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I worked as an LPN before burn out for 20+ years and now at 63 I work as a PRN patient sitter. I am a member of the allnurses forum and as the prior poster said there is no nursing shortage, new grads are having a difficult time finding work. Many hospitals no longer have the internships they used to as they are expensive and not cost effective. My hospital still hires ADN's as they do a lot of their clinicals there but do encourage them to get their BSN's (can do this online). They also still hire LPN's in specialty areas like their Urgent Care Centers, affiliated clinics and Dr.'s offices and right now there is an opening in their hemodialysis unit.
For those who really want to be a nurse and can afford it go for your BSN. If not and depending on where you live do your ADN and get your BSN online. Or and I've never seen an LPN say they regreted it, do an LPN first to make sure this is what you want in stead of spending 4 years and then going ooppss I don't like this. Today's LPN's may not be in most hospital environments but there is still a place for them in nursing. Many LPN's today eventually become RN's and don't regret it as it provides extra clinicals and experience and a way to work part time for more money as they continue on up the nursing education ladder.
Each state and area handles their nursing education differently, some schools are very competitive and you can wait years to be admited, the more rural the better chance of getting in. If you aren't into sciences forget it, A&P and Micro are mandatory pre-reqs and most schools require high grades.
I think few people realize what nursing is about and I suggest for anyone thinking about this as a career find some way to get into the trenches for a while as a CNA or LPN before making a big commitment. For example last night I sat with a 40ish pt who became deaf within the last year with new difficult health issues, she was verbally abusive and several times threatened physical abuse, family is fed up and even the nurses were down to their last straw. At my age I find I have more patience than I did in my 20's and 30's and can have more empathy, all this womans nurses were 20 somethings and were having a very difficult time dealing with her. Nursing used to be a "calling" now it's more of a paycheck thing and I see way too many who just aren't suited for a nursing career stuck because of paying off student loans etc.
Think long and hard before making a decision to become a nurse and do lots of research.
This is why the market is flooded and quality of candidates isn't that impressive. My college roommate went into nursing because she chickened out for pharmacy school but wanted a job that paid well...it was a last minute back up plan and I love her dearly, but she's not someone I'd want as my nurse.
Wow, you shout down others responses and failed to recognize that there is no such thing as an associate's for a Respiratory technician nor a certificate add on. There is a separate board examination.
We are Respiratory Therapists....three board exams, and a tough program. Techs clean equipment and don't have contact with patients. A job you can do walking off the street without a license or degree.
Also, anyone can become a sleep tech without an associates....I know techs that got in the door after spending a week in Atlanta and paying a little over three grand.
Thank you for your kind correction - I did mean to say Respiratory Therapy, minimum AAS. I wasn't aware that I "shout down" any responses, but try to speak as both a member of the profession for a very long time and still in practice caring for patients (and advise - though I do a better job that it would appear here). As for your comment about others becoming sleep techs without AAS- five (5) options recognized by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) that permit writing the exam.
I hyperlinked it for your convenience. You take care (and consider the certificate - shortage of qualified techs!!).
Last edited by mm_mary73; 11-17-2013 at 10:00 AM..
Physical Therapy is not PhD, the degree awarded now is Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). The DPT is usually a 3 year full-time program post-undergraduate. ...
For heavens sake Thank you, as well. I still assert that one of the other 144 Allied Health professions are a better choice right now than nursing.
OP - Medical Technologist is another profession experiencing a shortage of professionals.
What Are the Educational Requirements for Becoming a PT?
All physical therapists must receive a graduate degree from an accredited physical therapist program before taking the national licensure exam that allows them to practice. Physical therapists have the most specialized education to help people restore and improve motion. Today's physical therapist is required to complete a graduate degree - either a masters or clinical doctorate - from an accredited education program. A growing majority of programs offer the Physical Therapist degree. Currently, 199 colleges and universities nationwide support 212 accredited professional physical therapist education programs; 96% now offer the DPT and the remaining programs are planning to convert. (I think Nursing needs to go this way as well - mm)
Well bless your heart! For someone not in the profession, you certainly have a lot to say about it. So happy for you that you found your niche elsewhere.
Pfffft! (smirk) Sure, gal. I thoroughly investigated RN and LPN from top to bottom as a career change. And I put a lot of time and effort into RN college work and the 1 year of hosp-based school, so I do think I had my finger on its pulse a while before I decided that it was not worth pursuing. So, yeppers, I have a lot to say. Did I say anything that was not true about it? No. There's a lot of rainbows and unicorn nonsense floating around out there, and the truth is closer to nursing made some huge gains in status, pay, and respect in the '90s and 2000s, but that's eroding fast now due to economic pressures on hospitals.
Western PA is largely rural. In order to try to find a decent paying job in rural BFE, the choices for women are nursing or teaching. So, I gave it a whirl, but the schooling was boring and insulting. I'm not mom or grandma, I have always found homemakers supremely boring, and so far as I am concerned, all of that women's work is not very interesting compared to sch and tech. :-) If you like it, more power to you. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta scrub it. One of the things I found very ironic is that there is no possible way that nurses are as well-protected against harassment, workplace hazards, and toxic substances or pathogens as the average chemical industry worker is. Seriously, if I work in a lab someplace, I can wear gloves, goggles, respirator, apron, and possibly a Tyvek suit all dam day if I want to, and in many cases, my employer encourages that. In nursing, ya gotta put your hands on every bum that wanders in off the street, and I got real sick of that real fast. Any HIV risk from a needle stick is too much for me, is also what I decided.
