DD wants to be a nurse....

[Anonymous]

So, your DD wants to be a nurse! Good on her! She will have a job when she graduates from college! I would encourage her whole heartedly!

[Anonymous]

I make 100+K a year working 3-12 hr shifts a week....what's not to love?

[Anonymous]

"People tend to see nursing as a "blue collar" job. My former law boss was very distressed when a couple moved into the neighborhood and the wife was an RN/BSN. He thought it was too blue collar for his street"

Yeah, nurses, firefighters, teachers and police officers all put downward pressure on your property values!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"People tend to see nursing as a "blue collar" job. My former law boss was very distressed when a couple moved into the neighborhood and the wife was an RN/BSN. He thought it was too blue collar for his street"

Yeah, nurses, firefighters, teachers and police officers all put downward pressure on your property values!

I think it depends on where you live. Where I grew up in the mid-west, people considered nurses as part of the educated class. In this DC area, people jumble all the allied medical staffers together and put nurses in that group -- as something less impressive than the lawyers/lobbyists/gov. admin. class. I think other areas of the country have more respect for nurses as admirable profession.

[Anonymous]

Now there are people judging the neighborhood women's careers as well? Really? If you take care of your property and don't cause alarm people should but the heck out. Hope I don't live anywhere near those people. And what wrong with blue collar anyway? This is a huge problem with America. In other countries blue collar workers are respected and not feared. Here, all the kids are unemployed because they're only groomed for office work and are too afraid to get their hands dirty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now there are people judging the neighborhood women's careers as well? Really? If you take care of your property and don't cause alarm people should but the heck out. Hope I don't live anywhere near those people. And what wrong with blue collar anyway? This is a huge problem with America. In other countries blue collar workers are respected and not feared. Here, all the kids are unemployed because they're only groomed for office work and are too afraid to get their hands dirty.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make 100+K a year working 3-12 hr shifts a week....what's not to love?

Same here! I make 30K less than my white collar, COO husband, and I work 3 16 hour shifts a week. Bet my neighbor was pretty damn happy to have a "blue collar" working person next door when he started to show symptoms of a stroke at a dinner and I was the first to recognize the symptoms and get him help.

[Anonymous]

being a blue collar nurse with a pretty much guarenteed job after graduation is better than being a no collar with 10 Ph.Ds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros:

Nursing is a growth industry.

Nurse can work anywhere in the US, and many places overseas.

Nursing is a flexible position that has many schedules and hours available so it works with a variety of schedules and child-care needs. Women take time off and go back to work all the time.

She isn't wrong about nurses running the hospital. Doctors diagnose, but nurses are the people who do the treatments. They are also the people who often decide when another treatment is needed or when a doctor needs to come back for a second look.

Nurses with a BSN earn a decent salary for only having a bachelor's.

A BSN opens a variety of doors including medical school or a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. She could specialize in adult acute care,, peds, geriatric, ER, hospice, informatics, management, research, or a dozen other things.


Cons:

Nursing school is hard. Really hard.

People tend to see nurses as traditional, feminine caregivers, rather than medical professionals. It's not as respected as a science as it should be.

People tend to see nursing as a "blue collar" job. My former law boss was very distressed when a couple moved into the neighborhood and the wife was an RN/BSN. He thought it was too blue collar for his street.

Some people treat nurses like crap. They're rude and demanding and disrespectful.

The nursing shortage means that nurses work their asses off if they are on the floor. It is mentally and physically taxing.

I think that's because the people who have an associates nursing degree and those who have bachelor's/master's are all just called 'nurse', so most people aren't clear on the distinction (Between registered and not? Not even sure I'm clear, but pretty sure there is one).

Plus there are LPN/LVNs and CNAs and patient care associates and transporters and emergency room techs.

The hierarchy goes sort of like this:

Transporters push wheel-chairs and move patients between departments. They don't have much training, but usually have some.

CNAs are certified nursing assistants and have completed a training class on moving patients and assisting them with some things.

LVNs/LPNs are vocational/practical nurses who have taken a one year course. They cannot do some treatments like insert IVs, unless they take additional certification courses.

RNs are registered nurses. There are many ways to become an RN.

You can get a diploma or an associates degree in nursing.
You can get a BSN.
You can a get a generalist entry Masters degree, if you have another BA/BS.

After that you can get an MSN (research, informatics, clinical nursing leader, management, etc) or a Masters in Nursing Practice (which includes patient care or anasthesia). You can also get a Phd or a Doctorate in Nursing Practice.

It's a huge diverse field.

[Anonymous]

It did not use to be like that. Once it was a very hierarchical profession. Hospitals had separate parking spots for nurses and doctors, different cafeteria. Nurses were treated badly, and the only reason the doctors do not look down upon my sil is that she has been in the same hospital for a long time
Patients also treat you as their personal servant

[Anonymous]

My docs see us as partners. They often ask us for prefer few as to meds, treatments, and discharge planning, we deal with families and ancillary services. Very few patients regard us as servants: we give personal care, which often assists us in assessment of the patient.

[Anonymous]

OP why are concerned that you pr DD wants to be a nurse?

[Anonymous]

My doc. told me that the most important thing for a patien in hospital is the nursing staff.

[Anonymous]

Still, OP hasn't answered why she has a hang-up on her DD's professional choice.

[Anonymous]

My very bright and capable DD is going into nursing. She is a top student (physics. calculus, AP classes). It's a great career choice.