[philosophical]

Hi guys and gals,

I've been on the boards here asking tons of questions about nursing and wanted you all to give your opinion on the following alternative careers since you may come across many of these people thoughout your day...What kind of complaints do you hear?

1. Child Life Specialist
2. Medical Social Worker (Pediatrics)
3. Physical Therapy Asst (Peds)
4. Occupational Therapy Asst (Peds)
5. Radiology Tech
6. Licensed Counselor- Bereavement, Grief

I have a BS in Psych and I love the idea of working with pediatric populations. I am willing to start completely over or get a Masters.

I know most of you are true to nursing and I appreciate any insight you have with these other careers.

Please help!!!

Thanks!!

Rhonda

[SaderNurse05]

I think the child life specialist is pretty cool. We had them at the hospital I interned at during nursing school. My daughter is a medical social worker and she loves it. Sounds like you have thought it through and have some good options. Good luck!

[jjjoy]

Originally Posted by philosophical

1. Child Life Specialist - sounds like a great job, but only a few per facility and not all facilities employ them, so I'd imagine one can't just walk into such a position
2. Medical Social Worker (Pediatrics)
3. Physical Therapy Asst (Peds) - great way to get PT experience before investing all of the time and money to become a PT; still, I think it's at least a 2yr program to become a PTA
4. Occupational Therapy Asst (Peds)
5. Radiology Tech - as the job title suggests, this is more technical with very short patient contact; if you like the psych aspect, this might not be as satisfying
6. Licensed Counselor- Bereavement, Grief

I have a BS in Psych and I love the idea of working with pediatric populations. I am willing to start completely over or get a Masters.
Rhonda

See notes above

Since you already have a degree, I'd suggest looking for work with a medical population as opposed to heading right back to school. There are a wide variety of jobs in healthcare but it's hard to really get a feel for what role you'd prefer without being in the thick of it.

With your college degree, you might be able to get a job that gets you involved with health care or social work on some level and then you can explore the various roles out there from there. You not only are earning a living but you might also get a better idea of what direction to go next.

For example, maybe you could work with developmentally disabled children, who often also have many health issues. Or you might be able to get a job helping with case management of foster children; sometimes there are roles that don't require a social work degree.

Good luck with your career exploration!

[philosophical]

Can anyone else offer me an opinion about this??