Why are you REALLY going into nursing? Honest answers please.

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Ok, I'm a bit frustrated with all of these posts telling us that we shouldn't go into nursing because we need a job and steady income. Sure, I do like to help people, but I need a steady job even more. So, I decided to post a poll to see if we can get some honest answers.

:p

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Interesting thread, to read the stories of how we all got here ...

IMO, the threads that have cautioned against going into nursing for the money have not been so much about having a "higher calling" as they have been a reality check: you don't have to be Mother Theresa Nurse, but as a nurse you will be required to give of yourself in ways that most other professions don't require. Patients will depend on you, even if you don't work in an acute care setting, and you will have a level of intimacy with them that you will never have with the person sitting in the cubicle next to you in an office. And by intimacy I mean emotional intimacy, not peri care. :rolleyes:

So why am I going into nursing? I have always wanted to be a nurse. I talked myself out of it several times for various reasons. Oh, and my mother talked me out of it at least once, on the grounds that it would be *icky*. Sorry Mom, but once I became a mother myself I got over icky in a big hurry. I just spent two days in the O.R. clinical rotation and LOVED it - so much for *icky* :chuckle

I've been a stay-at-home mom for several years. As my daughter got older I realized I wanted/needed to do something more meaningful than analyzing budgets as I had before. I need to do something that contributes, and nursing fits that bill. It also requires me to use my intelligence. I love that combination: one minute I'm analyzing a patient's lab results and thinking about the potential side effects of their meds, and the next minute I'm comforting another human being by simply being there for them.

I have a strong interest in working in the ER, and I may eventually wind down my nursing career by doing some kind of teaching - either a patient education position or being a clinical instructor.

Good luck to all.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

the bureau of labor statistics had an article on line two days ago about the average earnings in the US. the mean salary is just a little over 36k and if you search the salary by what state you live in, it averages about 28k. RN's came in second as being the highest paid. general managers were first. keep in mind that this article was not referring to MD's or entertainers or lawyers. they were referring to everyday 9-5 jobs like secretaries, industrial work, teachers... you get the idea. i was really surprised because the average income for RN's is 45k (after taxes). i think that says alot about why people chose this profession.

i agree with the OP that one of the main reasons people become nurses is to have a steady job. when i was in nursing school i used to laugh at the nurses that tried to discourage me form nursing but THEY were punching in everyday and coming to work. i love being a nurse. i love the autonomy of my job. i love the responsiblity. i was a 9-5ver making crappy money (10/hr) with no prospect of making more. i KNEW i could do better and i did. i don't have to work two jobs now and i look forward to going to work everyday. when you are compensated well for what you do you can focus on your job instead of worrying about how the bills will get paid.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

3) Also, another defining moment was when we had our infamous Northridge earthquake in 1994, I found it astounding that I was the only person on the entire block that kept my cool and didn't run around like a headless chicken. I was the one knocking down doors and going in to search for people in their apartments to make sure everyone was okay. I was the one gathering up their cats and dogs and taking them to safety. Everyone else, all 100 of them or so, didn't know what to do, even the doctor down the street was panicking. They were all asking me what to do, and counting on me to keep them safe during the aftershocks. Later, I was commended by the local fire station for my actions.

I was only 16 years old at the time.

**

Hats off to you.

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I wouldn't count those dollars yet. I don't know if you've been following the AA discussions on the CRNA board but, AA competition with CRNAs might put a dent in that Mercedes, long term, that is. It's not much of a threat now, but it could be in five to ten years. It's difficult to predict, and something I'll certainly watch before I decide on CRNA school.

;)

Lizz,

I've been following the discussions about AAs and CRNAs, and although its still an explosive political issue, I really don't think AAs will ever become serious competition for CRNAs. The universities that offer AA programs are trying very hard to make it seem that AAs are exactly on par with CRNAs, but state laws clearly show that they are not. I've checked out the AA program websites, and their curricula is very specific to anesthesia and doesn't present much about total patient care. Somehow, I suspect that RNs know a whole lot more about total patient care than these AAs, and that's potentially the most important difference between CRNAs and AAs. Another important difference is that an AA must be directly supervised by an anesthesiologist, while a CRNA can work with any surgeon.

Anesthesiology is a dying physician specialty, and the MDs seem to blame the increasing number of CRNAs for that. AAs often make less money than CRNAs do, but even that financial advantage may not benefit the physicians in the long run. The physicians pushed very hard to get licensure for AAs, but that effort could backfire. "Licensure" brings AAs to a whole different level of professional practice which pushes the physician specialists further towards obsolescence. Already, there are a handful of states with laws that permit CRNAs to practice independently, and this was done to cut medicare/medicaid DRG reimbursement costs for surgical patients. It won't be a surprise if other states eventually do the same, and if that happens the physicians are the ones who will feel the pinch.

In any case, why would any of this stop you from going to CRNA school? CRNA and AA programs are all competitive, expensive, and turn out only a tiny few graduates each year. Whichever one you choose, the DOL predicts very good employment prospects for both CRNAs and AAs for many, many years to come.

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In any case, why would any of this stop you from going to CRNA school? CRNA and AA programs are all competitive, expensive, and turn out only a tiny few graduates each year. Whichever one you choose, the DOL predicts very good employment prospects for both CRNAs and AAs for many, many years to come.

I really didn't mean to get off track with an AA discussion. But let's just say that at my age, I can't afford to go into a whole lot of debt (and it would be a lot) until I see where this is going. You may be right, but I'm not that certain.

:smokin:

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I find it funny that my teachers are always saying if you are here for the money you should go home now. I don't think the money in nursing is really that great, it isn't bad but it certainly isn't mind blowing.

