Non-nursing jobs

missnurse01, MSN, RN · Apr 7, 2012

This probably sounds like a dumb question, but nursing isn't for me and I'm wondering if there's any fields that might hire me, not as a nurse, but that might value my experience. My last jobs before nursing were as a pharmacy technician. I loved it, but didn't make enough money...

Are you a nurse now? I would look at what is offered for nusing jobs in your area, both at hospitals and clinics, through the paper, online, craigslist, whatever. There is also advanced practice nursing if bedside nursing isn't your thing...or move to another field.

good luck!

there is a huge variety of health care jobs that are well paying, don't feel that you 'have to' be a nurse to make decent income.

LithEruiel · Apr 7, 2012

Yes, I'm a nurse now at a hospital. I can't find another job right now because I don't have enough experience. I don't feel I can do it long enough to get experience. Just not for me...

wetzoo · Apr 7, 2012

Clinical research organizations like PRA International, Quintiles, Parexel, Convance, etc may hire new grads as entry level clinical research associates, but those positions are rare/few and far between and vary depending on your background in addition to your nursing degree. More than likely new grads start off as research/clinical trial assistants and move up to clinical research associate. The progression is rather quick, I've heard. Honestly, with a nursing + pharmacy tech background, you would be a great candiate for this. Healthcare IT organizations like Cerner, and Mckesson also hire new grads as entry level delivery consultants.

kcmylorn · Apr 8, 2012

Just out of curiosity what were your reasons for going in to nursing? What attracted you to nursing? It sounds like you are a new-er nurse. Nursing is a very grueling line of work. Back in my day- it was usually students who decided that nursing wasn't for them and dropped out of the program or switched their majors. Usually by the end of the program, those that completed the program intended on staying for the long haul; was just a matter of which speciality- after the obligatory 1-2 yrs in med surg. We graduated with the given/expectation of doing 1-2 yrs in med- surg first. The mantra was - med-surg is where you really get to practice your skills. This was something we accepted and did. Then moving on to the speciality of choice. None of us expected to go right from school into ICU, Peds, OB, Community Health or Mental Health. It was unheard of to expect to go right into a desk position, managment position. Some how that 1-2 yrs of med-surg was like the learning ground work- like med students having to do a residency. You graduated nursing school, passed boards and earned the right to sign RN, you work med-surg for 1-2 yrs and move on. As the med student graduates from medical school, passes boards and earns the right to sign doctor, does their residency and moves on. Alot of nurses that were working med-surg didn't like med surg but did so to get where they wanted to be- ped. OB, ICU etc.

I don't know what they are doing into these school admission interviews or teaching these students now a days- but it sure isn't to the individual's benefit. back in the day- we applied for admission usually had to submit an essay, then maybe we were selected for an interview then maybe we were acepted into the program. We recieved a letter of rejection- stating why we were not selected or a letter of acceptance. I don't think these schools are painting a very realistic picture of the profession of nursing. It seems like these admission boards are like car salesmen- anything to make a buck. Meanwhile the cost of a nursing education is far more that most majors- credit hr per credit hr and the graduate ends up with no job and a humongeous student loan debt. The school just moves on to the next sucker. Given some of the questions to straight out practice- it doesn't seem like the instructors in these programs have a firm baseline of basic nursing knowldge from which to teach from.

The entire nursing education system is flawed. I think they need to stop trying to re invent the wheel and go back to the way it was taught 30-40 yr ago- lecture, memorize, practice, practice, practice and again until the student got it right. The instructors never read the entire lecture from a prepared bunch of papers- they had outlines and knew the material off the top of their heads. They were all over the front of the class- drawing pictures in the board, moveing around, pointing, explaining checking to see if the class was still with them- waking some of us up in some cases by calling on us to answer a question- it was very interactional. We worked our tails off from the time we were accepted into the program until the day we graduated. As for the students: do your expected readings printed on your syllabus before class/ be prepared for class, pay attention (forget about the cell phone, texting, smartphone and ipod), take your notes from class, do your own homework. If you don't know something- look it up and if you still can't find it ask the instructor in the next class.or e-mail( now a day's students have the instructor's e-mail, a stupid move on the instructors part. Now they can't tell who is really "engaged"in the class and who is not)

Stick out your required time on what ever floor your on and move on. JMHO

JMHO

juswannabenurse · Apr 8, 2012

I was just curios as to how long youve worked as a nurse before you decided this just wasnt for you?

