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...or what about respitory therapy? The rate of pay is similar. Once you have a BS you can always go back and become a Physicians Assistant. I am in a BSN program, but I will be graduating into a local job market with a legitimate nursing shortage.
Are there more opportunities in that field? I have a four year degree in PR, so how long would I have to go for?
Maybe you need to go to a career counselor and take some career tests....seems to me like you are desperate and have jumped on the "there's a nursing shortage so I'll be a nurse."
I have three friends and one family member who is a nurse. My family member is sickening smart-but she sat on a waiting list for 2 years before being accepted (nursing schools state there are no waiting lists but you have to take about 10 classes first then apply-usually it's 200 students for 40 spots).
She got through nursing school and received her BSN from a pretty good nursing school-she couldn't find a job for a year..finally she has two part time jobs but she is not making the big money .
But make sure this is what you really want to do....btw med calculations are hard and if you screw up...well you might kill someone so remember that. My family member also had to take college algebra and statistics she had to have a B.
Beofre jumping in I would certainly research and make sure this is what you want to do. Like another poster said...go to allnurses.com...wow you will see a lot of nurses that regret their decision.
If one understands word problems, order of operations, and so forth most of med dosage calc isn't extremely difficult. Nursing students today have things vastly easier than even as late as the 1980's and much of the 1990's. Today's student nurses often are allowed to use calculators and dimensional analysis, neither was used/allowed back in the day. You learned nursing math the same way it was taught since the 1910's or so. This meant pencil, paper, show all work and (usually) only being allowed to use the approved formulas given by your instructor. There was none of today's math nonsense about "long as you get the correct answer nothing else mattered", if you didn't toe the line question was marked incorrect regardless.
Will give you that yes, pharma errors can and do kill or harm many patients in hospitals every year. This is why so many facilities have strict testing policies before any nurse is hired among other things.
I've known nursing students and professional nurses that gave med dosage calc questions to their children in school who solved them perfectly.
IMHO the two main areas where persons have problems with nursing math is a weak grasp of basic math concepts (fractions, decimals, division, multiplication) and lacking comprehension skills to understand what the problem is asking them to do.
Maybe you need to go to a career counselor and take some career tests....seems to me like you are desperate and have jumped on the "there's a nursing shortage so I'll be a nurse."
I have three friends and one family member who is a nurse. My family member is sickening smart-but she sat on a waiting list for 2 years before being accepted (nursing schools state there are no waiting lists but you have to take about 10 classes first then apply-usually it's 200 students for 40 spots).
She got through nursing school and received her BSN from a pretty good nursing school-she couldn't find a job for a year..finally she has two part time jobs but she is not making the big money .
But make sure this is what you really want to do....btw med calculations are hard and if you screw up...well you might kill someone so remember that. My family member also had to take college algebra and statistics she had to have a B.
Beofre jumping in I would certainly research and make sure this is what you want to do. Like another poster said...go to allnurses.com...wow you will see a lot of nurses that regret their decision.
Yeah you might be right... I have a PR degree and haven't done much with it.. I have just been a freelance writer. I probably shouldn't have gone into the PR/marketing field because I figured out it's not really for me. I don't think I'm creative enough. I only like the writing part of it anyway. I've actually gotten more interested in the medical field the last few months.. even research sounds interesting.
Becoming a CNA is a very good idea. I was a CNA, then an LPN, and finally an RN. Some nursing programs REQUIRE potential students to be a CNA before entering the nursing program. I'm not sure if a hospital would allow someone to shadow a nurse due to HIPAA regulations. Like others have said, there are other health care fields out there, just do your research.
