Nurses on board... I need some career opinions, please.

[zakatak]

Hi,

Thanks for reading. I have some questions for you regarding your nursing career...

Once you had your RN, what type of entry level jobs were available to you?

Do you enjoy your job? Have you ever not enjoyed it? What types of jobs (on the job) do you find hard to do/dislike doing?

What are the hours/shifts like? Vacation time? Personal days?

I know that the "nicer' nursing jobs are senority based (ex. MBU), so where do you start off?

I am thinking of going back for my RN. I have talked to a local university, and this coming year I can make up some prerequisites I need (I already have a BA) and then in May 2005 start their accelerated RN program and graduate in May 2006 with my RN.

Here's the problem. How much of your job is like "ER" where you are under alot of pressure? I don't think I have that in me, so are there other places I can concentrate in? I know not everyone has the ability to be a trauma nurse.

Thanks for your help. I've been thinking about this for a while and now that I am volunteering in our local hospital, I really like the idea. Of course, I haven't been down to the ER yet.

Karen

 

[princess lovers mom]

It is a great career, but not easy. There are numerous jobs that you can hold with an RN, but all would like you to have some experience on "the floor". Pts are much sicker now to get into the hospital and are there for shorter stays...lots of technical equipment to learn about. It is rewarding.

Final jobs could include a nursing home, school health nurse, outpt. office, Public health nurse, etc.

I was a surgical floor nurse in a teaching hospital for 3 years and then was given the opportunity to receive my Master's degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner at the hospitals expense and LOVE my job that I have had now in an outpt clinic seeing adult and pediatric pts for the last 10 yrs...

to better answer your question...every RN job is not like ER...general floor nursing is hectic in a different way...pediatrics, OB, psychiatry tend to be a different pace....ICU; cardiac units; special care; ER are busier and also not usually entry level anyway....good luck with your classes..let me know if you have other questions

 

[DawnCt]

My first nursing job was on a locked psychiatric unit. I enjoyed it. I have worked in psych, usually locked units, medical/surgical units, post partum obstetrics but for the last 16 years, occupational health. That by far is the best job I have ever had. I work Monday through Friday, with every weekend and every holiday off. Can't beat that!

 

[zakatak]

Thanks! and a little friendly bump for the evening crowd...

 

[maps]

there are so many options when it comes to nursing. it all depends on what you like and want.

i liked action--so i worked in intensive care.
i was single--so i worked the evening shift and went out with friends after work
i wanted money--so i worked every holiday, weekend, overtime...

then i went for my master's degree for family nurse practitioner, got married and had 2 kids.

now i work only during the week; no nights, evenings, weekends or holidays. i do primary care and although not action packed, i am rarely bored. i really love what i do and am glad i can spend so much time with my family.

 

[crz4mm2]

I was an LPN first and worked OB on post partum and in the nursery. When I graduated with my RN degree, I went to work straight away in L&D. I have worked many other areas since that time. All shifts. Did Nursing home for a while (and hated it). Worked surgery (which I loved) but then went back to school and got my Masters and Nurse Midwifey degree. Now work as a Certified nurse midwife (and LOVE it).
L&D has a lot of pressure.
There is also office nursing which you might enjoy. I thought that was boring years ago when I did it. Public Health, home visits etc is another option. Office and Public Health you would be able to do weekdays- no nights weekends and holidays.

It is a rewarding career. Best of luck to you.

 

[Disney Doll]

Well...where does one start to explain about nursing????

It's a hard job, both physically and emotionally. It is not extraordinarily monetarily beneficial...nurses make a decent living, but there are definitely careers out there that are "easier" overall and pay more.

You will work weekends, evenings, nights, holidays. You will miss many things...family events, friends' events etc.

You will have the privelege of assisting people through the best or worst times of their life. You will see the miracle of birth, and the miracle of death. You will be invited into people's lives in their most private of moments, and be asked to assist them with their most difficult decisions. You will see the best of humanity, and the worst of humanity.

You will never be bored.

It s a calling, not a job.

 

[RNMOM]

I graduated 29 years ago next month. There was a nursing shortage then, as now, and I was able to skip med/surg and began working in the OR. I loved the OR and I also really enjoyed RR work. I have also done IV therapy and ambulatory surgery. I now work telephone triage and am certified.

I have worked all shifts. OR was sometimes 24 hours, honestly, on the weekends with a lot of traumas. I worked day shift when my kids were little and now wish I had know to work part time weekends, as I do now, so I could spend more time with them.

