Is nursing school really hard?

Once out is it all gross, disgusting stuff like changing diapers and catheters, etc. Is a 2 year program worth it or should I go for a 4 year?

• yes

• Do you already have a Bachelor's degree in something else? If so, get the 4 or 5 pre-requisites (you may have already done some of them if you have a prior undergrad degree) and do an accelerated BSN. It took me 16 months to make my worthless Mass Comm degree (I know, I should have known better!) a degree I could actually use immediately in a market where there was a need. Is the work sometimes gross? Sure. But almost guaranteed work at 43$/hour (in the South) and a three day per week schedule is enough to overcome any vomit or poo that comes my way.

• Whoops, to actually answer your question, not really. It is like many other things; study intently and study it a lot and you master it easily.

• My sister is a pediatric RN and loves it, but she's had to deal with some pretty gross stuff, including holding a baby's brain in during a procedure. I think you have to have a special calling to be a nurse.

• Dear Nursing school, Please contact Allison Hart of Lavely and Singer. She will have any mention of you deleted from the internet. It's awesome and few major celebs like me take advantage. Allison is listed in the phone book FYI. Hiring her is the best investment of my life. It kept me out of prison. She and Marty Singer will even get LAPD, on thier payroll, to terrorize and ruin anyone who writes negativity about you. Regards, Tig Notaro

• I'm torn between nursing and radiology technician. I looked into a pharmaceutical certification but apparently the money is not that great.

  OP

• Can you still lactate?

• You'll make a shit nurse, OP. Please just go the technician route.

• I'm debating if I should go and become a radiation tech...I have a BA in journalism and a MA in writing, and unemployed...What kind of education does becoming a RT require?

• It's 2 year certification R9 and pays very well out of school. In my area a community college has the best course in the area for it. I know several people who went to and got certified at this school.

• R2, that's what I always thought it was supposed to be like in the nursing field. Unlimited jobs etc. I have a friend who got her LVN in Mass. and can ONLY get jobs in nursing or assisted living homes. She can usually only find part time work at that. But, she is a bitch, and simultaneously acts as if being a nurse makes her a saint when she is a HUGE cunt. So maybe that's why she only gets the shit nursing jobs.

• There is an over abundance of nurses. My friend graduated from Loyola in Chicago with a bachelor's in nursing, she has another bachelor's in Education and a great work history. No one will hire here because hospitals only want experience. The real problem is the shortage of nurses is in small towns and rural areas. There are way too many nurses in Chicago, NYC, Boston, DC, California and other desirable cities. On the flip side, North Dakota is begging for nurses as is South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and other mid sized towns like Colorado Springs, Tulsa and Jackson, MS. Unless you're prepared to go to a smallish city, you'll be stuck with a worthless degree.

• OP=Jack McFarland

• I bet it's easy to find jobs as a nurse in a doctor's office. All they do is take vitals, draw blood and handle easy paperwork. Do they get paid significantly less than hospital nurses? Nurses at plastic surgeon's offices have the best jobs.

• Any recommendations for schools in the NYC/Brooklyn area? My bf is seriously considering changing careers to go into nursing after helping his mother through a difficult long term illness. Perhaps even palliative care.

• [R11], the fact that your friend is an LVN/LPN seriously limits her choices. There are different regulations everywhere you go but for the most part, LPN's have a fraction of the bedside scope that an RN has. I recall LPN's that I have worked with only being able to do lower level care, such as hand out stool softeners and draw blood. If there were medicines that needed to be given IV or a full assessment of systems, the RN had to do it and sign off on. We never had LVN/LPN's in our ICU's and ER's, either. Add a cunty-poo attitude and it isn't a surprise she feels marginalized in one of the last remaining career areas where there is substantial need.

  R2