nursing career without touching people

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I am about to graduate with my BSN and I absolutely do not want to be a nurse that has patient contact. My second semester of nursing school I had an exposure at clinical and I have since been diagnosed with PTSD and OCD. I have been taking medication and I am currently going to therapy but I am absolutely terrified of anything relating touching people of any nursing tasks. I was wondering what I can do with my degree that would not entail touching people (preferably office work) with no experience. Thank you so much

Specializes in geriatrics.
If you find that job the ask them if they have another one would fit my wishes. I want a hospital job that will pay me my salary but let me stay at home, so not only no patient contact but I don't even have to go in. THE perfect nursing job.

Lol I've joked about this for years. Wouldn't it be great to just have them send a cheque to your home? You could answer the phone once in a while.....I think they call it "consulting".....;)

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Specializes in Cardiac, PCU, Surg/Onc, LTC, Peds.
Someone mentioned coding...that is a possibility. The RN would probably not mean much but knowing medical terminology and procedures will help.

Or, continue with school and get a teacher's certificate to teach Health, or maybe biology.

How ironic is it that the OP is getting slammed by other nurses, who should know better than anyone that PTSD is a real disorder. Sure, the OP could have changed majors when this came up, but I would guess she was hoping to overcome the challenges. Since she is still working on that, she is trying to find some way to use her degree and have an income....and we slam her for that? I guess it would be better for her to file for disability since she is psychologically unable to work in her field. Would we be acting the same towards someone who was unable to work due to major depression?

I will never understand how nurses (making a broad generalization here) are so mean to each other :(

I was wondering this too. A student comes here for support for a very real problem to her, gets belittled and made fun of. Very professional.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
Or because we scared him/her away. :eek:

In any event, it would probably be best to avoid future comments and allow the OP to come back & comment if so inclined

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Thank you for all the constructive replies and those are all things that I will look into. I have to say I am absolutely shocked and hurt by all of those chose to use this as their personal entertainment for the day. What I am going through is one of the hardest things I have in my life and I did not quit because I thought I would have got a hold of this by now. Shame on some of you...I hope that you never have any patients who have had unfortunate circumstances and have real emotional problems going on because your true colors have shown in this post.

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Specializes in ICU/ER.

Have you looked into research jobs? Some of those jobs just involve collecting information, interviews, etc. Look at big universities, etc.

If you want out of the nursing profession just look for jobs that require general four year degrees. This type of stuff happens with every profession it seems. I can appreciate the backlash from some people but you kind of can't turn around when you're so far down an education road and you are then stuck. Financial concerns are a big deal when you're 50% into a degree that holds no relevance to something else you'd rather major in. I understand.

Options for general four year degrees.... look at government jobs that simply ask for four year degrees (office jobs) and any kind of business that offers entry level positions. If I knew your location I'd try to offer more specific suggestions, but this is what I can provide for now. Keep your chin up. Again, this happens to people in every major coming out of school.

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Specializes in FNP.

Oh, please. I won't be shamed because you asked a ridiculous question. If you want a shoulder to cry on, see your priest or psychiatrist. You came asking about a nursing job that basically doesn't involve patients. There is no reason to be surprised that we find that amusing, to say the least. No one is making fun of your disorder. More than one person empathetically said, "fix it or you cant be a nurse."

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Specializes in Trauma/Critical Care.
Thank you for all the constructive replies and those are all things that I will look into. I have to say I am absolutely shocked and hurt by all of those chose to use this as their personal entertainment for the day. What I am going through is one of the hardest things I have in my life and I did not quit because I thought I would have got a hold of this by now. Shame on some of you...I hope that you never have any patients who have had unfortunate circumstances and have real emotional problems going on because your true colors have shown in this post.

Sorry you have to read so many nasty and inappropriate replies...being anonymous in our replies, allow some people's true character to "shine" through. Sometimes I wish AN have a five minutes pause button...

But you have to admit, a nurse not touching patients is kind of unheard of.

Best of luck to you.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Thank you for all the constructive replies and those are all things that I will look into. I have to say I am absolutely shocked and hurt by all of those chose to use this as their personal entertainment for the day. What I am going through is one of the hardest things I have in my life and I did not quit because I thought I would have got a hold of this by now. Shame on some of you...I hope that you never have any patients who have had unfortunate circumstances and have real emotional problems going on because your true colors have shown in this post.

I stand corrected....unfortunately there are more fake posts just for the sake of argument that it's hard to filter out the genuine ones. I have to admit my bad......... I said was possibly a troll to get a response from you to see if this was real:o. I give you my heartfelt apology.

:hug:. I am sorry you are going through this. I can't imagine what exposure has caused you this stress but it must have been horrifying. But a nurse that can't touch a patient, there aren't many area's for you to practice. Is it just patients you can't touch or people/strangers in general. I suggest you talk with your professors and instructors to see what their thoughts are.....advanced degree to teach or nursing informatics may be what you need. I would also check with insurance and medical managment companies for telephone triage type positions and counseling type jobs.

I wish you every prayer for your healing.:heartbeat

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I don't think people were unkind. You need to keep in mind that we see many fake posts after a while, so it can be hard to tell. While the question may be genuine, it really doesn't make sense, especially given the economy. There are thousands of unemployed nurses. When anyone posts here, they are going to receive responses they don't agree with.

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you can always use your BSN and get a alternative certification in teaching (if you state allows that) and if that doesn't freak you out as well. I do pedi home health private duty where i take care of just one kiddo all day, and for me its the same kid everyday, so that "might" be something you could get used to?

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Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.

i am so sorry you are having a rough time.i hope you will be able to heal .but there are not many jobs in nursing where there is no touching and those will probably require bedside experience .may be more schooling or changing careers.maybe you need to take more time for treatment and to heal first .but nursing with no contact is just not realistic.especially with the economy and what the job market is like currently.OP take care.

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Thank you for all the constructive replies and those are all things that I will look into. I have to say I am absolutely shocked and hurt by all of those chose to use this as their personal entertainment for the day. What I am going through is one of the hardest things I have in my life and I did not quit because I thought I would have got a hold of this by now. Shame on some of you...I hope that you never have any patients who have had unfortunate circumstances and have real emotional problems going on because your true colors have shown in this post.

I'm sorry. As Esme12 stated, we have seen a lot of bogus posts. It's not about you personally at all, and I do apologize. I do understand how difficult PTSD is, and have seen OCD in patients and it's heartbreaking.

I really do hope you can find some way to get through this, so you (no matter what you decide to do) don't have to deal with the thoughts and fears associated with either diagnosis. It is extremely difficult. And good for you that you didn't quit. :up:

I also understand being shocked and hurt by posts here- and it hurts a lot. Again, I apologize for my part in doubting you. It happens too often that someone posts something, and then leaves to watch the board light up with replies to a manufactured situation. OR, just takes off, and creates division within the folks here. The vast majority of people here are really supportive, and my guess is that you will get a lot of support now that you've replied and cleared up what's going on. :heartbeat

Please let those of us who want to support you, and offer suggestions do so, by continuing to post your concerns, ideas, and replies to what you think.

Take care, and best of luck with all of this. :o

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