Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I keep hearing how Nursing is good money and its easy to find a job after passing boards. Thing is I did CNA work for a while and I really didnt enjoy it. Is Nursing any better than Nursing Assistant work?? Im so lost as to what I want to do. I want to stay medical but I dont know if Im cut out to be a Nurse. Im a male and in the military so I have that going for me. I just want something that has a good job stability and also pays good. Im also 21. If anyone has any advice on a good medical major please provide some input Im so confused as to what I want to do. Thanks.
The few nurses that I know love their jobs and love the pay. The nursing shortage, or flood, depends on location. Some areas are more in demand while others are not so much. Depends on where you live or where you are willing to relocate.
The few nurses that I know love their jobs and love the pay. The nursing shortage, or flood, depends on location. Some areas are more in demand while others are not so much.
True, and I think when (if) the recession ends, nursing job opportunities will return to their previous patterns. A lot of nurses came out of retirement (retirement for them anyway), or put off retirement, b/c their spouses lost their jobs.
I have quite a few nurses in my family starting from my grandmother. I dont think nursing is an overrated major. I think its probably one of the last degrees you can actually make decent money with if you are only going for an associates (although many hospitals now are requiring more). It is a harder job than some realize. I think working as a CNA gave you a good insight into what that type of work entails. You will empty less bed pans and so forth if you work in a hospital but any kind of home care will have you doing some of the same duties as a CNA. My one sibling is a home care nurse. Excellent money but is always on call. Also goes into seedy neighborhoods and has brought home bed bugs and other wonderful things since not everyone lives decently. Im the odd ball in my family as I am not cut out for that kind of work. I dont like hospitals, seeing people ill, death and so on. There are other opportunities in the medical field.
What about an MRI tech? My neighbor does that and makes a good living.
The problem with being a nurse isnt the bed pan issue it's the responsibility issue. I'm an RN and all of my stress comes from being blamed for everything that goes wrong. Not only do I have to monitor sick people I have to make sure that all the things that are supposed to happen happen. Stuff goes wrong you get blamed. I do this for everything from dietary to t.v services. I get blamed for everything from if a pt crashes to lost cell phones and bad hospital food. The pca leaves the pt dirty and doesn't draw the labs on time? I have to do it myself or get blamed when its not done. The pt is mad because food service is late or the food is nasty? They blame me and I have to make them happy or suffer the consequences. Being a nurse is an O.K job...it pays decently but its draining at times and it can make you depressed at times. Death and dying...seeing what happens during illness and old age can make you very sad. Working odd shifts makes you really tired and missing holidays sucks. Doctors aren't the only mean ones. I get along with most of my fellow nurse's or we have at least a grudging respect of one another...read between the lines on that one. It is very interesting work though. You really get to see aspects of human life that most people won't have the opportunity too. I'm never bored at work.
The nursing field is in demand for a reason. There is shortages and finding a job should be somewhat easy. The downside is you're working odd hours and on call 24/7.
The problem with being a nurse isnt the bed pan issue it's the responsibility issue. I'm an RN and all of my stress comes from being blamed for everything that goes wrong. Not only do I have to monitor sick people I have to make sure that all the things that are supposed to happen happen. Stuff goes wrong you get blamed. I do this for everything from dietary to t.v services. I get blamed for everything from if a pt crashes to lost cell phones and bad hospital food. The pca leaves the pt dirty and doesn't draw the labs on time? I have to do it myself or get blamed when its not done. The pt is mad because food service is late or the food is nasty? They blame me and I have to make them happy or suffer the consequences. Being a nurse is an O.K job...it pays decently but its draining at times and it can make you depressed at times. Death and dying...seeing what happens during illness and old age can make you very sad. Working odd shifts makes you really tired and missing holidays sucks. Doctors aren't the only mean ones. I get along with most of my fellow nurse's or we have at least a grudging respect of one another...read between the lines on that one. It is very interesting work though. You really get to see aspects of human life that most people won't have the opportunity too. I'm never bored at work.
You are describing hospital nursing. I agree, it sucks. I've been a nurse for 40+ years. I left the hospital after about five years after graduation, went back once for a very short time <1 yr), and have stayed out ever since. I read that the average age for a nurse to leave the hospital is 40. There is way less backbiting in other nursing jobs, e.g. public health, clinics, etc. I will say, I used to complain about working holidays, then I had a baby on the 4th of July and I was grateful for the nurses working that day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattywo85
The nursing field is in demand for a reason. There is shortages and finding a job should be somewhat easy. The downside is you're working odd hours and on call 24/7.
There are few nursing shortages these days. Many nurses came out of their own self-imposed retirement or put off retirement when their spouses lost jobs in the recession. The old days of nurses working until age 30 or so, then leaving to raise a family, are long gone. It's harder to find a nursing job these days, and really hard to find a good one. Hospital nurses work odd hours. Few nurses are on call 24/7.
Nursing is a good career because it is very diverse. For one, burnt out nurses do not have to stay at the bedside. There are so many different areas that nurses can work in such as home health, rehab, insurance companies, etc. The economy is making it very difficult for new grads in nursing to find jobs. Back when I first became a nurse, all you needed was a valid license and pulse and you were hired.
If they want to get hired most new grads need to meet as many charge nurses and directors when they do their clinicals as nursing students. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Nursing students need to exhibit a positive attitude and be able to fit in with the staff nurses. In other words...smile, be nice, and help out! If I was a nursing student I would go directly to each director/nurse manager and introduce myself. By doing so, the manager will know not just a name but also a face.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
