Future nursing student.. or not?

I am a 29 yr old mother/wife of 2 kids (11 yrs, 6 yrs) and have recently started taking pre-req's at community college for their RN ADN program. I was interested in Nursing, but I have read blogs online & threads about how horrible Nursing is. I just want to know if this is true for a majority of the RN's out there. I've read about how RN's get no respect from pt's (which I knew already), pt's families, physicians, fellow nurses backstabbing each other all the time, cattiness, etc... the list goes on and on. I already suffer from anxiety disorder on a daily basis (I'm the type where you can't see it, but I am a wreck inside at times) and don't want to get in a field where even though the pay is good, it won't be enough to compensate for the stress I will go through. I am currently a Pharm Tech, but hated my last job doing prior authorizations, getting yelled at by MD's, sometimes nurses, and of course patients because our healthcare system is a wreck and poor patients are getting ripped off daily, so I decided to go back to school. Also the $$ for PT isn't too high. I guess I am just looking for help in making a decision, I'm not getting any younger and don't have time to waste if I hate Nursing. My other interest is becoming a Registered Dietician, but will take me longer since I need to obtain a BS.

Do some of you feel that you wished you went into another field besides Nursing, and if so, have you started school again for a career change? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I was 30 when I started nursing school. I was working in an office at the time and took prerequisites at night. I got an associates degree in nursing. I have the title RN. I knew from the start that I wanted to do babies only. I have worked in the NICU and nursery for almost 5 years now and love it. I worked full-time for the first year and a half. Then I switched jobs from a medical center to a community hospital and do prn work. I am paid 36.00 an hour in Texas plus shift differential for night shift. I have no benefits for the higher pay. I chose this because I can use my husbands insurance. My full time salary would be around 29.00 an hour plus shift differential. Once I get enough years behind me to catch up to the prn pay, I might switch to full time. I still work 6-8 days in a two week period because I choose to. My minimum requirements at one hospital is 1 day a week and at the other is 6 days in 4 weeks. From what I understand, California has a low patient to nurse ratio because of the union. If you are at all interested in infants, I suggest you go there. They don't yell at you. It's not so bad changing their diapers. Working at night works well for our family. The kids get off of the bus at 4:00 p.m. and we do homework and get dinner. My husband puts them to bed and gets them to the bus in the morning. I sleep during the day and get them off of the bus.

Crystal

Crystal,
Is it hard to get into working with babies? Here is my thing. I am doing prerequis right now for either dental hygiene or an RN. I would probably only want to work at the birth center in assisting doctors with birth of babies/watch the babies in the nursery after in the NICU. Is it hard to find a job like that? If I would get out of school would it be pretty hard to find a job working like that? I don't want to work in ICU or Emergency room ( I don't think I can handble the stress of dying patiens all the time).
Thanks for your input.
Katie

Katie,

If you are looking for a job right now without the license you can be a PCA. You would be there for assisting the nurses and doing clerical work. We have a PCA at night in our nursery that helps bathe, feed and diaper the babies. She also helps put admission packages together (paperwork) and cleans supplies, etc. If you can get a job like that, you can see what goes on first hand. I am sure there are jobs where everyone hates each other and others quite the opposite. I have found in my experience at the three hospitals I have worked, night shift seems to be more laid back and the nurses tend to help one another. Day shift is very busy. Doctors doing rounds, families visiting, tests being run. It is harder for those nurses to help each other and have a good attitude throughout the shift. If you accept a PCA job with adults, be assured you will be bathing adult patients and doing diaper changes on them. If you know ahead of time you may not like that, don't even go there.
I do have a friend that is a scrub tech. She works in the birthing center. She sets up the delivery rooms, assists the doctors with deliveries by giving them the supplies they need and cleans the patient afterward. She also sets up the operating room for c-sections and assists with the surgeries by supplying what the doctor needs. She went to scrub tech school. I don't have a clue what her salary is though. Being a scrub tech, you could probably get a job working 7a to 3p Mon-Fri.

Once you get a nursing degree you can pretty much say what you want to do and get it. You don't have to do med/surg for a year before you specialize. Some instructors will tell you that, others will say don't waste your time. I went straight to NICU. It would be best to start at a Medical Center to get good training before you move out to the community hospital. I went into level II NICU first. I regret not learning level III. I left the Med. Ctr. and wish I were proficient at level III

Crystal, Thank you for all the info. I will research and look into this. I have two little kids so I would not want to work nights though. Is it hard to get a job in a hospital from like 9-3 part time? In the future when they go to school I would be able to drop them off at school and then pick them up after. That would be my dream to just work while they are in school.

I would be almost 40 if I go back to school. Very scary to me. I would love a 9-3 job..who wouldn't? Is it true that you have to do a rotation throughout the hospital or does it differ form place to place? I ran into an old class mate (who is a nurse...but have lost contact now) a while back and she said she had become a nurse and that she was on maternity rotation. I really didn't get into it with her about it as I wasn't semi serious of going into nursing but I assumed when she said that it was because she was doing little stints throughout the hospital? Is this just to gain experience or to find out what you are best suited for?

Hi,

I am just about done with my pre-reqs for the BSN but I am very nervous about nursing school. Everyone talks about how you need a 4.0 GPA to get in. IS this true?

It depends on what your nursing school requires. Check with them first.

Katie in Vancouver, Washington said: Crystal,
Is it hard to get into working with babies? Here is my thing. I am doing prerequis right now for either dental hygiene or an RN. I would probably only want to work at the birth center in assisting doctors with birth of babies/watch the babies in the nursery after in the NICU. Is it hard to find a job like that? If I would get out of school would it be pretty hard to find a job working like that? I don't want to work in ICU or Emergency room ( I don't think I can handble the stress of dying patiens all the time).
Thanks for your input.
Katie

KATIE.
I THINK DYING PATIENTS ARE EVERYWHERE. BABIES DIES TOO. AND THIS IS EVEN MORE TRAGIC

I live in a large city so it was not hard to get a job in the NICU without doing other areas first. If you don't want to see many dying patients, choose level II or well babies. I am now working at a community hospital where we have to attend deliveries when they feel there might be a problem with the delivery.

I have always know I have wanted to be nurse, since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I work for a large group in Dallas. (THR). They have a program that is especially designed for their employees. They have a ADN program that 2yrs and a BSN 15 month fast track if you already have a BS degree. Everyting is FREE as long as you commit two years of service. It not bad since you can choose from 13 different hospitals.

I am too a NICU nurse and love my job. I was not interested in big 300 lb people. I like the fact that I can often hold and comfort my patient when they are crying as well as repositioning a patient with one hand. NICU rocks, but it's not all fun and games. You have to face death and deal with sometimes overbearing parents. I work in a level III NICU, so I see a lot.

I would also recommend getting a job as a PCT or secretary in the NICU to kinda have a "in".

Good luck..