I think you will find areas in nursing that appeal to you as you go through your training. That is what happens to most of us. Keep your heart open and you will find something that makes you feel like you imagine you will..why we all go into nursing. Nothing makes me feel better than when I can make a difference in someone's life. Usually it is the very littlest of things that do the trick but I feel 10 feet tall when it happens.

So, my advice is to go for it. You won't be rich and you will doubt your sanity at times but in the end you will remember those smiles, those tears you share with people and the touches only you can give that mean so much.

 

[MScott1851]

I graduated with a BSN and hired immediately in to a Pediatric ER. I was told by all my professors to take a med-surg floor position first, but didn't. I figured if I never wanted to work there, I didn't have to. After my first couple of years, I started picking up extra shifts in the adult ER, and now I am qualified to do both.

When we first moved to Memphis, I wasn't sure where I wanted to work full time, so I found a perfect solution for me. I work for a local nurse staffing agency and also a national travel nurse company. I am contracted by a hospital for four weeks at a time, I am guaranteed 36 hours per week, I am eligible for benefits (but don't need them due to DH), I have 401k, and I make about $10 more per hour than nurses employed by the hospital. I like the fact that if I want to go do work somewhere else next month, I can. I am lucky in that I have been at the same hospital here in Memphis for over a year, and they keep renewing my contract. However, if they don't one month, then I have worked at three other hospitals in town, and they want me, too. I am also eligible to go work in other states for assignments, and the company I work for provides me with transportation, housing, and all expenses except for food and long distance calls. I have only done this once, but the money was awesome...Just something to keep in mind if you need some quick cash after you graduate!

 

[Disney Doll]

Being A Nurse Means...

You will never be bored.
You will always be frustrated.
You will be surrounded by challenges.
So much to do and so little time.
You will carry immense responsibility...and very little authority.
You will step into people's lives...and you will make a difference.
Some will bless you.
Some will curse you.
You will see people at their worst...and at their best.
You will never cease to be amazed at people's capacity for love, courage, and endurance.
You will see life begin...and end.
You will experience resounding triumphs... and devastating failures.
You will cry a lot.
You will laugh a lot.
You will know what it is to be human...and to be humane.

-Author Melodie Ghenevert

 

[Hillbeans]

Originally posted by Disney Doll
You will have the privelege of assisting people through the best or worst times of their life. You will see the miracle of birth, and the miracle of death. You will be invited into people's lives in their most private of moments, and be asked to assist them with their most difficult decisions. You will see the best of humanity, and the worst of humanity.

.

That quote made me think about giving birth to my DS 3 yrs ago and seeing my mom pass away last summer. Both times, the nurses got me through and were wonderful. I can't imagine how tough this job is, but i'm sure it can be rewarding.

 

[zakatak]

Thank you, everyone. There are only two things standing in my way. First is the fear of grossness. You know, I just don't know if I have it in me to take care of really, really gross things. That worries me. I don't think I could do what they do on ER or burn units, for that matter. Do you get accustomed to that?

Second is child care issues. The actual nursing program runs M-F 8am-5pm, starting in May. That means I need full time child care all summer. I've never worried about that before and wouldn't know where to start! I probably wouldn't see my kids all summer, since I still need time to study on top of that schedule.

So... do you get used to the grossness?

 

[Dizkneenurse]

Hi there! I live near you ( I think) if you wanna PM me abut specific stuff, feel free.

Anyhow, I have been a nurse for 10 years and when I started I worked on a general Medical-Surgical floor. A great place to start, many different illness, different things to learn. It was a great place get my skills down and get my self organized as a nurse.

My floor closed and I choose to change to the Cardiac-Medical ICU. By that point I had been a nurse for about 5 years. The change was great and I was secure in my skills, that I would now be able to build on the ones I already had mastered.

One great thing about Nursing is, that if you don't like where you are, you can move around and try just about anything else.

Nursing is hard, it can suck some days but all in all it is a job like no other. You will do things you can't imagine. See things you will never forget. Touch lives everyday. And might laugh more than you can believe. ( not trying to get sappy or poetic here! )

As for the "grossness", that is something only you can answer. In school I had to suction a patient and I thought "I will NEVER work somewhere that I have to so that EVER" and now I can do it and order my lunch at the same time. There are still some things I hate to see... I would never work in OR ( yucky) and I hate puke. But you just deal with it and move on. It really takes alot to make whince now. My mom is a nurse too and we can gross out the whole family by "talking shop" at dinner.

Hope that helped a bit..drop me a mail if you wanna talk about Nursing in the Buffalo area. I work at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital

best you ya

heidi