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JustJess · 05-08-2007, 08:46 AM

Okay! I'm not a nurse, but I work in HR at a hospital, and so I'm surrounded. I'm also going into the clinical side - going to be a PA once I graduate.

There's a nursing shortage, so you'll have major job security. Not necessarily at just one hospital tho - budgets are tight and places get shut down. Salaries are in the $55K-$65K range in general, with no experience. Get a Bachelor's (BSN), not an associate's - or get the ASN and go to school while you work to get the BSN. BSN's are more employable more widely and command greater salary differentials.

I can tell you that the reason I decided *not* to get a BSN is because of my level of patience. You need lots and lots of patience to be a good nurse. Nurses are the life blood of any hospital, but they also get the most thankless jobs sometimes. They get the most patient contact of anyone on the team, but that has obvious upsides and downsides to it. There are pretty good opportunities to learn and move up the chain of responsibility as a nurse, tho. CN I (clinical nurse one) to CN II.. to CN III - more supervisory - to Assistant Nurse Managers to Nurse Managers... there's great flexibility in shifts - 4 12 hours per week, or nights, or days 7a-3p, or ...

It's a good career choice. But only if you like people and can handle the icky stuff.

05-08-2007, 08:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
JustJess Unencapsulated Location: Kittyville	Okay! I'm not a nurse, but I work in HR at a hospital, and so I'm surrounded. I'm also going into the clinical side - going to be a PA once I graduate. There's a nursing shortage, so you'll have major job security. Not necessarily at just one hospital tho - budgets are tight and places get shut down. Salaries are in the $55K-$65K range in general, with no experience. Get a Bachelor's (BSN), not an associate's - or get the ASN and go to school while you work to get the BSN. BSN's are more employable more widely and command greater salary differentials. I can tell you that the reason I decided not to get a BSN is because of my level of patience. You need lots and lots of patience to be a good nurse. Nurses are the life blood of any hospital, but they also get the most thankless jobs sometimes. They get the most patient contact of anyone on the team, but that has obvious upsides and downsides to it. There are pretty good opportunities to learn and move up the chain of responsibility as a nurse, tho. CN I (clinical nurse one) to CN II.. to CN III - more supervisory - to Assistant Nurse Managers to Nurse Managers... there's great flexibility in shifts - 4 12 hours per week, or nights, or days 7a-3p, or ... It's a good career choice. But only if you like people and can handle the icky stuff. __________________ My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.