General questions

[Coldfoot]

Ok, I've had a bunch of questions that I wanted to pose to a large group and then I found allnurses.com, how convenient! I am not a nurse though I've Tech'd in several ER's, worked an Army ER for 3 years, been a pre-hospital provider for about 7, and am currently a remote provider and doing Medevac's in the middle of Alaska. Nursing will not really increase my pay much but I am tired of treating symptoms and want to start treating root causes, so nursing school seams to be the logical step. My concern is once I get out of school I really don't want to go to (no offence to those that are happy there) a Med/Surg type unit. I really want to stay in Emergency/Critical Care environment. Is it totally unrealistic to think I can avoid Med/Surg?

Also, I have a family and we would like to travel internationally. I get the impression that as a nurse I could work overseas without a huge hassle. Is there any truth to this? Has anyone out there done this? with a family in tow? I am currently on a two week on-two week off schedule. I know I have a few pre-req.'s to finish up (I'm waiting on an info pack from the closest nursing school to find out exactly what I need) and would like to try to do some online or self study. Anyone have any recommendations?

Boy, that came out long than I thought it would. Any response would be appreciated.

:eek: :)

[MollyMo]

Extremely realistic to bypass Med/Surg. I've been in cardiac nursing straight from nursing school almost 12 years ago. I've transitioned from PCU/Tele to CV stepdown to Interventional Cardiology. I don't believe it is necessary to get experience in Med/Surg if you know where you want to specialize. It's all on the job training. Each area will teach you what you need to know. And I don't have husband or children. I know people who travel within the states with family but not internationally. One woman has her daughter and her mother to babysit while she's at work. It seems to work well for them. Best wishes. :)

[caliotter3]

At least one of my classmates was hired into the ER straight out of school with no prior experience. I would think with your experience it would be no problem. It is totally dependent upon the employer's criteria, some will hire new grads and some will not. Many people have posted on this board stating that they have been hired into specialty areas straight out of school. I think the trick is to establish the working relationship prior to the end of school. Good luck in your future endeavors.

[Allison P]

I was hired directly into ICU after I graduated in May. It helped that I had worked in the unit as a student nurse tech for my last two semesters. It was also a big help during my critical care clinicals. The nurses on the unit were also great about calling me whenever something interesting was going on(actually they still do). I love it.

Good luck.

Allison :)

[SmilingBluEyes]

I entered OB right out of nursing school. I never had the intention of working med-surg and never will. I say, go for it! Good luck!

[Coldfoot]

Thanks for the info, sounds like I need to go for it.