If all the nursing school suddenly open the door and let more people in, there will be a overflowed. Think about all those software programmers back in the days, lawyers, MBAs. We used to think lawyers and MBAs can make a pretty good living but now there are too many out on the streets.
I'm sure you guys don't want to see the same thing happen in nursing, don't you? DO NOT increase enrollments of nursing schools please. Otherwise, we will all suffer. Graduate 10,000 new nurses each year across the nation would be enough.
If you are in nursing education, tell the dean DO NOT increase the enrollments therwise, we will all be screwed.
And about rude nurses in hospital.I too can count on the fingers of one hand nurses who were nice to me during my previous rotation.
That's not universal, though. I can count on one hand the number of nurses who have been anything besides helpful, courteous, and even downright friendly through my first two semesters of clinical rotations. Many of them are helpful even when I'm assigned to work with a different nurse.
As I think about, I don't even need the fingers of one hand to count the rude ones; there've only been two.
I don't know if they're really atypical or if I'm particularly thick-skinned.
...But what do we get in exchange for this "wonderful" learning experience and helping you season nurses??We get rudness,instead of thank you...Why there is so much dislike towards nursing students?
Having just finished my second semester of clinical rotations I can tell you that I've received many a "thank you" from the staff nurses. I've also received many a "good job" and "well done." I haven't seen any "dislike" toward the students but I have seen a few nurses who obviously don't like the teaching role.
If you're not getting "thank yous" but only dislike and disrespect then I'd suggest you at least consider whether your attitude is contributing to the situation.
In Florida, in 1994, I was being paid $13 and change per hour. I occasionally charged (no extra pay, and still had to carry a full team of patients). And as it was "team nursing", it was a 41 bed floor w/2 RNs "team leading", an LPN on meds (not IV certified) and mostly techs/maybe an extra LPN or two, carrying 6-8 patients apiece. It was a M/S acute care floor.
Well if I lived in Florida in 1994 there is no way I would have went into nursing. I do understand that you are not going to get rich in nursing but in some parts of the country pay is pretty good and the job is fairly stable. There are a lot of reasons I picked nursing as a 2nd career. The pay was just one reason. Like I said before I have been out of school a year now and while I still have a lot to learn I definitely feel I made a good choice.
I live in SC.. I do not think there is a nursing shortage here.. Yet, we work short staffed all the time. So what is the problem??? The problem is that hospitals will not budget for more nurses. They give us this certain number that we are allowed to have. We can't hire more. So because the hospitals want to make more money it makes it seem like there is this horrible nursing shortage.. No it is just the hospitals making us work our butts off so they can save money.
If people follow the trend of going into a field where they think there is dire need, nursing will go the way of computers and lawyers and MBAs, etc. Nursing will not make you rich, I have to work at least one overtime a week to cover everything. Nursing schools are pumping 'em out as fast as they can get 'em in. Any warm body can pass meds. I absolutely believe that you have to have a passion for this job. This isn't a key board or a spread sheet. And if you can't muster up some compassion for another human being you need to move along. This is a 2nd career for me. I spent 16 years in a job that I hated, just to make a paycheck. Now I get to do a job that I love. I am overworked and underpaid. I think there should be a minimum age requirement to get into nursing school. You need to have a little life experience to do this job, I don't care how smart you are. I can't tell you how many young kids I saw in nursing school not show up to class or clinicals b/c they were hung over or didn't want to get up that early. Are you kidding me? Make it attractive for nurses who have retired or gone to different areas besides bedside nursing. Let them be preceptors to the new nurses and share their passion for this job.
Dont you think it is a little unfair to say that nursing students dont have any clue what nursing is.We as well take care of the patients in our clinical and the only difference is we do it for free (heck, we even have to pay it from our pocket).But what do we get in exchange for this "wonderful" learning experience and helping you season nurses??We get rudness,instead of thank you.We take your two patients or more,take their vital signs,pass meds,assess,treatments etc.So you trust us with our nursing knowledge when it comes to taking care you patients (not per say yours but patients assigned to nurses in general) But on the interner boards according to you we dont know nothing.Why there is so much dislike towards nursing students?
I don't know....there is more of a difference between being a nursing student in clinical and working in the real world as a nurse besides the pay lol. This is something that we do for a couple of hours a week with a clinical instructor who is there for us the entire time. We don't yet have to juggle a whole load of 6-7 patients whose lives we are in our hands. And at the end of our day we always get to go home on time.
So far i haven't met any nurse who was rude or wasn't helpful, but I wouldn't pass judgement on those nurses until you're put in that situation and under their kind of pressure. Lets just wait to see what its like when we are out of school and in the real world...
I don't know how colleges are offering nursing program but I do know how many of them are offering the 2nd bachelor of nursing dgree. There are 205 of them. So lets say each those college produce 35 BSN graduate every semester and 70 per year. Thats is total of 14,350 new BSN per year. I would also estimate about 50,000 or more graduated from either a 4 year BSN program or ADN from 2 year colleges. So there are about 64,350 new BSN and ADN every year. It gets better cuz I haven't counted the MSN and DSN yet. We don't have any shortage please.
