Questions:To all nurses 👩‍⚕️?!

Question

I’m considering going to school to be a nurse. I’m a stay at home mom of a 4&3 yr old and I’m 31. What are some of pros and cons of the field? How hard is it to go to school with two kids? How long does it take? What to do with my kids while I’m in school(no family to watch them/can’t afford daycare/husband makes to much for grant). I need to get my independence back! It’s my time now.Any knowledge I would sure appreciate!!! Thanks y’all!

Answer

Sounds like you need a divorce not a career change.

Answer

I have been a nurse for 4 years. 
Pros: work 3 days a week (long hours but 🤷🏻‍♀️), satisfaction of helping people, that feeling you get when you know you just saved someone’s life or helped bring them back from the dead, good pay, the feeling of knowing you just made someone’s last moments as peaceful and comfortable as possible
Cons: you will get kicked, punched, and cursed out (possibly all in the same day), it is probably one of the most thankless jobs around, you probably will miss some weekends and holidays, you may have to start out working midnights 
How long: depends on what you want to do and what you have done. Every program is going to have prerequisites to complete before you can even apply. These can take 1-2 years depending on the school (if you don’t already have any done). The program itself is 2 years for an associates or 4 years for a bachelors. I started with an associate degree and am finishing my bachelors online while working. 
What to do with kids: that I do not know. I went to nursing school before I was married, so I had no kids. If you can’t do daycare and have no family, my guess is you would have to find a babysitter of some kind. Most lectures are only 4 hours long. However, clinical are usually 8. You will be in school 3-4 days if the week.

Answer

Pros:  most trusted and rewarding job out there.  Yes most nursing jobs are standard 3-4 days a week and 12 hour shifts but not all.  My cousin works Monday-Thursday 7-3pm and every other Friday in the OR.  The possibilities are limitless and you don’t have to work as a floor nurse forever you can become a recruiter and so on.  Money is good.
Cons:  possibly long hours, more than likely have to start working nights.  
School:  I got my associates in nursing and it took me almost 6 years but that’s bc I took breaks and started out too slow.  Pre-requisites May take 2 years max and my nursing program was 16 months straight through the summer.  It is no walk in the park, some semesters are easier than others but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  Well worth it.  I just graduated this May and got married in March and I’m expecting my first child in October.  I did not have children in school.  Many of my classmates did and they were able to complete successfully.  If it’s something you really want you can make it happen with kids or not.
Good luck

Answer

I've been working as a RN in a large trauma center for the past 5.5 years. I started in cardiac and now I've been in the ICU for over 2 years. I enjoy the critical thinking and seeing patients go from full life support to up walking around and laughing. Obviously not every patient gets better, in an ICU there is a lot of tragic diagnoses and yes, a lot of dying patients.  Nursing clearly isn't for everyone but I don't mind being around sick patients; I ensure I do everything I can to keep their dignity. I usually am meeting patients during the worst phases of their lives and a little kindness goes a long way. Sometimes you'll have patients who are just nasty and rude but the majority are just trying to cope with their own mortality and need to be treated as an equal.  As for nursing school-- it just plain sucks. There's so many technical schools and private colleges pumping out students but producing low quality programs with  a high price tag. If you're not near an actual state university I would suggest checking out your local community college.

Answer

I have been a nurse since 2011. I quit in September to stay at home with my son. I hate nursing so much and I hope to never go back...I’m considering going back to school for a career change once my kids are in preschool. I worked in dialysis where the people were very sick...and it was so hard to be around them all of the time. I am usually a very nice person but being around them made me grumpy all of the time. When I was pregnant with my first this patient wanted the last appointment of the day because he liked to sleep during the day, then after his dialysis treatment he would be in the bathroom for hours sometimes. Everyone would
be gone, the clinic was technically closed but I would have to wait until he was done. I finally told him and his mom that they needed to find somewhere else to use the bathroom after treatment and his mom told me she wishes me and my unborn son get cancer so I know how it feels. That was the day I realized how much I hate nursing. There is too much responsibility, you have to always think on your toes. One mistake as a waitress: someone gets mad at you. One mistake as a nurse and that could mean the patient is dead! 
That being said, there are people that love nursing and don’t mind being around sick and grumpy people because they think it is worth helping people. I have total respect for them because I know I am not cut out for it anymore! So if you’re really passionate about it go for it. 
For me, school was the easy part. I didn’t have kids yet though.

Answer

I’ve been working as a nurse for almost 4 years. I started taking my general ed and pre-req classes before I got married and had children so most were done before I became a SAHM; when I went back to school when my children 1 and 2 I had a hand full of classes to finish. My in laws were not very helpful and my parents lived out of state at the time, thankfully they helped with child care on days my husband was working. While I was in my nursing program my children ( 3 and 4 at the time) went to the early learning center at my college that doubled as a class for students working on their degrees for teaching/early learning/ child care so it was offered at a discount. When I finally finished school my children were in school. I started my first job working the night shift 10:30p-7a. I worked 45 mins from home so I’d get home right after my children started school and by then my MIL decided to be helpful and would watch the children for about 2 hours after school and I would pick them up between 3-4 in the afternoon. Nursing is a great career because there is so much you can do. You can work in clinics, hospital, home health, hospice, skilled facilities, just to name a few. You will be called all kinds of things under the sun. Family and patients seem to think they are the only ones you’re caring for and seem to think that the minute they press the call light you come through it and can make miracles happen.

Answer

pros: so many opporotnities, tons of options where to work, everyday is different
cons: long hours, can be a thankless job, you will almost alwyas have a job that works on weekends and holidays
school: requires a lot of attention, care plans can take a couple hours after clinical, i got my lpn first then got my bsn so total it was 4 years for me
i have personally never worked in a hospital. i was a flight nutse in the army and now work in a prison.

Questions:To all nurses 👩‍⚕️?!

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