OT: Tell me about being a nurse

[homemaker]

I have been thinking about going back to school for a while now. Nursing keeps coming up on my list of possible careers. What do you love/hate about being a nurse? Should I go for LPN or RN? What really is the difference? I think I would prefer to work in pediatrics or labor & delivery. Do I have to do anything special for that?

Sometimes I think I am just crazy to try this at 39 with 5 children and a 20-30 hour pt job. Am I?

Thanks for any info & help.

 

[TheNewman6]

First and foremost do not think it is anything like Grey's Anatomy or ER I love being a nurse and I do not think it is ever too late for someone to further their education. I would recommend the RN route as there are more opportunities and higher pay for RNs. The LPNs on my floor do just about everything I do with the exceptions of a few meds they are not allowed to give or initial assessments. They get paid $7 or 8 less than I do an hour. If you really want to go all out go on and get your BSN. A lot of places are pushing to require BSNs now.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I'm an RN and have been for the past 20 years.

First thing I would do is research and make sure the places around you are hiring nurses. Most places around here have put on hiring freezes and nurses are graduating and can only get into nursing homes or rehab centers.

I would not waste my time on an LPN, hospitals are phasing them out. An LPN is a 1 year degree and there are things an LPN can't do vs an RN (doctors verbal orders, assessments) An RN can have all different kinds of degrees (diploma, associate , bachelors)

Smartest thing would be to get most if not all of your support classes out of the way so when you are accepted into an RN program you can focus just on the clinical.

I worked Labor and Delivery. It is very high paced and stressful. Pediatrics can be too. Some places require 1 year in Med/Surg before going into a specialty. I think its a good idea. Clinical school nursing is nothing compared to real hospital nursing and the transition can be very overwhelming for some.

Also don't forget working shifts, weekends and holidays including Christmas all come with the job description. As well as the politics , long hours and sometimes not so good working conditions. Not trying to scare you off, but sometimes people don't think about everything.

 

[badblackpug]

I agree with the PPs. Skip the LPN track. The only jobs available for LPNs are nursing homes and doctor's offices. If you go to community college, Rn is only 6 months longer in school than LPN. As others have said it is not for everyone, but nursing does have a lot of advantages. The hours are flexible, the schedule is flexible. We have days (7a-7p) Middles (12p-12a) Nights (7p-7a) and baylor (2 12 hour weekend shifts, get paid for 40 hours) Nursing is also very diverse. There are many areas you can go into. It is true that there are many things that can be frustrating or exhausting, but there are many things that are very rewarding.
Too true, don't believe the Grey's anatomy or ER versions. Doctors are not that sexy and sensitive. Actually, on night call they are down right grungy and grumpy, and I can vouch for that because I live with one!
I would reserve deciding on a specialty area until you get your feet wet, and get some experience in multiple areas. When I went to nursing school (17 years ago! ) I was convinced that I was going into pediatrics. 1 semester in school convinced me otherwise!

 

[MScott1851]

The good news is that if you have five children and still manage to work outside the home, your time management skills are pretty well developed, which I think is ESSENTIAL to being a good nurse, as well as a good nursing student.

I think that everyone has pre-conceived ideas about where they want to work when they first consider becoming a nurse, and that's why it's so nice to get clinical hours and experience in each area. You quickly find out if you like something or not. I am an ER nurse, and I can't imagine doing anything else, unless I worked in public health or nursing education. I love the fast pace, the 'technical' side of my job, and the ability to interact with lots of people.

 

[sherreis]

Like the PPs, I also suggest going the RN route if you're interested. When someone says they're getting too old to become a nurse, I tell them about the lady who sat next to me when I took my boards - she was 51 yrs old, her children were almost grown and she had always wanted to be a nurse.

I was a Labor & Delivery nurse for over 15 yrs plus some other clinical areas as well. You need to make sure you're ready for physically demanding and usually stressful work. Working 12+ hrs on your feet, working weekends, holidays and nights. Make sure your family is willing to deal with this as well. You wouldn't want to go through all of the education and then find out they don't want you away. Nurses make pretty good money these days. There are so many options out there, depending on the area.

I now work as a Case Manager and I love it. I work from home but I paid my dues to get to this point.

Good luck in your decision. It's a very rewarding profession.

