What is it like to be an RN? How hard is the RN program at a community college?
Asked by Emirald67
Wanting to know what its like to be an RN. I have taken alot of the prerequisites for the RN program at a community college (I have 3 classes left). I have a 5yr old and a 2yr old to think of. I am also 40yrs old now. Im concerned about my future in the workforce and being able to provide for myself and my children.

Best Answer:
You have job security for life. In my area, they're giving huge bonuses for RN's to work for their hospitals. It's one of the fastest growing occupations in the US, and will be for the next decade and more. You can make $50,000 or more starting out, depending on where you are in the US. According to the US Dept of Labor, here's what you do when you're an RN: Registered nurses (RNs), regardless of specialty or work setting, perform basic duties that include treating patients, educating patients and the public about various medical conditions, and providing advice and emotional support to patients’ family members. RNs record patients’ medical histories and symptoms, help to perform diagnostic tests and analyze results, operate medical machinery, administer treatment and medications, and help with patient follow-up and rehabilitation. RNs teach patients and their families how to manage their illness or injury, including post-treatment home care needs, diet and exercise programs, and self-administration of medication and physical therapy. Some RNs also are trained to provide grief counseling to family members of critically ill patients. RNs work to promote general health by educating the public on various warning signs and symptoms of disease and where to go for help. RNs also might run general health screening or immunization clinics, blood drives, and public seminars on various conditions. RNs can specialize in one or more patient care specialties. The most common specialties can be divided into roughly four categories—by work setting or type of treatment; disease, ailment, or condition; organ or body system type; or population. RNs may combine specialties from more than one area—for example, pediatric oncology or cardiac emergency—depending on personal interest and employer needs. Here's the wages according to the US Dept of Labor: Median annual earnings of registered nurses were $52,330 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $43,370 and $63,360. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $37,300, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $74,760. Good luck!
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm
Answered by waswisgirl1

There is great job security in nursing. Go for it. You can make a great living financially as a nurse if you work full time, especially if you are able to work in a hospital~ Finish the program at the community college, you can do it. I did the 4 year program at a state college, but I imagine they are similar. I know lots of nurses who are moms, who did the 2 year program and did quite well. As a nurse, be ready to work some odd shifts- including nights- and weekends, and holidays. Thats my only real complaint. Good luck!
Answered by Penny P

No matter what anyone tells you about nursing, do more indepth research for yourself first if you really want to know what its like. Sure, you can make decent money but the work is no bed of roses. It is EXTREMELY high-stress and sometimes downright dangerous. As a nurse you will work harder than you possibly could at almost any other career, running back and forth between many patients and their families, many of whom will be very rude and demanding. And if you want to know what 'rude and demanding' really means, just wait until you have to deal with some of those arrogant physicians. They will abuse you over and over again, and there's nothing you are able to do about it because they are the gods of the medical system and everyone worships them. Nursing is an important job, and the entire health care system would collapse completely without nurses. But, you would never know that by working as a nurse. The abuse, politics, and foolishness that you have to deal with everyday as a nurse is not worth the money to a lot of people so they quit, and that's why there is such a shortage of nurses in most places. There's really no shortage of nurses in the US, just a shortage of RNs who are willing to continue working under existing conditions. There are more than a half a million licensed registered nurses in America who are no longer working in the nursing field because they are burnt out and tired of it. Most registered nurses now are approaching retirement age, and when they are gone the shortage will get much worse because according to a CNN survey a few years ago, the average nursing graduate leaves the profession after only about 5 years. I won't discourge you from becoming a nurse if that's what you really want to do. But, if you do you will one day find yourself remembering what was written in this post. Not a bad way to make a living for a few years, but don't plan to stay in it much longer than that. Continue your education so that you can move on to other things later on if you want to. Nursing is nothing like what it appears to be to the average non-nurse. Please take my advice and do more research before you go into nursing. Talk to more registered nurses, and you will soon see that I am not making any of this up!
Answered by webhead28