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Lots of nurses in our family and they all agree with the above.
A cousin is a few years away from retirement, said that when she started, a floor on a hospital might have several nurses, LPNs, aides, and orderlies. Plus, people would come in prior to their surgery and stay several days recovering. She was able to get a baseline behavior on patients before procedures, had time to check in and chat during her shift.
Now, she rarely sees a patient prior to surgery and as soon as they can fart and stagger to their feet, they're discharged.
Not only is she responsible for a floor full of critical patients rather than a mixture, but she often spends more time at the nurses' station charting, meds and so forth, and has to rely on machines and reports from much less experienced and staff to alert her to problems.
She says that many hospitals are so thinly staffed that it is not unusual for a nurse to need to stay for a second shift when someone calls in sick.
She got into because she wanted to care for people and she's had a chance to do that. But the bean counters changed the rules and she's burnt out as are many of her colleagues.
^This. An RN I know who gave up nursing at age 49 after 24 years tells a similar story:
"In the early years, I saw every patient multiple times each shift, talked with them, reassured them, expressed caring for them, explained things to them. Felt like I had relieved a little suffering through my personal interaction. This interaction gradually lessened to every patient once each shift. Then it was getting quality time with only a few patients each shift, the rest just cursory introductions. But I lived on this for awhile.
Then, I just had time to do rounds at the shift start. Eventually I was given "report" on the patients while walking in the hall past their rooms. Then the report was relayed right in the nurses station. In the final month of work, I had only 2 significant interactions with patients. All patient status during the shift was reported to me, and the care performed by the staff I supervised. My entire shift consisted of endless phone calls and meetings with doctors, therapists, social workers, and discharge planners, scheduling of lunches and breaks for staff, relentless documentation and charting, taking off orders, counting narcotics, handing "incidents," going to mandatory meetings, etc. I worked every minute and barely had time to pee, let alone eat. It all got done. I had become a professional 'queen bee' who never had to leave the beehive, but I had lost every bit of the personal patient contact and healing skill that had made me want to be a nurse."
Nursing homes and LTC for that matter aren't up every RNs street. Often many such places on average have very high rates of turnover. Nurses in particular will arrive for various reasons of their own (cannot find other work, other facilities will not hire them, etc...) but leave when something else comes along.
In any event usually nursing homes and often some LTCs do not fully staff with professional nurses. Rather you find a one or a few RNs there to act in a supervisory capacity, to plan care, give certain meds/treatments, etc... a large part of the actual hands on care is handled by techs, aides, and LPNs. RN simply are very expensive. There are nursing homes where the only RN is the DON.
Again, am not disagreeing with those that say there are other jobs for nurses outside of hospitals. However for most the action is in acute/critical care facilities as well as any decent money. There is also the perception real or otherwise that once you lack a year or so of recent acute/critical care experience you'll never get back into hospital or bedside again.
Demand surges and waynes...
For several years, we offered a re-entry program for Nurses that had stepped away... mostly to raise children and then wanted to come back.
I'm not saying right now finding an entry level job is easy... far from it.
On the other hand... one of the local Universities we partner with has over 95% working in the field one year after graduation.
One of the Docs I know specializes in Pain Management... he went through a lot of nurses to find the right one for the demands of the job... and she was a corpsman that challenge the board in California to be an RN... tons of experience in difficult situations combined with the maturity of dealing with all that goes along with Pain Management... unfortunately, a fair number of scammers mixed in with those truly suffering...
Some of our best RN's are Diploma Nurses... they learned on the job and are all but retired now.
The BSN nurses are very smart and sometimes find they don't like Nursing once they begin their career and it comes as a surprise when they start working.
All of my comments have to viewed in the context of the SF Bay Area...
Plus... California was the first in the nation to address Nurse to Patient Ratios which has greatly impacted Nursing here.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 03-18-2014 at 12:53 AM..
I'd be lying if I said these answers weren't discouraging =\ I'm still so surprised the nursing field is so saturated... I know a lot of people are getting nursing degrees, but people will always get sick, so it seems like there couldn't be enough nurses. Is there any career field that still has plenty of job opportunities? Today, it just seems like no career fields are stable and it's so depressing..
And why do all these hospitals have to hire nurses with years of experience? Don't they realize people have to start somewhere? Aren't the clinicals you do during school enough?
It sounds like it might be better to go into something like respiratory therapy or radiology. Are there more opportunities in those fields? I already have a bachelor's degree, so would I be able to finish these programs in two years or less?
Clinical experience in schools is very limited. No, it's not nearly or safely enough! When I graduated, you got a job and there were no preceptors or shadowing done--2 week classroom orientation and then you sink or swim! The diploma schools had lots of clinical, but they're gone now. You need at least a year or two to feel more comfortable in any nursing role, probably more. And, some of the nurses personalities--like sharks looking for blood (the new grad). I've seen a fair amt. of viciousness in nursing, by other nurses. Power/control issues? Personal problems? Who knows, but it's a phenomenon for sure.