 

[laborrn2]

RN all the way! Nursing is a fantastic career, especially if you may need some flexibility. There's full time, part time, registry, hospital nurse, clinic nurse, school nurse, nursing home, rehab center.....on and on.... I've been in labor and delivery at the same hospital for over 11 years now and I absolutely love it. It is fast-paced, requires a lot of critical thinking skills, but is so rewarding. I too, thought I would be a pediatrics nurse......until I went through clinical for peds. Couldn't handle the really sick kiddos.....completely crushed me. I saw my first birth in clinical and that was it for me!

 

[cnorth]

I agree with going with the RN route. You will have a much wider scope of jobs to choose from, and make more money. I am a critical care pediatric nurse, and I love it. And I got my BSN with two small children on my own and working, so it can be done. It's a ton of work, but it can be done. Do be prepared for working holidays/weekends. If you work in a hospital (which is where the decent money is), there is no way around it. I have a great schedule though, and work 7 nights (11p-7a) and then off for 7 days. Can't ask for much better.

 

[RMulieri]

RN , lpns are great, but in alot of places being phased out.I have been an RN for 12 yrs, and have to say I am getting burn out...It is a fabulous field.BUT there is LONG hours-my 8 hour shifts are often 12 hrs, and my 12 hr shifts are often 14-15 hours.Holidays and weekends are a MUST as a new RN-That means you WILL be working Christmas , Thanksgiving etc.The pay is good, but when you look at what you actually do, it isn't near enough.On an average shift( I have worked in my career( MEd surg, Transplant, ICU, ER, Hematology/Oncology) I have 5 patients, and 5 sets of families, and Drs,residents, MEd students to deal with.It is tiring and rewarding. Depending where you live in the US, depends on the availibility of nursing jobs.Right now where I am, there are 5 nursing schools local, and NO jobs...There is a hriring freeze , so alot of our RNS are not working as RNS.There is nowhere for them to go.In other areas of the US there are critical shortages..But many of the retiring nurses are putting off retirement because of the economy, and there are not enough teachers so less students are getting admitted to programs..Also you may not get to go into PEDS or L&D...here there are Waiting lists for those jobs ,since nurses don't leave them easily.I am not trying to scare you, but the romanticized versions you see on TV aren't real..I haven't met a DR yet that puts in IV lines, draws labs etc.I always get the giggles when I watch that stuff on tv..You are lucky if they see the patients when they say they will.It is a rapidly changing field..Stuff I learned in school or even 4 years ago is obsolete, and it is up to you to keep abreast of things as wells as work your shifts and raise a family...Food for thought

 

[Joyful3Heart]

Ditto for RN vs. LPN. At my hospital, they phased out LPN's in the early 90's. As far as preconceived ideas, I had wanted to be a pediatric nurse since I was 11 and guess what, I have been one for 12 years now. I did do my time on the regular med-surg adult floors, though (almost 2 years). I work in a medium sized community hospital and now have the opportunity to pick (or not) another Maternal Child Health unit to crosstrain to. I chose Maternity/Nursery but my manager really wanted me to choose Labor and Delivery. So your flexibility is really up to you, and also depends on what opportunities are available at the facility where you choose to work.
Good Luck
PS as far as your age, believe me, you won't be alone...I met my husband because his mother was in my nursing class...

 

[smkiya]

I have been thinking about going back to school for a while now. Nursing keeps coming up on my list of possible careers. What do you love/hate about being a nurse? Should I go for LPN or RN? What really is the difference? I think I would prefer to work in pediatrics or labor & delivery. Do I have to do anything special for that?

Sometimes I think I am just crazy to try this at 39 with 5 children and a 20-30 hour pt job. Am I?

Thanks for any info & help.

The median age of my graduating class was 36, and 80% of the class had children. For most nursing was a second career, as it was for me. I love nursing and the opportunities it offers. I work on a busy cardiac floor and love the people I work with. Politics can be a pain, as well as the working conditions at times, but you have that everywhere. My hospital also had a hiring freeze for almost a year, which made the working conditions worse, but they just hired a bunch of new nurses. There are so many choices within nursing, that you may find that you'll change your mind about specialty. I sooo thought I'd do mental health, and then I worked in a psychiatric hospital and changed my mind. My niche is cardiac and holistic nursing with an emphasis on prevention. I'll continue to work on my floor for now, as I'm baylor and work 2 days (sat & sun) and get paid for 3 days. It's perfect with one now in school, and a 4 month old. Dh's home with them on the weekends, and me during the week. Debating about the master's in nursing, who knows, nursing is such a great career, you can pretty much do anything. The pay is not bad either .

