurses and we can both be happier!

If if you are not prepared for the oxymoron of nursing which is, "Don't do anything you don't feel comfortable doing to a patient without asking for help." You then ask for help. " We sent you the policy and a YouTube video, how come you weren't able to accomplish this procedure you have never done successfully by your self? You should should have let us know you weren't comfortable and asked for help." Really?!?!?!?! I have worked at 8 different organizations...this is how "training" happens at all of them. If you are not prepared to spend a crap ton on your degree and then work at a facility that will give you half assed training and then use you as a scapegoat the first time an error occurs, you don't need to be in nursing. I go to work and do the best I am able to do but still get done on time. To do that I often have to take shortcuts. I often forget things. Every nurse will tell you that he/she doesn't do that because the environment requires that to be the CYA response. But unless that nurse won the lottery for nurse employment then she/he is lying. I have worked at 8 facilities and 2 of them had fairly good expectations and support for their nurses. That is 1/4 of the facilities I have worked at. And even those 2 facilities would occasionally get so overloaded with patients that the "fake it until you make it" nursing was required. "Fake it until you make it" is pretty much the motto of nursing because there is not enough money to appropriately train and maintain training for the nursing staff. You will be put in a position you are uncomfortable with often and really the only way you are going to get the assistance you need is to be a mean *****. And that part of nursing stresses me out terribly. Because prior to choosing this profession I was a fairly optimistic, kind, bend over backwards for anyone, kind of person. I am a great deal more cynical and realistic than I use to be.

I am greatful to this career for the many patients I have met and lives that I have seen, mostly because I know that I can't waste anymore of my life in this career that is stuck in a futile mission that doesn't even come close to putting the one thing we promised to put first when we took our oaths of care. Our patients. So if you were thinking about going into medicine because you like and care about humanity, please don't. You will suffer a great deal and never accomplish that goal. Be a nutritionist, a physical therapist, occupational therapist, a fitness instructor, a massage therapist...but do not be a nurse...or a doctor.

Nursing is a profession, not a job. If you do not like a particular job then find another within the profession. Nursing is more than acute bedside and my goodness, why would you get a super expensive degree if you had no career plan to use it? Don't blame others or the profession for stepping on your own nose.

My wife works from home and I work in an office. Never happier.

Becoming a nurse was the best thing I could have done for my family financially. There are definitely difficult days, and always more than enough work to keep you overtime. Bedside nursing is a physically and emotionally draining job. I like the organization I work for. They expect a lot out of their employees, but they also offer very good compensation. I realize that I am super fortunate to work in California and I don't plan on leaving. I am looking into the MSN/FNP to transition into a new role when I can't do the more physically demanding bedside stuff. Being a nurse educator is also on the radar because it is something I enjoy. Not everyone wants to go on to graduate/post-graduate studies, and I can agree that you have to find a niche because bedside nursing can prove to be too demanding for a lot of people.

I have a friend that became a case manager for a large insurance company. They work(ed?) while traveling across the country in an RV. There are so many different jobs out there, I hope you find something that gives you a better work/life balance.

Specializes in CVICU, MICU, Burn ICU.

I am glad I chose nursing and I do encourage young people thinking on career options to consider it. Not everyone is suited for nursing. There are down and dirty aspects of it (not just literal with patient care, but with the politics, cultures, etc) that those going into it need to be aware of and ready for.

I absolutely think most folks should go into it expecting to do bedside work, at least initially. And in a unit with good culture (there are PLENTY) and an organization who rewards expertise at the bedside, bedside nursing is a good fit for many for the long run.

That said, there are SO SO many other avenues for nurses to take -- job-wise. The angst you may be feeling in your current job may simply mean it's time for a change within the profession.

I'd counsel someone thinking of leaving nursing (and thus the time, effort and financial capital they have invested) to seriously consider simply changing jobs. Nursing is far broader than whatever it is you see when you go into work.

I say it at least once a week - I used to be an extremely nice person. compassionate, helpful, sweet, always had a bright smile for everyone. Then I became a nurse.
:)))))

KalipsoRed:

I agree with others. Maybe you just need to go into a different avenue within Nursing. You could consider working in a doctor's office or clinic and maybe even school nursing. I think the hours would be better.

I know that it would be out of your control but do you think that you would enjoy work more if they employed more staff? I think that would solve some of your issues like not being called to work on your days off and maybe not working as much overtime.

Cardiac dork:

Have you tried something where you can incorporate creativity somehow with nursing?

You could incorporate creativity In healthcare if you became a music or art therapist. You could even motivate people that way.

If you like speaking and motivating others then maybe you could even consider using your nursing knowledge and maybe give lectures to groups of people

about healthcare problems and how they could prevent it. People do that in schools and other places.

Maybe for both of you, you just need to find something to merge with your nursing knowledge and you'll enjoy it better. All the best...keep us updated on how you're going!!

