On becoming a nurse. Keep in mind some things.. - MT Posted: Aug 19th, 2017 - 8:43 am In Reply to: 99 year old graduates from college - never too late
I was an RN before MT. Here are a few things to consider: RN work is physically and emotionally draining. In my experience, if you enjoy sacrificing your health, time, energy, for the possibility of helping someone, nursing could be very enjoyable. It definitely pays better. More often, though, there is "reality shock", where you suddenly realize that you will never be able to do enough, never able to experience job satisfaction.
My RN experience was with hospital floor duty, nursing home, and home health (back in the days when the RN could get an 8 or 12 hour shift in the home, which is not the case any longer unless you are hired privately by the customer). Most of the time, I felt used, especially with regards to hospital and nursing home duty. There was never enough staff to really take good care of the patients in my care. Shifts were long and hard. You are expected to always perform at your best, often needing to be in multiple places at once.
Now, if you have at least a bachelor's degree in science (BSN), you may be able to find actual work from home nurse jobs. However, most of the time, these jobs require that you first have a certain amount of experience in a certain specialty. So, if this is your eventual goal, research these jobs to find out what you need, and work towards that goal.
Also, be sure to get malpractice insurance before you meet your first live patient. I never had to use it, but I carried this insurance for the entire time of my practice. It wasn't extremely expensive.
My worst nursing experience was that of being beat up by the son of a patient who passed away less than 2 hours after I started my shift. She was terminal and on hospice care, was in the later stages, so this was no surprise to the nurses caring for her, but HE was totally unprepared.
Another time, I arrived at a patient's home at midnight. Even though there was another nurse there to give me a report, who had cared for her on 2nd shift, there was no suction equipment, and the patient was gurgling/choking. So, I had to cut up my stethoscope and form a makeshift suction device using a bulb syringe, while waiting for EMS to arrive. The agency for which I worked was never very supportive.
In the hospital, one thing I hated was politics. For instance, there was a newly diagnosed, young diabetic. I knew of a wonderful endocrinologist locally who specialized in pediatric patients. However, I was not allowed to share this information with the patient and his family because this particular doctor was not the "red button" doctor of the day. The "red button" doctor was the one to whom the patient would be referred, and I knew him to not be very good with pediatric patients.
Remember that hospitals, nursing homes, even hospice, are "for profit" no matter what else they tell you. These facilities are greedy, with profit as their priority, IMHO. Consider the fact that many of our MT issues stem from the facilities that contract with the MTSOs.
However, there might be a union, and you usually get paid by the hour, though prepare to be seriously overworked, tired from long hours and shift work, with not a lot of energy left for living. I used to spend my days off just recuperating from work, only to return again and restart the cycle of working, exhaustion, recuperation. I personally wish I had done something else with my life. I'm 65 and regret having ever worked for a hospital, nursing home, hospice or MTSO. I loved working with the patients, but the systems involved were intolerable. But that's just me. Your story could turn out differently.
Good luck.
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