T Nation

Career Help / Nursing?

#1

Hey All, would love some constructive feedback, Esp. from any nurses out there.
For twenty years on and off I have worked with elite and olympic athletes in a prehab/rehab capacity. I love it...but the work can be spazmotic !

So I am finishing the first of three semester of LvN school as i write this.
I disdain it so. "Health Care" is a misnomer, it is really "Sickness, Illness, Injury and Death" care.

As T-nationers know; Healthcare is what you do first thing in the morning as you decide what to put down your piehole, what you are going to train, and if you will do some conditioning on top of that...but i digress.

I just cannot see myself making rounds in a hospital, much less a nursing home.
The penal system just does not pay well as a LvN, starting at 28K.

To make it to RN I would need another 3 years after this one since i am lacking a year of pre-requs. Currently 48 y/o and do not work well with others. Lift well, but do not work well Lol.

I am one year away from a Kinesio degree and am looking at Personal training to round out my massage/ stretch therapy business.

So do I shut the Fuck up and finish this year and just get the cert ? Then complete the other good stuff ?

Just need a little insight. Havent slept in 11 fucking weeks thinking about it, and it is wrecking Havok on my lifting...

#2

What made you decide to go into nursing?

I am Family Nurse Practitioner and have been in the medical field as a Respiratory Therapist, RN and FNP since 1992.

#3

Derek542, this will truly horrify you, fwiw. But the fact that i can always have a career with income first and foremost.
I know that twists the intestines of most in the nursing field, Esp the Women.
A little backround though, I have and do have my EMT for the last 17 years.
This just seemed like the next little progression of work.
I just dont know other than being in the ER if i can make round and do that type of floor work.
My entire life has been based around my being TIGGER and needing to move, along with
the need to be outside. When these two factors are combined I am truly unstoppable !
It is where i do my best work…

#4

As my friend in school said when asked why he wanted to be a nurse… Because you only work 3 days a week and get to wear your Pajamas the entire time;-)

I got into the field mostly for the career aspects as well honestly. I certainly enjoy helping people and I do appreciate that aspect more as I get older, but that is not what motivated me to get into it, and if the pay was half of what it is I would get out in a heart beat. I work in the ER and it is not uncommon to be busy as all hell for the entire 12 hours, with REAL weight on your shoulders the whole time, while being the middle man in between everyone in the entire hospital… Along with the other shit, literally and figuratively. You earn every dollar you make, that’s for sure.

If you are going to be a work-a-day bedside nurse there is absolutely no reason NOT to get your RN licence after your LVN. The pay essentially doubles and LVN’s are getting phased out all over the place in my neck of the woods. You are basically going to be relegated to , in my opinion,the worst jobs in nursing, and its likely many of those will be gone in the next decade or so. If you plan to do this until you are 65 when you retire, you could literally make hundreds of thousands more as an RN in the decade after you get that licence vs. staying an LVN.

#5

I wouldnt get into health care unless you like helping people first and foremost. I’ve delt with way too many people who do it to tell chicks theyre doctors, or to only work 3 days a week, and those people fucking suck at their job.

If you want healthcare “everybody gets old and dies job security” do something administrative.

#6

To Lonnie123, yeah. With the move underway to get everyone to the BSN level, I can see where lvn would be phased out.
I am just not sure I want to do another 3 years of schooling and being broke and deep in debt for it. This year of school alone is going
to cost me 20K ! Looking at not having income over the next four years and being 80K in the hole for something I am not sure about is not
reassuring !

Also, I have spent my entire life on “our” side of the health equation !
And I will admit that i have NO sympathy for injury inflicted upon myself , including:
Breaking my Scapula, breaking my Radius, 4 knuckle dislocations, 4 Disc Herniations (2 cervical, 2 Lumbar).

It is hard for me to get empathetic?sympathetic for self induced Stupidity…reguardless of pay.

Anyway…thanks and i hope to hear more…

#7

I am currently finishing my final semester of nursing school. I am 30 yr old and feel that this is a solid investment for my future career and family. The main thing is having a passion for it. After that, there are soooo many areas of nursing that you can go into once you become an RN. The options are endless…ER,Critical Care, Trauma, Orthopedics…and that is just scratching the surface.

Another huge benefit is being assured that you will always be in demand and have job opportunities as a nurse. Personally, I would like to pursue a graduate degree after a few years of working in a Critical Care area of nursing.

As a Tnation member, your body should adjust to the demands of the job physically. Emotionally, it might take some time. But I try and balance school, work (2 jobs while in school), and training (4-5 days a week).

Like you, i wanted to stay in healthcare area. I originally got a Bachelors in Biology with hopes of becoming a Physical Therapist, but chose a different route (nursing) based on passion, career, and investment for job income.

#8

jmatta: Major difference between you and I, I am 48 ! to spend the next 4 years in school for something i am on the fence about really does not seem to make a lot of sense, and again to mention being $60,000+ in the HOLE when I get out ? How long is THAT going to take me to pay off ?

