Career Change- Marketing to Medicine-

Isuhd8u · Dec 28, 2004

Hello!
I just discovered the allnurses website yesterday, and am hoping to find some advice and/or suggestions from an experienced nurse. I posted this in the greetings/new poster forum- but thought I would post here as well since this is a little more applicable.
I have my bachelors in hearing and speech sciences and am 25 yrs old.
As of right now I have not even begun nursing school- so I am pretty new to all of this- and would GREATLY appreciate and feedback!!
I am working in marketing right now- but do not find it fulfilling enough and keep coming back to medicine. I have always been interested in medicine- but have just recently decided to start over with a new career. I wish I had had done this sooner - but better late then never right?
My current job is all right- but the office/business world is not for me. I have always had an interest in science and medicine and enjoy working with people. I think the fact that I just had surgery last week has helped to spur my interest even further.
I am particularly interested in plastic/cosmetic surgery, but have not been able to find much information on the internet with regard to this specialty in terms of nursing.
Is there anyone out there who specializes in this area? Is this something that I would specialize in during school? Any insight on your daily routine on the job would be very helpful. Are you even able to specialize in this specifically?
I am very excited to hear from you all!
I would really appreciate any advice and or direction you could provide.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post.
You all are a great source of information as well as support!

Lisa,

Specialization occurs after you graduate from (undergraduate) nursing school. You can get a job in plastics once you obtain licensure. However, should you decide to go to grad school, there will be many specialties to choose from. With your surgical interests, one graduate specialty that you may be interested in pursuing is nurse anesthesia. That is the specialty I have chosen to study. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Lisa21146 · Dec 28, 2004

Hello--

Thanks so much for your reply!

Anesthesia- that is an option I had not really considered. And I could definatly work with this in plastics.

Are you currently in grad school for this?

This may be a stupid question- but what exactly would this entail?

Do you work along with an anesthesiologist?

I am guessing you would be monitoring the patients vital signs throughout- would you also administer the anesthesia?

What setting are you planning on working in with this?

In terms of schooling- I have been looking into accelerated BSA programs- since I already have a Bachelors in another field. Is this what you would suggest for someone without a nursing background? From what I understand-this way I will be able apply some of the credits I have for basic coursework towards my nursing degree.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. This is a new path for me- and it really helps when people like you take the time to help point me in the right direction!

Thanks again!

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Lisa

Lisa,
Specialization occurs after you graduate from (undergraduate) nursing school. You can get a job in plastics once you obtain licensure. However, should you decide to go to grad school, there will be many specialties to choose from. With your surgical interests, one graduate specialty that you may be interested in pursuing is nurse anesthesia. That is the specialty I have chosen to study. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Isuhd8u · Dec 29, 2004

Hello--
Thanks so much for your reply!
Anesthesia- that is an option I had not really considered. And I could definatly work with this in plastics.
Are you currently in grad school for this?
This may be a stupid question- but what exactly would this entail?
Do you work along with an anesthesiologist?
I am guessing you would be monitoring the patients vital signs throughout- would you also administer the anesthesia?
What setting are you planning on working in with this?
In terms of schooling- I have been looking into accelerated BSA programs- since I already have a Bachelors in another field. Is this what you would suggest for someone without a nursing background? From what I understand-this way I will be able apply some of the credits I have for basic coursework towards my nursing degree.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. This is a new path for me- and it really helps when people like you take the time to help point me in the right direction!
Thanks again!
Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Lisa

Dear Lisa,

I am so happy that I could be of assistance to you. It has been said that nurse anesthesia is one of the best-kept secrets in healthcare. I believe this to be true. One website that will give you answers to many of your questions is the official site for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (www.aana.com) . Also there is a forum on "allnurses" for nurses in anesthesia/ persons working toward it. It is quite interesting and will answer many of your questions as well. Yes, I am in grad school for anesthesia. I have been taking some of the general courses in the curriculum over the last year but will be starting full-time anesthesia coursework next week. I plan to work for an anesthesia group upon graduation. They are providing tuition assistance in exchange for an employment commitment after graduation. I will administer anesthesia to all types of patients- from open-heart surgery to epidurals for mothers-to-be. Yes, there are also CRNAs that contract with plastic surgery offices. Your guess was right-we administer the anesthetic and monitor the patient throughout the procedure. We are watching the patient while the surgeon is doing his thing. We work alongside anesthesiologists. Depending in which state and facility you practice, you may be "directed" or "supervised" by anesthesiologist in an "anesthesia care team". It is an ongoing political issue that I will not get into here. In many rural areas there are no anesthesiologists and the CRNAs work independently (they "collaborate" with the surgeon).

I think the accelerated BSN is a great idea! You definately need a BSN if you are thinking about doing the anesthesia route. Although some schools will sometimes accept a non-nursing bachelor's degree, your time will be best spent working on a BSN since you will need to go back and get a nursing degree anyway. Should you decide on anesthesia, you will need to get at least one year of critical care experience. I have been working in critical care for many years. I will be glad to help answer any questions about types of critical care-there are many (medical, surgical, coronary, neuro, etc). Most schools prefer adult critical care experience. Some will accept neonatal and/or pediatric but it is more limited. I hope all of this information isn't too overwhelming. :uhoh3:

If you want, you can send me a private message. I would be glad to speak with you over the telephone and answer more specific questions. :)

Sincerely,

Kathy

Autumn21 · Jan 3, 2005

Hi! Your post is interesting to me, esp. the plastic surgery part. To each their own! I'm a college student at the U of MN with an interest in medicine. I am considering nursing because it fits with the relational part of my personality. I think that hearing and speech sciences would be a really cool major. Marketing is one of my roomates majors, and she's sort of artsy, but mostly practical. Anyway, good luck. It sounds like you have a lot going for you. :)