I do not know about the OP but for me anything beats working retail for the rest of your life . There is NO upward mobility in that job. It is not even that the fact you do not make a buck there is more to it.
I think finding some thing your passion about and go do no matter what it is will make life more bearable.
^This. An RN I know who gave up nursing at age 49 after 24 years tells a similar story:
"In the early years, I saw every patient multiple times each shift, talked with them, reassured them, expressed caring for them, explained things to them. Felt like I had relieved a little suffering through my personal interaction. This interaction gradually lessened to every patient once each shift. Then it was getting quality time with only a few patients each shift, the rest just cursory introductions. But I lived on this for awhile.
Then, I just had time to do rounds at the shift start. Eventually I was given "report" on the patients while walking in the hall past their rooms. Then the report was relayed right in the nurses station. In the final month of work, I had only 2 significant interactions with patients. All patient status during the shift was reported to me, and the care performed by the staff I supervised. My entire shift consisted of endless phone calls and meetings with doctors, therapists, social workers, and discharge planners, scheduling of lunches and breaks for staff, relentless documentation and charting, taking off orders, counting narcotics, handing "incidents," going to mandatory meetings, etc. I worked every minute and barely had time to pee, let alone eat. It all got done. I had become a professional 'queen bee' who never had to leave the beehive, but I had lost every bit of the personal patient contact and healing skill that had made me want to be a nurse."
This is exactly what the nurses I know report. They say that when a surgery patient is disoriented they have no idea if this is something now if they came into the hospital disoriented because they never see them prior to surgery any more. They worry constantly that they will miss something.
Nuclear Medicine, Radiology, Ultrasound Tech, PT, OT, Speech Therapy, Pharmacy Tech, Surgical Tech, Dental Hygeine are other areas of the medical field that would be interesting. I personally think what Respiratory Therapists do are gross (but I hate suctioning trach and having sputum coughed out at me).
All good ideas.
Since she already has a degree, Physician Assistant would be worthwhile looking into. Seems there is a lot of demand for PAs these days. They do a lot of the one on one with patients.
The caveat is that programs are opening up all over the country in response to the demand, so that field may be saturated soon as well.
Based on the reasons you have posted, I would NOT go into nursing. I am a nurse's aide and a nursing student. I love patient care, but it is difficult. Nurses do NOT get paid enough, and there is NO nursing shortage. If you are in it for the "big bucks" and the "job stability", you will be in for a very rude awakening.
My mother was an R.N. and taught nursing until she retired.
To this day, the advice she gives everyone is, "Don't go into nursing!" (Her reasoning is this: If you truly have your heart set on nursing as a career because you can't imagine doing a job where you don't get to help people or interact with the public every day -- you'll ignore that advice and go into it anyway. For everyone else who just sees nursing as "a field with a lot of job openings" -- don't do it.)
The people probably getting paid the best in nursing are the folks doing the in-home health-care gigs. The nursing home jobs are among the worst.
Still, nursing is a career somewhat like teaching. If you have a "calling" to do it, you'll want to do it because you feel that need to help other people in need. Few people go into teaching "for the money" or because "there are a lot of schools around with jobs available". Those that do probably don't wind up as really good teachers, and may not even stay in that line of work very long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cerebrator
I work with many nurses. Whatever you do, do NOT work for a for-profit nursing home!
As for med calculations, they aren't difficult, but you have to be EXTREMELY careful. At my school, in order to pass meds and therefore pass the class, you MUST receive a 100% on the tests. If not, you will not be allowed to pass meds and fail.
Yes, you are required to do college statistics and algebra, but it is not that difficult. I am not the best math student, but I was able to get A's in both classes.
Pay is good and generally you can get a job anywhere but after being married to a nurse I can honestly say if she had to do it all over again, she wouldn't. Long hours, short staffing, tons of paperwork,obnoxious doctors and patients who see the nurses as their personal servant are just some of the issues they deal with daily. She's worked in the field for many years and most of the changes she's experienced only made it more difficult. As I said, pay and job security are great, just be prepared for the reality of the job.
My wife has been a nurse for 7 years, works 3, 12 hr shifts a week, gets paid $30 an hour. I ENVY her schedule!!! I'd kill to only have to work 3 days and 36 hrs and get paid $30 an hour. Try to find a job in a hospital though.
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The diploma schools had lots of clinical, but they're gone now. You need at least a year or two to feel more comfortable in any nursing role, probably more. And, some of the nurses personalities--like sharks looking for blood (the new grad). I've seen a fair amt. of viciousness in nursing, by other nurses. Power/control issues? Personal problems? Who knows, but it's a phenomenon for sure.
Yep...