 

[Kallista]

My mom is a nurse (LPN) and my husband is a nurse (RN). When the kids are older, I'm planning on entering an accelerated BSN program.

I'd generally say get the RN, too, but an LPN has some things to recommend it. LPNs don't have the long-term career opportunities that RNs do, but if there is a reason to get into the work force quickly, an LPN program can be a good place to start.

LPN's have a quick training program. My mom earned her LPN in one year. An RN program is a minimum of two years in associate's degree program or a professional program. A RN/BSN will take you four years.

Nursing homes hire lots of LPNs. My mom made almost as much as a new LPN in a nursing home as she would have made as a new RN in a hospital. ($36,000 - $40,000 vs. $40,000 - $45,000).

You can "bridge" from LPN to RN by taking further training, if you want. You could even earn a BSN/RN while working as an LPN.

 

[homemaker]

You all are wonderful and have given me a lot to think about. I do already have 33 credits. They are all my basics but they are also from 15 yrs ago. Life happened and I never continued with school. I guess after 15 years, it makes me nervous to go back. If I want to make good use of my credits then RN may be they way to go. Thanks again!

 

[My_3_Mi_Princesses]

Well I will give you some perspective as a husband of a nurse with three little girls.

As mentioned above the flexability is great. We only need daycare or after school care twice a week for my little ones, instead of 4 or 5 days which really pays off! However she works every other weekend and many hoildays so that part is tough at times. And when she works 3 12 hour shifts in a row it takes her a full day to recover. So everybody in the family understands that they have to pull together and help out around the house. My DD9 is great about this and I even have my DD3 doing small chores!

As for schooling, its tough but my wife was able to do it while pregnant and with two kids, she had also been out of high school for about 5 years. She was not able to work during the semester but could during summer breaks, so we took out student loans to get by.

As for being a nurse she loves it! Even when she gets home and is dead tierd she will sometimes call back to the unit to check on a patient. She didn't get into the field for the money or just because its a steady job, she go into because she likes to help people and loves seeing stuff like hearts and learning how they work and all.

 

[mommy*RN]

I agree with everyone who said go the RN route versus LPN. I know in the area I work we phased out LPNs. Also like a PP said, the median age of my graduating class was 34 yrs old. We had some 40 yr old and even 50 yr old women who did the program. I won't lie to you...it was tough, but so rewarding.

I currently work in a level 2+ nursery (NICU) and on a postpartum floor and I love my job. I'm pool so I pretty much pick my hours. There are no benefits for pool people, but my husband carry's the insurance. After I graduated nursing school my husband actually got his RN too and works in the ER as a pool nurse at the same hospital I work at.

The state I work they will hire new grads into labor and delivery, but it is a tough job to learn. I would definitely graduate school and work on a med/surg floor for awhile before going into labor and delivery. As I was once told by a very wise nurse manager -- labor and delivery is a component of all nursing...you get mom's with heart conditions, mom's with diabetes, mom's with lupus or MS. All of these health concerns need to be considered when a mom is in labor and giving birth. It isn't all healthy mom's and healthy babies. That said I give a lot of credit to labor and delivery nurses. It's a job I know I couldn't do. Some of the sharpest women I've ever met are labor nurses and they wouldn't do anything else.

I think if you start slowly back to school and take some of the prereqs like A&P...you'll have a good clue as to how you will fare in actual nursing core classes. There is no need to rush and take too much on. Once you have clinicals and such you really need to focus on that so your kids will have to understand that you will need time to study. I can also say I was unable to keep my part-time job while in clinicals...it was just to demanding.

Anytime you want to chat about things you can always PM me, and I'm sure any of the PP's would be happy to answer any questions you might have. I always am happy to help a future colleage.

Good luck!