TerpGal02, ASN · Apr 8, 2012

There is also always the option of going to work at an insurance company doing utilization review, but I believe most of those positions require a few years experience.

LithEruiel · Apr 8, 2012

Thank you so much for the information wetzoo.

kcmylorn, My school certainly did not glamorize nursing. It was a hospital diploma program with 16 clinical hours a week starting the first week for two years. I received academic honors every semester but one (I missed by 2 points) and you couldn't get academic honors unless your clinical work was also "honorable." I was also an aide where I work now for almost two years while I was in school (before I worked on this floor I was a pharmacy tech). And yes, it's Med-Surg. However, whenever I speak to very experienced nurses no longer in a hospital setting about my job, they're shocked at how intense it is. I'm not afraid of hard work or dirty work (like I said I was an aide), but I am afraid of putting my patients in danger because I'm too overloaded to give the time I need to each one. That's my biggest issue with the job. Most of the nurses I work with feel this way, whether they're a new nurse or they have 30 years experience - they all agree the problem is only getting worse and worse. It's gotten way worse than when I was an aide 7 months ago (yes, I paid close attention to what the nurses were doing then). I'm going to be honest here, what attracted me to nursing was that I already had a useless degree and I needed to go back to school for something relatively cheap and a short program where I knew I could get a job when I was done. Maybe that's technically the wrong reason, but I love the patients, hate the job. Days when for whatever reason I'm not so overloaded, I love it. I feel like I give really good care. Days when I get a post op and and ER at the same time or I have a rapid response an ER comes up during it, no I don't feel like it is possible to give good, safe care. It's my license, I should feel safe doing my job. I shouldn't be afraid to go to work and I am. I shouldn't feel like my job is destroying my health (I don't mean lifting, etc) and I do. So stop criticizing my instructors and my school when you have no idea what you're talking about.

kcmylorn · Apr 9, 2012

I am a diploma nurse also and have been one for 32 years, I have been beside acute care hospital( oncology-18yrs, endo- 1 yr, tele/cardiac surgery stepdown -7yrs, travel- hospital bedside- neuro/med-surg-4yrs)I do knowfirst hand what I am talking about. I left tele/stepdown/bedside nursing in 2010 because the hospital would not give a full time position to older experienced nurses.

LithEruiel · Apr 9, 2012

You made assumptions about me and my school that weren't true though. You don't know me. You just assumed I don't want to do hard work and that my school didn't present a realistic picture of nursing.

kcmylorn · Apr 9, 2012

I think what you are trying to come to terms with is the difference between the 2 roles - nurse's aide vs RN. Specifically, the amount of responsiblity and accountability that RN entails.

Back in the day- it was called 'reality shock" the difference between the protected enviornment of student to the reality of being on your own, making your own decisions and being accountable and responsible for them.

I still don't think nursing programs today, no matter what program they are in- diploma, ADN, BSN, a hardcore inyour face idea of what the hospital working enviornment is. Programs have moved from the practical/skils/hands on to the etheral/theory focus of god knows what. Nursing theorists can sit around and theorize all they want but that doesn't get patient's taken care of, priority setting, time managment and then fine tuning and intergrating clinical science into critical thinking.

As a nurse's aide you reported changes to the RN. Now you are the "end user.

LithEruiel · Apr 9, 2012

Like I said, you don't know me. You're just making assumptions. That's not the problem at all. It doesn't even seem like you read my original post in response to yours.