Specializes in PCCN.

Im .sorry

From a fellow crispy

Specializes in LTC.

Amen! Preach it!!! Especially to the part where you touch on the training a lot of these companies give. 90% of the time it is half assed indeed! I'm sorry but I'm not comfortable watching a (MODERATOR EDIT) YouTube video to learn a procedure I've never done before and then am expected to be able to just do it on the poor patient.

Specializes in Primary Care, LTC, Private Duty.
I say it at least once a week - I used to be an extremely nice person. compassionate, helpful, sweet, always had a bright smile for everyone. Then I became a nurse.

Sad, but so relatable and true!

Specializes in Surgical Specialty Clinic - Ambulatory Care.

I appreciate all the responses!

Specializes in Surgical Specialty Clinic - Ambulatory Care.

I think anyone who had guidance with college and finances and actually had a 'plan' were pretty lucky people to have that kind of guidance or foresight at such a young age. All I knew from highschool was I HAD to go to college and get a degree if I wanted to have any hope of having a 'successful' life. I knew my parents didn't have any money and they never had a 'plan' on a career. They got jobs after highschool and pretty much stayed in those vocations. I had worked, was working, but minimum wage doesn't pay enough to help your parents with the house payment and pay for college. Your parents don't know about college and thus advise you to go to the college and ask about it. Before you know it you are talking to a guidance counselor about FASFA. And that is how it's done. Before you can entirely wrap your mind around the amount of debt you have put yourself in you have made it halfway through a 4 year BSN and you know that there is no going back and no changing the direction because you can't afford to. I hardly think that experience with college is the outlier. Nursing is terrible because that amount of education is not required for good nursing. The diploma programs of the past were a far better value and the nursing path was more of stepping stones than the giant leaps they are now. I would never argue that more education is bad, just that the traditional base of a nurse was more of a vocation sort of education that could be built upon. No favors were done to the profession by pushing entry level to require collegiate education. And for people who were taught to plan their education and finances are a little darn snooty when they say stuff like, "Sounds like you made a poor decision and are now paying for it." Pretty scooting elitist talk if you ask me. I wasn't taught those things at home because no one in my family or circle of friends knew them. And our country with the idea of 'education for all' for got to include a side bar that said 'a honest education for all without a bunch of propaganda to doup a bunch of these kids into our capitalistic hamster wheel here." I am a big Dave Ramsey fan now and I have paid off my debt, but I'm saying it wasn't worth it. Even now that I am out of debt, the drain that nursing puts on my emotional life is not worth it. I have tried to set boundaries, but it seems quitting is the only way people understand that I am putting my foot down. I am tired of changing jobs every 2 years. I have seen what managers are responsible for and I have absolutely NO interest in ever becoming one.

I understand your pain the best thing anyone in healthcare is meditate and be as professional a's possible

Before you can entirely wrap your mind around the amount of debt you have put yourself in you have made it halfway through a 4 year BSN and you know that there is no going back and no changing the direction because you can't afford to. I hardly think that experience with college is the outlier. Nursing is terrible because that amount of education is not required for good nursing. The diploma programs of the past were a far better value and the nursing path was more of stepping stones than the giant leaps they are now. I would never argue that more education is bad, just that the traditional base of a nurse was more of a vocation sort of education that could be built upon. No favors were done to the profession by pushing entry level to require collegiate education.

One can get a nursing license with as little as one year of nursing school (LPN). No BSN is required. This information is available to anyone who can access a computer. It doesn't require a parent with intimate knowledge of college/nursing requirements. Many first generation college students have been able to find out with one click of a button that an Associates degree at a public community college is a perfectly fine and affordable option for those wanting to become a registered nurse.

Diploma programs are usually 3 years, btw,(have been for a long time) and require a good deal of post high school "education." Although they are known for providing a very strong clinical component, they are by no means only practical. Those nurses have to study microbiology/chemistry/A & P, pharmacology, etc. just as any other nurse in an Associates degree or Bachelor's degree program does. As they well should. Many University associated Diploma programs now give college credit for the didactic portion of the program.

Diploma programs soon evolved into courses that took longer to complete. By the late 1900s, majority of the programs took three years to finish. The early graduates started writing nursing textbooks and which then paved the way for specialty training.

Diploma programs, these days, give a sturdy foundation in social science and biology with emphasis on clinical experiences as well as direct patient care.

There are not many Diploma programs left, but there still are some, mainly in the Northeast. They are more similar to college nursing programs than people would have you believe.

Nursing Diploma Programs

Medical knowledge and technology have made big strides since the early days of nursing. In-hospital care is completely different than the old days with regard to patient acuity, technical interventions, and the factual knowledge required to care for patients. Nurses have far more autonomy than in the old days and are expected to have the knowledge and insight to work as colleagues who give valuable input to the team rather than as passive entities simply waiting to receive orders. Nurses have had to change with the times, so post high school education is a must.

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