So after that whole experience, I would not do nursing if it were the last career on Earth. The women who go into it are far more docile and traditional and a different ilk than those of us from engineering, comp sci, and big business. I'm not interested in hanging with mommie and the kids and the housework, either on or off the job, thanks. It's been 2 years since I left RN school. And the farther I get from it, the worse of a job it looks, actually. I look at the jobs that my cohort got, and I kind of cringe. Hope something better opens up for them later.
LPN vs. RN:
Rural western PA still uses quite a few LPNs in hospitals, and they still hire experienced ones but I don't know for how much longer. LPN schools told me in 2008 that LPNs are mostly team leaders in nursing homes and LTC. Hospital LPNs I chatted with and was in college with mostly regretted the decision to be LPN instead of RN, because the LPNs here can and are expected to do practically everything that RNs do except some stuff with IVs and narcotics, but the LPNS are paid considerably less.
Last edited by SorryIMovedBack; 11-17-2013 at 09:05 PM..
I had no idea there was no longer a nursing shortage for the most part, that's kind of scary. I wonder if nursing schools have stopped accepting as many people in order to help ward off any unemployment in that industry.
Nursing schools are in business to make money. Whether a new nurse can get a job is none of their concern! The only areas that are not saturated with nurses are rural and smaller cities perhaps. I think still getting a job as a new grad can take upwards of 6 months or more. Even seasoned nurses have fewer opportunities than before. Another thing people don't realize is that although there are nursing jobs here and there, the desirable ones are far and few between! Esp. for more experienced nurses, the jobs they want aren't that plentiful. Companies don't pay/give benefits like years ago. Working extra hard for less pay is the norm.
Yes to the bolded part above!! I think this is key to ANYONE thinking of going into a Healthcare setting. Shadow, volunteer, talk to people currently doing the job. Working with the general public, especially when they are in pain, takes a special kind of person and most definitely a special kind of patience. You have to be empathetic without being sympathetic, which is not an easy skill to learn. I had some of the most difficult patients during my DH clinicals at school and I was grateful because I had instructors at hand to help and it gave me an idea of what it would be like to deal with people at their worst. But I love what I do and have found my "calling" as it were. If your sister genuinely wants to be a nurse, I would recommend she start volunteering now. A LTC facility would be a great place to start!
This.^^^^This is great advice for anyone considering nursing. Get some experience as a CNA to see if it is right. Don't go into it for the money. You will work your ass off and be miserable. I know I wouldn't want a nurse taking care of me who went into the field for the money.
I would want a competent person taking care of me who has enough professional pride to do a good job. How they feel about it or why is their business. (My own attitude towards my job, although part of being competent is being courteous at least and kind at best). I'd vote for competence when someone is putting medication in my IV or something.
Few jobs are a calling, nor do they need to be. Spare me the do-gooder and send me a competent and proud professional for any job.
I would want a competent person taking care of me who has enough professional pride to do a good job. How they feel about it or why is their business. (My own attitude towards my job, although part of being competent is being courteous at least and kind at best). I'd vote for competence when someone is putting medication in my IV or something.
Few jobs are a calling, nor do they need to be. Spare me the do-gooder and send me a competent and proud professional for any job.
A calling for a profession doesn't mean they are incompetent as you infer. Back then it meant you were suited for the profession not a "do-gooder" as you indicate. Nursing is a very difficult profession and if someone is not suited for it they make bad nurses even if they were able to get through school and pass the NCLEX.
Years ago when I went to nursing school those not suited were washed out, today it's very obvious there are few wash outs, if you get the grades you move on even if nursing is not a good match. As a patient sitter with 20 years of working as a nurse before leaving the profession, some of the things I see today are appalling. The newly hard of hearing pt that I sat with last week was a typical example, there was a large wipe board in the room and no marker to try to communicate with this pt. nor was there even a note pad and pen in the room. The frustration from the pt was very apparent and the lack of effort on the nursing staff to resolve the issue was disgusting. Good bedside nursing has left the building with few exceptions.
I remember hospital nursing in the late 80's where everyone, no exception, had a bed bath or help w/ it themselves. It was just a cornerstone of nursing--good hygiene. When a family member was in the hospital upwards of 3 months a few years ago, he got the bare minimum. Plus, no shave, grown out nails and no hair shampoo (with those cap things even). I mean 3 months and no hair care, not talking beauty parlor care her, just hygiene. I did the baths, hair cleaning, nail trimming. And, the ICU nurse said he was getting his "beauty treatment" now. I said, "No, just basic hygiene, for God's sake."
Help I don't know if I should go straight to RN school or LPN to get some experience. Is it true that LPN are being Phased out ? And is it true that they are nit hiring LPN without experience? How are they going to get a the experience if no one wants to hire them ? Help????????????
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Thank you, as well. I still assert that one of the other 144 Allied Health professions are a better choice right now than nursing. 