ETA: I also worked in pediatrics for 6yrs prior to going to the nursery/postpartum. I LOVED that job too. I worked in a Dr's office (low pay) with healthy kids. While in clinicals I was able to do a mentorship at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. It was the toughest 6 weeks of my life. I personally could not do that job either. Seeing all these beautiful children with medical conditions that most adults were unable to fight...it is something I will never forget. I realized that most the nurses on the floor I worked on were younger single girls with no children OR older women whose children were all grown up. At the time I was there I had a 9month old son so it was very hard for me. I'm sure on some days it could be the most rewarding job ever, but it really freaked me out when I would hear a code called knowing the hospital was filled with only children. Again -- my heart goes out to all the brave men and women who work in places like that. I hope I never need their services, but if I did I'd be so very thankful they were there.

 

[ebtbmom]

Well I'll have to admit that I don't love being a nurse. I'll have to say though that during this economic downturn I've been thankful that I haven't had to worry about work and I actually have been able to keep a full time and prn job.

I don't think the money is as good as people make it out to be. You can make killer bucks if you work every weekend night shift, but who wants to do that? I've always had a M-F, 7-4 type of schedule, first in the OR and now as a school nurse. My pay is not nearly what it should be after 9 years of nursing, and a BSN but I don't have to leave my son on nights and weekends and that means more to me than money.

The thing that irritates me most about being a nurse is when people start a sentence with "You are a nurse, you must know about......." and then proceed to ask me about some vague or obscure health issue and they expect me to give them some wise and useful information regarding it. Nurses don't know everything about every condition that affects the human body. Lately I just tell people, "I don't know look it up on Web MD". I just don't like people thinking you're a bad nurse when you don't know the answer to every question.

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but I do think that nursing is highly idealized on TV. Why don't you shadow someone for a few days, see what you think?

 

[LattNJ]

I agree that you'd probably be better off going the RN route, there are very few LPN's left at my hospital. I always wanted to do L&D/maternity, but lo and behold I've been a med-surg nurse for 7 years now. Nursing can be such a mentally, physically and emotionally draining job. However, it can be sooo rewarding too. There are so many opportunities available, and the hiring freezes won't last forever. I have a flexible schedule, it has allowed my husband to go back to school full time for his masters. Here in NJ, the pay is very good too. Nursing school may seem impossible at times, I started nursing 1 when I had a 2 month old baby and worked full time, looking back, I don't know how I did it, but if you can get through nursing school, it really is worth it. Another thing I have always said, is you have to get into nursing because in your heart you want to be a nurse, the money should be no objective. If you don't truly want to be a nurse and you just get into it for the money, you will be miserable. As previously stated, no matter how good the pay is, it never truly compensates you for the work you do, no amount of money could. I think all the previous posters covered everything there is to be said. Good luck!

 

[dis75ney]

Definitely agree with RN vs LPN. And you're never too old to go back to school - my grandmother became an RN at the age of 67 and is still going strong (she just celebrated her 86th birthday this past June)!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

My hospital phased out all LPN's at least ten years ago. I would go the RN route if at all feasible as you will be paid considerably more for doing much of the same work.

Nursing is very popular as a second career and for returning to the workforce moms. It's a great job for moms, as you can earn a decent salary even working part time, doing 2 twelve hour shifts per week.

There are so many different areas to work for nurses, if you don't like one area try another. I've been very happy with my career and always encourage people to consider nursing!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck!

 

[kupperman]

Well I'll have to admit that I don't love being a nurse. I'll have to say though that during this economic downturn I've been thankful that I haven't had to worry about work and I actually have been able to keep a full time and prn job.

I don't think the money is as good as people make it out to be. You can make killer bucks if you work every weekend night shift, but who wants to do that? I've always had a M-F, 7-4 type of schedule, first in the OR and now as a school nurse. My pay is not nearly what it should be after 9 years of nursing, and a BSN but I don't have to leave my son on nights and weekends and that means more to me than money.

The thing that irritates me most about being a nurse is when people start a sentence with "You are a nurse, you must know about......." and then proceed to ask me about some vague or obscure health issue and they expect me to give them some wise and useful information regarding it. Nurses don't know everything about every condition that affects the human body. Lately I just tell people, "I don't know look it up on Web MD". I just don't like people thinking you're a bad nurse when you don't know the answer to every question.

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but I do think that nursing is highly idealized on TV. Why don't you shadow someone for a few days, see what you think?

I agree. I wish I would have shadowed someone as well before I made the choice to go back to school to be an RN. I don't hate my job but I don't love it either, but I'm thankful I have a job as well.