Anonymous
07/26/2018 09:13
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
I'm 43 and have worked as a nurse for 20 years. It's been a rewarding and interesting career. I went back to graduate school, worked as a nurse practitioner for a number of years and am now in a very flexible work-from-home job.
The only downside is the pay. I would never be able to live in NW DC on what I make alone. I make less ($95K, 20 years into my career) than most people on DCUM seem to make their first year out of school. Nursing is a great starting salary,
it's a very, very dependable salary (there are always jobs anywhere in America) but it's difficult to raise a family, buy a house, etc. on this salary in many urban areas. In DC every nurse I know who works at GWU or GU or WHC lives an hour
or more outside of the city because they can't afford to live any closer. Or they're married to a higher income earner. In contrast, nursing can provide a great life in much of rural and middle America.
The only downside is the pay. I would never be able to live in NW DC on what I make alone. I make less ($95K, 20 years into my career) than most people on DCUM seem to make their first year out of school. Nursing is a great starting salary,
it's a very, very dependable salary (there are always jobs anywhere in America) but it's difficult to raise a family, buy a house, etc. on this salary in many urban areas. In DC every nurse I know who works at GWU or GU or WHC lives an hour
or more outside of the city because they can't afford to live any closer. Or they're married to a higher income earner. In contrast, nursing can provide a great life in much of rural and middle America.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:56
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Anonymous wrote:My kid who wants to be a nurse has severe ADHD inattentive and lousy with details so I am concerned, but otherwise I wouldn’t be.
I'd be concerned about the inattentive to details part. Does medication help him/her?
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:49
Subject: If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Why wouldn't you OP??
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:48
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
My kid who wants to be a nurse has severe ADHD inattentive and lousy with details so I am concerned, but otherwise I wouldn’t be.
Odysseus
07/26/2018 08:43
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
It means your kid doesn't want to be a lawyer, so I'd encourage it.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:28
Subject: If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Yes. Also, demand is going to continue to go up for nurses.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:27
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Anonymous wrote:Second career RN/MSN here.
I'd encourage them, but also ask about their motivation for becoming a nurse. Some think of nursing as being an easy job. It's not. Nursing school does a good job of weeding out those types, though, because nursing school in some ways is worse than actually being a nurse!
I love my job for its flexibility, ability to change specialities without too much disruption, excellent benefits and high income in proportion to hours worked, endless educational opportunities, and family-friendliness.
I hate my job because of the often heavy workload (nurses do a lot more than fetch water and give pills, and some patients are very demanding and never satisfied), the responsibility that is heaped upon nurses (we're accountable for anything that goes wrong or awry, even if it's not our fault and the issue in question is outside our scope of practice), high burnout potential, the need to plan my schedule 3-6 months in advance to get time off (which doesn't always happen), hospital/regulatory politics, the amount of redundant documentation that seems to go into a black cloud and is only read if something goes wrong, and the lack of respect some have for nursing as a profession.
Also forgot to add that job security is perhaps the best part of being a nurse.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:27
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Second career RN/MSN here.
I'd encourage them, but also ask about their motivation for becoming a nurse. Some think of nursing as being an easy job. It's not. Nursing school does a good job of weeding out those types, though, because nursing school in some ways is worse than actually being a nurse!
I love my job for its flexibility, ability to change specialities without too much disruption, excellent benefits and high income in proportion to hours worked, endless educational opportunities, and family-friendliness.
I hate my job because of the often heavy workload (nurses do a lot more than fetch water and give pills, and some patients are very demanding and never satisfied), the responsibility that is heaped upon nurses (we're accountable for anything that goes wrong or awry, even if it's not our fault and the issue in question is outside our scope of practice), high burnout potential, the need to plan my schedule 3-6 months in advance to get time off (which doesn't always happen), hospital/regulatory politics, the amount of redundant documentation that seems to go into a black cloud and is only read if something goes wrong, and the lack of respect some have for nursing as a profession.
I'd encourage them, but also ask about their motivation for becoming a nurse. Some think of nursing as being an easy job. It's not. Nursing school does a good job of weeding out those types, though, because nursing school in some ways is worse than actually being a nurse!
I love my job for its flexibility, ability to change specialities without too much disruption, excellent benefits and high income in proportion to hours worked, endless educational opportunities, and family-friendliness.
I hate my job because of the often heavy workload (nurses do a lot more than fetch water and give pills, and some patients are very demanding and never satisfied), the responsibility that is heaped upon nurses (we're accountable for anything that goes wrong or awry, even if it's not our fault and the issue in question is outside our scope of practice), high burnout potential, the need to plan my schedule 3-6 months in advance to get time off (which doesn't always happen), hospital/regulatory politics, the amount of redundant documentation that seems to go into a black cloud and is only read if something goes wrong, and the lack of respect some have for nursing as a profession.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:25
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Absolutely. Nurses have so many career options. It's a great field.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:24
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Yes! Health care is one of the best industries amd its growing
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:19
Subject: If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Definitely yes. In fact my DD got her Nursing Assistant certification through her HS. It is my impression that nursing is so , you can work anywhere you want. As for RN, I love my RN as my main practitioner. Very few Drs are as attentive and listen like she does.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:10
Subject: If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Sure. Why not? I'd just mention that the hours are different and getting approved leave is harder than many other jobs. But when someone has a passion for a particular kind of work, these things are often secondary considerations.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:07
Subject: Re:If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Yes! (I'm a second career RN and I love it).
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:06
Subject: If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Encourage, yes! Assuming I think they'd be good at it.
Anonymous
07/26/2018 08:05
Subject: If your (college age) child expressed interest in going into nursing, would you encourage it?
Discourage? Neither?