[Interested77]

Hello. I am considering Nursing as a profession and would like to ask a few things about it. I am mostly interested in this career because my mom is quite insistent in me taking it. She is a C.N.A. and always mentions to me how nurses get paid around fifty an hour or a little less, but thirty is not bad either she says. She also says that nurses compared to cna's do not really have to do much of the menial stuff. Mostly nurses at her hospital just give pills, injects, and that sort of thing. For the most part they do not even want to do much of anything.

I right now at am an age at which I should have decided what I want to do with my life, but have not yet. So she feels I should do what she tells me. I for the most part have no interest in this career, but am willing to do it if it comes to be. So is there a career in nursing where I mostly work at the computers? And in your experience as an R.N. how is it for yourself at the hopital you work in? By the way I am looking into a two year applied associate degree in Nurding in a community college. Why is it not an A.S. degree I wonder?

[hsieh]

i think you should do want you want to do and not what your mom wants you to do. read the forums and find out what it's like to be a nurse.

[accrn77]

I agree. I think that you need to do what you want to do and not what your mother wants you to do. Grantly that motherly advice is often the best, you will probably end up miserable if this is not something that you want to do. If you were seriously considering it, I would recommend working in a hospital as a CNA first (which a lot of nursing students do) and see if you like the environment and the atmosphere. Its difficult to base that kind of life altering decision on what you read on some forum. It is always best to experience things first hand.

As far as the computer field in nursing. There is such a thing, its called a Master's Degree in Nursing Informatics, but you'd have to do much more than just an Associate's degree. It takes a lot of dedication and courage to make it in nursing. Anyways, as you choose a profession, keep in mind that's its something that you may be doing for the rest of your life so you want to be happy. Granted that you can always go back to school and change careers, but it is always best to be doing something you enjoy.

God Bless and best of luck to you.
Ana

[wildhorse]

Hi,
I agee with the other post.... read through the forum discussions. It is also important to do what you want to do. RN work seems like "pushing papers" to many CNAs but it is more than that. A RN has to not only know the medications he/she gives but the side effects and how they interact with other medications. There is the responsibilty of calling the doctor, monitoring the patient for changes in health. Then there is the supervision part of the job. If short staffed, then the task is to get everything done with just a handful of people and still maintain high quality nursing care. This may mean jumping in and helping the floor staff. While at the VA, I not only helped the CNAs but had to charge the unit, and help with medications. It is hard work but rewarding. You must choose your path because you are the one that has to go to work each day, not your mom. I remember someone once said that you spend most of your life at your job. If you are not really interested in nursing but cimputers... well there is a lot of work for people who work with software programs, and informatics. I am 54 an age you probably can't imagine...but I have found out just how important it is to be happy with your job. My present work is working with violent, mentally ill offenders. It is high paying but a large part of my check went out for L&I. (L&I) is the program that helps workers injured on the job... I charged a unit, where the floor staff constantly fought and complained. The psychiatrist is abusive and harasses the RNs. My stress level is very high and has started to effect my health. After one year and five months I have realized that sometimes the money is not worth the job. Figure out what your interests are and explore the many job opportunities and education available.

[Maddie]

Originally Posted by Interested77

I right now at am an age at which I should have decided what I want to do with my life, but have not yet...I for the most part have no interest in this career...

If you take your mom's advice, two wasted years from now, you'll be saying the same thing. Reading through the forums and asking questions is a good idea as you'll be exposed to the good, the bad, and the ugly without investing time and money getting an education in a career in which you're not interested. If your interest lies in computers, get your degree in computer science; there are many options in that field as well that might interest you more.

[Ricu]

Hi there,

A few more things to consider; you first must be willing to do more than expected, be responsible for more than what you yourself do, expose yourself to disease, pain and suffering along with magnificent miracles on a daily basis, work regular shifts and holidays around the clock and frequently without breaks, do all of this, be content ,and still find the pay acceptable then take a crack at it. Otherwise, choose computer technology and spare yourself the nursing component because you will be a casuality.

Good luck,

R

[cougarnurse]

Not sure about other places, but schools around here want student nurses to be CNA's before they go into Clinicals; you could become a CNA first, see how it is, and not really be out the 2 years. You can still earn some money for the Computer classes if you find nursing isn't your thing.

'Cat'

[MagRedC5]

Originally Posted by Interested77

Hello. I am considering Nursing as a profession and would like to ask a few things about it. I am mostly interested in this career because my mom is quite insistent in me taking it. She is a C.N.A. and always mentions to me how nurses get paid around fifty an hour or a little less, but thirty is not bad either she says. She also says that nurses compared to cna's do not really have to do much of the menial stuff. Mostly nurses at her hospital just give pills, injects, and that sort of thing. For the most part they do not even want to do much of anything.

I right now at am an age at which I should have decided what I want to do with my life, but have not yet. So she feels I should do what she tells me. I for the most part have no interest in this career, but am willing to do it if it comes to be. So is there a career in nursing where I mostly work at the computers? And in your experience as an R.N. how is it for yourself at the hopital you work in? By the way I am looking into a two year applied associate degree in Nurding in a community college. Why is it not an A.S. degree I wonder?

Sounds like to me your Mom is the one that needs to look into nursing school, and not you. BTW, most ICU's don't have CNA's, so we do primary care nursing... includes the menial stuff, LOL. Another thing, IMHO RN's do far more than just "push pills". I don't mean to be rude, but please don't attempt nursing school if your only doing such for your Mother's sake.

As far as I know, an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing is the same thing as an Associate Degree in Nursing [ADN]. It's rather you want to be called William, Will, or Bill... get the idea.

[alndom]

In response to your question...I am a nursing student. I was also filled with dreams of grandeur and let me tell you. Nursing is a great career if it is what you really want to do. If you come into nursing just for the money you may be slightly disappointed when you find out that starting salary for an RN isn't all that great. I too was a CNA and going to nursing school requires that you also learn the CNA work because ultimately it is the nurse that is responsible for the CNA work. and yes nurses do "menial" work just like the CNA's...all it takes is for things on the floor to go haywire...you get short staffed on CNa's and you can bet a nurse will be doing the work of a CNA also if the floor is short on patients the hospital will likely send the CNA's home and have the nurses on duty left without CNA's period. I have seen this happen myself. I say if nursing is what you really want to do then follow your dreams but if nursing is what your mom really wants to do then maybe she should be the one to follow her dreams, and let you make your own decisions as to where you fit in in this huge world of opportunity...it takes alot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it through nursing school and to be quite frank it seems that the people who enter nursing school in any other attempt than to follow their dreams really have a hard time making it through the weeding out process...not to mention the overload of course work. Good luck...and never be afraid to follow YOUR dreams...after all it is you that has to be satisfied with your life in the end!

[alndom]

a bit of advice...if you aren't sure what it is you want to do yet...start taking general education classes in college...this atleast can give you idea of what you are good at and what type of course work you enjoy....then go from there.You can't go wrong with that because every degree requires general education credits (ie: english, math, etc)as the base.