I don't know how colleges are offering nursing program but I do know how many of them are offering the 2nd bachelor of nursing dgree. There are 205 of them. So lets say each those college produce 35 BSN graduate every semester and 70 per year. Thats is total of 14,350 new BSN per year. I would also estimate about 50,000 or more graduated from either a 4 year BSN program or ADN from 2 year colleges. So there are about 64,350 new BSN and ADN every year. It gets better cuz I haven't counted the MSN and DSN yet. We don't have any shortage please.
This is hilarious, truly.
Unfortunately for us, if new nurses aren't trained for the future, who will take care of us and our families? As nice as it sounds, retraining older, seasoned nurses will work for a while, but you must remember that they are older, and will be getting older, and I don't think they intend to work themselves to death. Someone will need to be taking care of me when I can't be independent anymore.
Oh, and on a side note, how terrible it is to read some of these posts being made about "nursing students not knowing anything." If I interacted with nurses like this before I started school, I would have definitely reconsidered my career choice.
While I appreciate the fact that some nurses "lose their fire" and do it just for the money, because after all, we are only human, some nurses (including myself) do still feel that patient care surpasses income and job security. I clean up vomit and urine most of my days as a nurse, and I sure as hell don't think what I make is worth it (please note that I have been a nurse for a long, long time and I have reached my salary cap, and I still don't think I make enough)
It sure is a sad day to see older nurses discouraging younger hopefuls from entering the field. Please remember that you were all nursing students with goals to become great nurses. Nobody should be disrespected and belittled because of that
Well wonderful! When I graduate and there is a overflow of nurses and I won't get hired anywhere, I will go back to psychology and cousel all of you whiners and complainers. Be happy you have a job in this horrible economy. Is your job the worst part of your life??? Because if it is you are lucky and absolutely selfish to be complaining. You see sick and dying people everyday, people who are abandoned by their families, people suffering. And all you want to do is B*tch about there being to many nurses. We know you aren't holding the hand of the dying patient with that attitude, so let us poor souls come into the field and throw a bone your way.
It's sad that it's beginning to come to this. We can't speak about poor working conditions, fatigue, patient safety issues, "customer" abuse of nurses, because we're supposed to be thankful we even have a job.
There are pockets in the USA where new grads are scrambling for jobs because a glut of nurses. Students are lined up in nursing schools by the tens of thousands. Thousands of foreign nurses are waiting to immigrate in. We're ungreatful whiners if we do speak up, when we used to be called patient advocates.
In such an environment venting about poor working conditions is not politically correct because so many people are suffering and would die for our jobs.
Just because I should be "happy" to have a job in this economy does not mean that I should have to put up with verbal and physcial abuse from patients and/or their families.
I have been reading this thread for days and keep getting hotter under the collar.
We don't need to bash eager students and new nurses for their idealism. We had it at one time. We don't need to judge nurses as good or bad when we know that most are doing the best they can in a bad situation. We do need to look at the greater issues.
Our population is getting older. Our nurses are getting older. Many nurses leave the field; disillusioned by poor working conditions, bad hours, lousy pay, and other personal reasons.
Our health care system is broken. This could be a 50 page rant so let's just say insurance carriers and many health care systems meet the needs of their investors, not their patients.
My first job was as an aide years before certification was created. The first day on the job I was fondled by a 101 year old man. I had a huge patient load and gave full baths to each one. For this I made the grand sum of $1.25/hr. I had almost no training and cried a lot because I did not know what I was doing.
As a nurse I now make lots more than this and I do much less. Yes, there is more charting and responsibility, but I can look back to see worse in the past. I lived through times where nurses got no respect from docs. I have lived through a time when nurses were being laid off.
All of you will be taking care of my generation of baby boomers. We grew up protesting and trying to change things. I hope all of you are fighting as hard. Our efforts have been at least partially successful or you would still be earning almost no money and being treated poorly by every doc.
We need nurses. We need activist nurses. We need nurses who will be the advocates I will need in my old age (coming soon to a bed near you).
Unless there are major changes, yes, we need more nurses because we lose more than we educate. I know nurses who would rather greet people in Wal-Mart rather than continue in the present system. Let's work together to change it rather than throw mud balls at each other.:typing
Dont you think it is a little unfair to say that nursing students dont have any clue what nursing is.We as well take care of the patients in our clinical and the only difference is we do it for free (heck, we even have to pay it from our pocket).
Sorry, but there is a very huge difference between the student and the real nurse. Huge. You'll see.
Music in My Heart
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That's not universal, though. I can count on one hand the number of nurses who have been anything besides helpful, courteous, and even downright friendly through my first two semesters of clinical rotations. Many of them are helpful even when I'm assigned to work with a different nurse.
As I think about, I don't even need the fingers of one hand to count the rude ones; there've only been two.
I don't know if they're really atypical or if I'm particularly thick-skinned.