posted April 01, 2019 06:27 PM
quote:
Yes I know but why do you say people don't make money as a nurse? I know this guy who's a nurse. And he's going to school for additional training so he can make $60 an hour.
If you live in an area with a high cost of living, then you will make more, but a new grad will definitely not make $60/hr fresh out of school. Your pay is usually based on your number of years of work experience as a nurse. In other words, if you worked as CNA, then that won't count towards your nursing experience. It will make your resume more appealing, but it won't help with your pay in most cases. Again, this is a general statement.
I graduated from nursing school in 2013 with my BSN degree and RN license. I only made $18.50/hr working in a hospital. I would've made more money managing a fast food restaurant. One of my coworkers quit nursing to become a waitress because she made better money. She didn't even work in a five-star restaurant.
If you want to become a nurse, then make sure it isn't because of the money. It is a brutal field. There is a high chance you will be assaulted if you work in a hospital (clinics pay far less, but are usually safer). I was assaulted 3 times during my first year, and you know what? Nobody cares. It's seen as just another part of the job. You will be spit on, kicked, stabbed and punched. Assaulting a healthcare worker is supposed to be a felony, but patients rarely get into legal trouble.
My best friend was kicked in the stomach when she was pregnant and lost her baby. The patient had Alzheimer's so they didn't get into any trouble. My friend paid the ultimate price of losing her baby.
By all means, enter this field if you want to, but it is way more pressure than you could ever imagine. Nursing school doesn't show you the full extent of the responsibility you will face. There will be days where you will absolutely love nursing and other days where you will come home and cry. Some patients are absolutely amazing people while others will test your patience and push you 100ft past your breaking point. Make sure are prepared to face this or accept a lower paying job at a clinic.
There are cushier jobs in nursing (i.e. occupational health, insurance companies, case management, etc) but typically these positions call for more experienced nurses. I'm telling you all of this because I want you to be aware of what this profession involves. When I interviewed nurses about their job before I even applied to nursing school, every single nurse sugarcoated this profession. Once I earned my RN license, they started complaining about how much it sucks being a nurse and horrible it is. All I could think was "Gee, thanks for being honest." I'm giving you the courtesy that was never extended to me.
Do what you wish. You can absolutely do well as a nurse if you choose to do so. The skills you must have in order to be a nurse are:
1) Adapt quickly to any situation
2) Be extremely observant: your patient can deteriorate quickly if you don't catch the early warning signs
3) Absorb massive amounts of information in a short period of time and be able to apply this information to new situations
4) Be an expert with time management. You need to juggle the needs of multiple patients simultaneously.
5) Be well versed in psychology. It doesn't matter which specialty you choose; you will be a psychiatric nurse. There are numerous people with mental illnesses and you better know how to handle them.
6) Accept the fact that you will be blamed for the doctors' mistakes. The doctors will often look to you to figure out what to do, so you better know your stuff.
Lindaland
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posted April 01, 2019 03:21 PM
posted April 01, 2019 10:53 PM