When I was growing up everyone always asked me, "are you going to be a nurse like your mom or a doctor like your stepdad?"... it was expected that I would go into healthcare. I always turned my nose up and said neither, mostly because I wanted to be different than everyone else in the family. It seems like everyone in my family is in medicine... my extended family could populate a small hospital, doctors, nurses, dialysis techs, aids, office managers, etc. I swore I wasn't going to go into the family business. Flash forward 15 years and a lot of soul searching and I'm in my second quarter of an ADN program and my sister starts hers in chattanooga next semester.

I started out going after the money... I have a degree in economics and what I realized was that I didn't like it. The financial rewards in the business world are a lot greater than those that I am looking at in the nursing world, but I don't care. I hated my jobs in "business". I hated the way people higher up thought they could verbally abuse anyone they chose, I hated that a call on a Saturday morning meant I was spending the weekend at the office whether I liked it or not. I hated the hours and wearing nylons and being unappreciated and knowing that I could look forward to many more years of the same in the rat race. It doesn't matter what you make if you are miserable making it.

I chose nursing because:

+I want a job I can be proud of

+I want to have a life (3-12's is very appealing after working 60-70 thankless hours a week on salary)

+I want a job where caring about the welfare of others isn't a career killing state of mind, which it is in some companies

+I want to contribute something to the world that matters... I want to leave each day a better one because I contributed.

+I want my kids (if I have them) to be as proud of me as I am of my parents... my Mom runs a hospice and if I was any more proud of her I would burst.

+Job stability

+Never a dull moment... if I'm bored it is my own fault.

+Continuous learning

+I can wear pajamas to work (haha) No nylons woohoo!!

+An exit from the rat race

+Opportunities to advance my skills in a variety of ways... ACLS, PALS, etc.

I can honestly say I chose nursing in spite of the pay and I am thrilled to have done so. Now I just need to work on not being so long winded!

Jenn

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Ok, I've done very informal head count, not completely accurate or scientific by any means ...

Looks like roughly 60 percent mention money, job stability/security/options/flexibility as at least one reason for going into nursing ... and a lot those mention helping people too.

40 percent go in the "other" reasons category which, of course, is varied but mostly focuses on helping people.

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I find it funny that my teachers are always saying if you are here for the money you should go home now. I don't think the money in nursing is really that great, it isn't bad but it certainly isn't mind blowing.

Interesting point. One U.S. Health Department report mentioned that teachers actually more, on average, than nurses do.

However, if California is any indication, a ton of teachers have been laid off with the budget deficit. Nurses, at least, still kept their jobs.

On the other hand, two to three months off a year would be nice too ....

;)

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One major factor that influenced me to pursue nursing is job security. At least with nursing, I can concentrate more on doing my job better and providing the best care to patients than having to constantly looking behind my back because of fear of seeing that dreaded pink slip. I also wanted to eventually move to California sometime in the future to avoid the winter here in IL. And if I become a nurse, I am sure I will not have trouble finding a job right away.

And the salary that nurses earn of course also come into play. I mean, of course I also have bills to pay so the average salary plus the variety of fields in nursing that I can eventually get into are another two of the mjor factors that made be finally jump ship from IT to nursing. :)

Last but certainly not the least, Ive been working for an IT consulting firm for 2 and a half years now. The projects Ive been proud of being involved with are now obsolete. Plus Ive had my share of ungrateful and complaining clients. I know its part of the job but the fact that knowing that the projects Ive been involved it and worked really hard for could easily be scraped at a CEO's or client's whim is what bums me out. With nursing, at least I know that even if I get the chance of dealing with difficult doctors, it wont be as bad because I know that I still made a difference in the life of the patient and the family too. That to me is my number reason why. With nursing I know I can at least touch people's lives and make a difference.

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The money-tired of being broke and living with my parents

A sense of responsibility

I like to take care of people

I'm tired of being a STNA-career advancement

education

That's all I can think of!

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The money-tired of being broke and living with my parents

A sense of responsibility

I like to take care of people

I'm tired of being a STNA-career advancement

education

That's all I can think of!

Cool, get babygirl, you sound A LOT like me (though I don't know what STNA-career advancement is).

I'm hoping to get out of nursing:

*a sense of balance in my life that I don't think I could get unless I was in a health-related profession

*my own niche in the community

*steady, but not that great, of a pay (sorry, from my standpoint, nurses are paid cr** and all my undergrad student loans/bills aren't helping me to change this pessimism)

* I'll probably gag when cleaning up human bi-products(blood, poop, vomit, sputum, mucus, whatever else) but I love I LOVE PHARM, PHYS, AND ANATOMY

*Even though I WOULD RATHER LET THEM ALL DIE THAN EVER NURSE THEM BECAUSE OOOOH THEY REALLY GET ON MY NERVES, OOOO I'm going to murder one of them(Sorry if I'm scaring you; I'm in a particularly bad mood at this very minute), all of my family and friends know me well and think that I would make a terrific nurse so I know I have the personality/attitude/inetgrity that make people trust and want to be cared for(its from their abuse of me over all these years; they've rolled me out to be as soft as a jellyfish)

*Yes, and to have a job that is secure enough so that I NEVER have to live with anyone. I want my independance.

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Even though I WOULD RATHER LET THEM ALL DIE THAN EVER NURSE THEM BECAUSE OOOOH THEY REALLY GET ON MY NERVES, OOOO I'm going to murder one of them(Sorry if I'm scaring you; I'm in a particularly bad mood at this very minute)

okay, you scared the living crap outta me, here.....LOL (only kiddn) :chuckle

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