Sad state of affairs!

4 Now that I am working as an RN I can't believe how bad my health insurance is. With my former job, as a grocery store clerk, I paid $5 dollars for 2 of my scripts and $35 for the most expensive. Those same ones are now $22, $42, and $104 a month! Yikes! So not only am I working nights, paying a fortune for my health insurance (way more than I paid at the grocery store), but now I can't afford the Singulair, as I would like if I would like to also pay my rent. Yay for nursing! I am seriously considering going back to my old job. I worked days, got time and a half on Sundays, and my health insurance was cheaper and covered way more. If I ever went to days without the night diff, I would be making less as an Rn than a grocery store clerk after all benefit deductions.
I am wondering what state you live in. It is sad that healthcare workers are not given decent health care! It should make people angry! I know in some of the states, new grads make 18 bucks an hour, but I also assumed that cost of living on those areas would be less.

makes you wonder huh.that is sad..

I worked at a unionized grocery store as a cashier and utility clerk many years ago and received free health insurance. However, that job was the worst one I've ever had. Sorry, but I wouldn't return to working at a grocery store unless I was about to become homeless. The work is boring, repetitive, and dull. The customers are rude. My 40 hour work week was often spread out over 6 days (two 8 hour shifts and four 6 hour shifts), leaving me with only one day off per week. It takes a special person with a certain type of personality to work in the grocery business for many years. Well, I'm not that special person!

It is a unionized grocery store, and I worked in the bakery. I enjoyed my job, but did work every weekend.

undoubtedly, i can't argue with your statement because prior becoming a nurse, i worked as a bartender and made 3 times more $$$ than what a new rn makes these days....things that make you go hmmm

Yep, 4 years of school and only making about $200 more per paycheck before taxes. Then, after benefits come out, I'm making about the same as before I had my license. Thank goodness I love being a nurse!

Go for the grocery job, but work as a nurse PRN or home care nursing.

Deb-RN has a point, if you can get back in at the bakery then go for it and switch to Perdiem at the hospital. You'l be payed more money on the nursing side and have the better healthcare from the bakery job. The one thing I would not do is leave nursing all together. You worked very hard to get that degree, keep using it, even if it is only part time.

If I were you I would do as previously suggested, go back to the good job and do part time nursing in home health on the weekend. Get your benefits from the good job while maintaining minimal nursing competency at your part time nursing job. I would not hesitate to make this career move. Good luck.

Anyone remember the thread where some guy was posting about how nurses were overpaid?Yeesh.

I agree about going back. If you're not loving what you do and can do better elsewhere, go for it. I told my husband pretty much that when I went into nursing. If it ever became more profitable and made more sense for us, I'd go back to my old job. Not that I don't love being a nurse, but I like having a roof over my head and being able to buy yarn without thinking about it.

I can't go part time or per diem I am a new grad with no experience. Same for home health, I need to get some experience first. My orientation is up in 2 weeks and then I need to suck it up and try to make it work for at least a year. At that point, if I feel competent, I would love to work per diem and go back to my job at the bakery, I loved the artistic side and got to use my creativity. Sometimes you do not realize how good you have it. I work 100 times harder as a nurse, but the pay and benefits do not reflect it. It also takes a lot more skill and education to work as a nurse, but the pay and benefits do not reflect it. I do enjoy being a nurse, I enjoy using my brain and working hard. But it just seems so "off" to me how badly it pays in my area. I did work as a tech while in nursing school, prn on weekends and holidays, and I really feel like they are the true unsung heros of healthcare. They could make more doing a whole lot less! I really appreciate the ones that work hard and do such a good job, knowing they are not paid what they are worth. It just is not fair!I love being a nurse, and I worked hard to get here. It is very stressful right now being new, but I am just surprised at how hard it is to make ends meet right now.