Would you do it all again?

I've done different things and I chose nursing at the age of 45... my only regret is that I didn't do so 20 years sooner.

No.

Registered Nurse is synonymous with glorified server in 2016.

Glorified server at $80/hr with benefits.

Glorified server at $80/hr with benefits.

80 an hour holy man where do you work as an RN because I'm coming there.... I'm no where close to that!

I never wanted to do this in the first place. I wanted to be a teacher but my father said he wouldn't support that decision. That was in 1974. There was an abundance of teachers with no jobs but there's always a job for a nurse. Plus my sister was a nurse...

If I could flip back time? I would still have respected my fathers wishes. BUT I would have joined the military and let them pay for my RN education and retired with a pension so sweet that I could then be a teacher for my second career if that's what I wanted to do. There's a lot to be said for weekends off, school vacations, summers off --all with pay!

There's a lot to be said for weekends off, school vacations, summers off --all with pay!

Point of correction: *NOT* with pay.

Salary is based on contracted work hours... and doesn't include all the off time spent grading and prepping.

Registered Nurse is synonymous with glorified server in 2016.

That's why I'm leaving the bedside. It's more about Press-Ganey scores than patient care anymore.

Would I do it again? Oh hell no. After 30 years as an RN, I'm finally in a position financially and otherwise to pursue something else, and I feel as though I've been set free.

You mean would I become waitress and a data entry clerk with the RN title all over again? No way.

Since nursing has so many options, I would say that I made a right decision. However, if nursing involved ONLY working on the floor or in the ICU, I would become an accountant. Or revisit my original dream to be a computer engineer or work for NASA.