I am thankful that we have nurses, that is a no-brainer. I just dont think that i am one of them.
My level of empathy and sympathy for the Human Condition (65% Fat/ Obese? WTF !) is Less than Zero.

Plus my compassion is waning into obscurity daily…

#9

[quote]killerDIRK wrote:

Plus my compassion is waning into obscurity daily…[/quote]

A patient will be able to tell that you’re just showing up for the paycheck and going through the motions to not get fired. Having a great nurse while you’re sick can make a huge difference on your stay in the hospital and from the way you describe your attitude I wouldn’t want you taking care of me.

#10

Will207: neither would I ! Boy, do I know of hospitals, Broken Scapula, Broke Radius, Broken wrist, Cepholo-Spinal Meningitis (9 day Critical Care Unit!).
I just am not in a conducive spot for learning. My classmates all have families with kids, I am in hostile territory (the desert in nowhereville)
and dont have a good support structure. I learn by doing, and at this point all we are doing is work on the computer. The shit just aint sticking !

There is a huge level of frustration with this, and i have been a nationaly reg EMT since '98.
It is just an entirely different feel and funk to it…

I just work best in a high energy state…i.e. with Olympic and Elite athletes, in the Emergency Room (when its not me) and with my Balls to the Wall with my Ass on Fire. Otherwise I get bored out of my gourd ! Even the delivery job i had back in the day kept me hopping !!

See the dilemma ?

Thanks for all the encouragement, some of this ranting is due to frustration with a truly pathetic teacher who is probably a great nurse, but couldnt teach her way out of a fucking Box !

#11

You can look into completing an associates of nursing (ADN) and bridge to do a bachelors (BSN). The ARM takes 16-24 months, depending on the school. And you’ll be an RN and can work right out of school. Most hospitals will pay your way to complete your bachelors. That will be a fraction of the 60K your estimating. More like 10-15K at most.

But if you don’t have compassion for others and their situation, then you prob won’t be getting three most out of the career that you can. I live an active Lifestyle and train to keep my health in order. Reality is we ate the small percent that do take care of ourselves. Just offering my perspective

#12

I went a similar route as you. EMT > LPN > RN > BSN and now half way through FNP but a decade younger than you.

I can completely understand what you’re saying in regards to having sympathy towards those that have brought it on themselves.

I know you said that you’re short on pre-reqs to get into RN school. There are plenty of schools that offer pretty much all the pre-reqs online so you can make it work with your family and work schedule. Just make sure that they will transfer to wherever you plan on taking your RN if you decide to.

Also don’t think that you can’t work through RN school. It really isn’t that hard. I learned very little in it that wasn’t covered in LPN school and with a little experience it will be 100x easier. I thought LPN boards were harder than RN boards and so does everyone I know that has taken both.

There are quite a few routes to go to not be bedside on the floor. ie. ED, wound care, management, home health etc.

#13

^ Points well taken. I just am a “Tigger” personality type, needing to be Busy and Moving all the time. I do not do well sitting around, even around T-Nation.com it is about 20 minutes per day.

Best jobs i have had kept me moving and grooving all day. From Working for the largest Film lab in SanDiego to working with runners, i was on the move. Just love being on the strong swift agile and lean side of Health. Not to into the “sickness, illness, injury and death” side of “Health”.

#14

[quote]Aggv wrote:
I’ve delt with way too many people who do it to tell chicks theyre doctors [/quote]

Do you mean that some people are nurse just to tell visitor women visiting the hospital they are doctors? I don’t believe it.

#15

If you want busy then ER or trauma is the area for you. Also.med surg floors can get hectic treating 5 patients. During clinical my nurses would be non stop on the go and wouldn’t take lunch until after 3pm on med surg floor. Plenty of areas for you to explore

It is nice to be on healthy side, but.just know that one day that may be us on the other side or maybe a family member/friend/ love one. That’s when the perspective changes

#16

[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
Derek542, this will truly horrify you, fwiw. But the fact that i can always have a career with income first and foremost.
I know that twists the intestines of most in the nursing field, Esp the Women.
A little backround though, I have and do have my EMT for the last 17 years.
This just seemed like the next little progression of work.
I just dont know other than being in the ER if i can make round and do that type of floor work.
My entire life has been based around my being TIGGER and needing to move, along with
the need to be outside. When these two factors are combined I am truly unstoppable !
It is where i do my best work…[/quote]
Actually no, I went into this field for the same reason. I was a Respiratory Therapist for 7 years and saw the writing on the wall.

Dude just get through school, and then go get in the occupational medicine field like me. I did ER for over 14 years and even that gets old. I went on for my Nurse Practitioner because I hated not being able to have control of my own destiny.

#17

Why don’t you just become a paramedic?

#18

coolnatedawg: That keeps crossing my mind ! It is the ONE major thing that i miss from my two years on Ski Patrol. Being out in the elements, never knowing what you where going to come across, and having to think on your feet. So yeah, i do well with those situations.