Well I am a nurse and I would say no don't do it! It's not all it's cracked up to be. I don't leave work feeling like I "made a difference" or whatever. I honestly feel like an overpaid waiter. The money is decent but it comes at a cost. Patients talk down to you, family members are demanding or like to google everything and think they know better, Dr's aren't always nice and raises suck! Not to mention you have to do a lot of dirty work which includes cleaning people, people bleeding all over the place, vomit, ect. If I had to do it all over again I swear I wouldn't! The only positive was that I got a job offer the same week I graduated which many people can't say. It took my sister months to find a job in her field (IT). If I were you I would do Occupational Therapy (which I am considering going back to school for). Its Mon-Fri but at my hospital they see about 8 patients a day, usually finish by noon, take lunch, then chart the rest of the day in their little office! And the best part is that you are only with the patient for about 20-30mins at time until the next day. Nurses are stuck with them for 12 hours! I think Physical therapy is ok too but think about all the heavy/fat ppl leaning on you. Eventually you get sore too which is why I say OT..the patient can just stay in the bed when you work with them! Respiratory therapy does not pay as much as nursing at least not where I live. Another option is Dental Hygiene. My best friend does this and loves it.
I have been a LPN for almost 6 years. There are pros and cons to every job, but unless you LOVE working with sick people, then its really not a good career. I currently do in home pediatrics. Nursing is NOT for everyone, believe me. I have seen many people come and go.
There is NO nursing shortage, however. With the economy being the way it is, and our healthcare system so messed up, reimbursements being cut, Medicaid and Medicare being cut, the jobs just aren't there anymore. I am lucky to have a job here. The hospitals do not hire LPN's, unless they are in the doctor clinics or specialty areas.
So, do some research into the field, and give it some thought. It just isn't what it used to be. I like the area I'm working in right now, and it's hard to find a perfect job. I think that goes for any job though.
This tread is making me depressed some what as a person trying to get into the nursing field. It is like i am 30 with noting to show for it all I got is a dead end retail job .
All I know is I do not want to be 70+ years old and still working the same job making the same kind of money .
It looks like i better have a back up plain and look into becoming a Nurse Practitioner or do some thing in the science field.
Well I am a nurse and I would say no don't do it! It's not all it's cracked up to be. I don't leave work feeling like I "made a difference" or whatever. I honestly feel like an overpaid waiter. The money is decent but it comes at a cost. Patients talk down to you, family members are demanding or like to google everything and think they know better, Dr's aren't always nice and raises suck! Not to mention you have to do a lot of dirty work which includes cleaning people, people bleeding all over the place, vomit, ect. If I had to do it all over again I swear I wouldn't! The only positive was that I got a job offer the same week I graduated which many people can't say. It took my sister months to find a job in her field (IT). If I were you I would do Occupational Therapy (which I am considering going back to school for). Its Mon-Fri but at my hospital they see about 8 patients a day, usually finish by noon, take lunch, then chart the rest of the day in their little office! And the best part is that you are only with the patient for about 20-30mins at time until the next day. Nurses are stuck with them for 12 hours! I think Physical therapy is ok too but think about all the heavy/fat ppl leaning on you. Eventually you get sore too which is why I say OT..the patient can just stay in the bed when you work with them! Respiratory therapy does not pay as much as nursing at least not where I live. Another option is Dental Hygiene. My best friend does this and loves it.
Could never make up my mind which is a worse way to spend one's day; cleaning up soiled persons, or having to put one's hands in various people's mouths all day. *LOL*
This tread is making me depressed some what as a person trying to get into the nursing field. It is like i am 30 with noting to show for it all I got is a dead end retail job .
All I know is I do not want to be 70+ years old and still working the same job making the same kind of money .
It looks like i better have a back up plain and look into becoming a Nurse Practitioner or do some thing in the science field.
NP is rapidly becoming a flooded field as well. Every nurse and their mother who for various reasons cannot stand the bedside went onto become nurse practitioners. Indeed many students clearly state they have no intention of doing bedside or if they *must* only for the year or so to gain the minimum experience some programs require for applicants.
NPs can do well financially but the big money still in many areas is at the bedside. You have nurses in high cost of living areas like NY and CA pulling $80K to >100K per year.
NP is rapidly becoming a flooded field as well. Every nurse and their mother who for various reasons cannot stand the bedside went onto become nurse practitioners. Indeed many students clearly state they have no intention of doing bedside or if they *must* only for the year or so to gain the minimum experience some programs require for applicants.
NPs can do well financially but the big money still in many areas is at the bedside. You have nurses in high cost of living areas like NY and CA pulling $80K to >100K per year.
This all sucks there is not many fields that interest me I just know two things no retail and no desk job it hate both.
Well good news is am still a few years away so I hope things will look up .
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