Any Nurses out there?

[HorseWhisperer]

Hey everyone! Im thinking about a future in the nursing field and I was wondering if there were any nurses out there on MH that might be of some help to me...

[Conveyor Belt]

I'm not a nurse, nor am I in the nursing program, but I might be able to assist, as I know some nurses, etc.

[carsalesguy]

hello, nurse?

[Hermione]

HW, have you done any volunteer work at a hospital? That's a good way to see nurses at work and see if you feel drawn to that life.

[firefly]

HW, I am a retired cardiac nurse(retired due to disability, not age). Think long & hard about this before you jump in. The suggestion that you should volunteer in a hospital is a very good one. It is not glamorous like some employers portray it. It is a very stressful job. Not just anybody can be a nurse. I went in that field so that I could help people. I especially enjoyed working with the elderly patients. You can PM me if you like.

[Conveyor Belt]

HW, I am a retired cardiac nurse(retired due to disability, not age). Think long & hard about this before you jump in. The suggestion that you should volunteer in a hospital is a very good one. It is not glamorous like some employers portray it. It is a very stressful job. Not just anybody can be a nurse. I went in that field so that I could help people. I especially enjoyed working with the elderly patients. You can PM me if you like.

I want to help, but I don't like dealing with sick people that much... hence the MT degree...

[ComputerDude]

I wonder how many times a day a nurse will hear the "I have a stiffness I need help with" joke from guys?

[jmb]

About ten years ago I was seriously thinking about going back to school to get a nursing degree. About that time, my father-in-law had bypass surgery and stayed with us while he recuperated. I decided then it was not for me. On the good days it was great, but on the bad days, when he didn't want to eat or take his medicine, uh-uh. No way.

Hermione's advice to volunteer at a hospital is great. That would give you a more realistic look at nursing.

[Conveyor Belt]

About ten years ago I was seriously thinking about going back to school to get a nursing degree. About that time, my father-in-law had bypass surgery and stayed with us while he recuperated. I decided then it was not for me. On the good days it was great, but on the bad days, when he didn't want to eat or take his medicine, uh-uh. No way.

Hermione's advice to volunteer at a hospital is great. That would give you a more realistic look at nursing.

yeah, I don't mind helping people who want to be helped. It's the ones who complain that everything you do isn't right and won't let you do your job... those are the ones I don't want to have to deal with.

I think I know more nurses who have gone into other things than one's who are still with it.

[Elle May]

I was a nurse for 20+ years. I wanted to be a nurse because I enjoyed helping folks but the longer I stayed in the less the appeal because when I first started the nurse was responsible for patient care which is the part I liked most but through the years it became more and more paperwork, aides were hired to do the actual one on one care as far as hospital work. I've worked in clinics/doctor's offices and preferred that because you did have one on one relationships with your patients. I haven't done any nursing for 12 years so I don't know how things have changed since then. It can be heartwarming and heartbreaking and you've gotta really want to do it- not be in it just for the money. I agree that volunteering might be a good start in trying to decide if this is what you want to do. Good luck on your venture, whichever way it takes you.

[MMA]

There are a lot of jobs for RN's that don't involve patient care. My wife is a retired RN, us cops and firemen need them, the last 20 or so of her 30 year career she was a case manager for several major hospitals, no direct patient care at all. We lived in quite a few places in the US because of my job, she never had any problem finding employment, the salary is way above average for most parts of the country. The shortest way is to go to PRCC or JCJC and do the two year program, later on if you want your BSN you can do that at any major university or on-line. Good luck, always a pleasure to see someone trying to improve their situation.

[HorseWhisperer]

Thank You to EVERYONE!!! I dont get grossed out easily. My MawMaw was bedridden a few months before she died. We had to change her, sponge bathe her, clean her stitches and sometimes drain fluid from them. I was fine through all this... I am scared of needles but only when their coming at me... With other people and needles i'm fine...

I was wondering all of your oppenions on which route to take... I was thinking JCJC for 2 years (or long enough to get my basics) and then move on to William Carey or Southern Miss so i'd have a 4 year degree before I started... I've heard you make more working in a hospital and not a family practice... The fields im most interested in are trauma and cancer...

ANY advice is appreciated! And thanks to all of my MH family for helping me out here! It means so much to me!