ALL NP's PLEASE READ THIS!

Published

:confused:

(I know it's long but I am in need of help..badly! Please bear with me!)

This is how I feel about nursing right now:

I am currently graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in Psych (I graduate in June) :D

(I can't tell ya'll how happy I am about that!).

Anyhow, I was pre-med until about the Fall of last year. I decided that perhaps nursing was a better option for me. Now I am wondering...

I intially wanted to go into medicine b/c I had alot of experience being around that sort of thing and it really fascinated me. My brother, who was three at the time (March 1982), fell in our backyard pool and was underwater for 15 mintues before anyone found him. He was severly brain-damaged and was in a coma, but survived. My mother couldn't bear the thought of letting her son go (taking him off life support) and so we took him home and for then next 18 years of his life, he lived, albeit not in the best of conditions. We were always in and out of Stanford and Good Sam and such b/c of his many surgeries etc. I helped take care of my brother until he passed in July of 2000 at the age of 21.

My entire life I knew I wanted to be in medicine because of my brother. I was pre-med and then really started thinking about my options. I would like to have a family someday, I don't want to be in debt forever, I don't have the pre-req's required for med school (which would be a 1 year post-bach program of condensed Physics, Chem, O Chem, Bio, and Calculus), the thought of the MCAT terrifes me...these are a few of the reasons I decided to opt out of med school and go INTO nursing. Many people I have talked to believe in me and think it is a good decision. Recently, however, I have been doubting myself (something I, unfortunately, do often). My sister won't get off my case and always finds a way to bring up the question of "Tell me again why you are doing nursing instead of going to med school?" though I have explained it MANY times. (She's in law school and I think is one of those kinds of people that believe nurses are ' below' doctors and therefore, less desirable a profession, etc. etc. The other night, though, she asked me AGAIN. I was brought to tears thinking. "Did I in fact NOT make the right decsion?" And now, reading some fo the posts on here, I feel discouraged.

The one post about "Would you do it again?" and many answered "No".

The post about NP's salaries (I want to be an NP) and many of the figures were shocking--thinking about what NP's do.

The hours (mostly 6 am- 6pm). Part of the reason I wanted to do nursing is b/c people said I would be able to pick my own hours, etc. and so that way I could raise my family, instead of be at work all day!

Also, I shadowed an ACNP in Neuro (the specialty I was thinking of doing) and as we were doing rounds, we came upon this one lady who had a stroke in the left side of her brain. Of all the 15 or so pts. we saw that day, she was doing GREAT! Greats vitals, etc. However, she couldn't verbally tells us what she wanted. I thought about how frustrating it must be for her. She was such a cute old woman. After the shift I fell into tears thinking about it. Due to my situation with my brother, I am EXTREMELY sensitive and wonder whether or not I can do this. I asked the CNS I work for in Neuro, and she said that you eventually "toughen up" and get used to it, but I don't know that I ever will. What should I do?? Do I give up nursing/a career in medicine b/c of my emotional issues?!?!?!

I keep thinking, what do I do?????!?!?!?!?

I"m sooooooooo confused right now and need help/advice/margaritas (;))...ANYTHING! :eek: :eek:

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well, i am not an NP - i am however a student nurse anesthetist...so here is what i can tell you....

medicine and nursing are two completely different realms...you need to decide which one will make you happy - taking care of your pt's holistically or via disease process....if you are looking at money - sometimes there isn't a ton of difference..i worked in an ER as staff on wkends making 50$/hr - the doc's only made 60$/hr...not a big difference...NP's don't make a ton of money right now...CRNA's do....so it depends what branch of nursing you decide on.....Nursing in my opinion is much harder than medicine...because you aren't just learning about disease, meds etc...you learn about people...and all those other things...there is less schooling yes...but in my opinion more learning....

so again, you must decide what it is that you want...right now nursing is very flexible...jobs everywhere....etc...it may not be that way in 10 years...but for now that is a sure thing.....

good luck at whatever you decide to do...why don't you shadow a nurse and or a doctor to see what a day in the life is like...perhaps it will help.

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What is a CRNA? I've seen it posted all ove rthe place, but I don't know what it is...

Can ANYONE tell me what to do about my situation? (RN, CNS, NP...doens't matter..I just want advice from people in the field! :rolleyes:

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Well, I've been in healthcare over 30 years. Started as an orderly (remember that title) and have been an Army Medic, paramedic, helicopter flight nurse, staff nurse, Director of Home Health, Home Heath Consultant, nursing supervisor and I've worked ER, psych, HMO (very damn briefly), home health, ICU, nursing education, legal nurse consultant, and med/surg. I've owned my own home health agency. I took a detour into Asian Medicine and once gave a seminar at $254 an hour. Now, I'm sending in my application to an online post-masters psychiatric nurse practitioner program. When I complete that, I'll have my own practice (combining pscyh nursing with bodywork). Point is, there is so much you can do in nursing and as someone else pointed out, make almost as much as some MD's without all the educational hassle and industry hassles they put up with. You can also combine nursing with other healthcare professions, ie, acupuncture. It's amazing what you can do and where you can go. I've also never had trouble finding a job. I hear lawyers are a dime a dozen and some do very well driving a taxi. We all b***h but I don't know what else I would do and make the same salary. My wife, a special educational teacher, also b***hes. I asked her why doesn't she just quit since she complains about teaching and she looked at me and said, "But I love it!" Hell, she's a blonde so what do you expect! The main thing is to do what you want to do and tell the others to f**k off.:eek:

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And one more thing. As an NP, your work conditions may be better and more satisfying. Instead of running up and down a unit taking care of patients, you (even if you cleared the same amount of money) might have more fun as an NP. I'm looking at being able to work at least part-time till I drop over dead. I, however would not want to do it on a med/surg floor!

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Originally posted by jewelsg627

What is a CRNA? I've seen it posted all ove rthe place, but I don't know what it is...

Can ANYONE tell me what to do about my situation? (RN, CNS, NP...doens't matter..I just want advice from people in the field! :rolleyes:

Was the eyeball rolling really necessary? athomas was trying to help you, for heaven's sake!

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Oh my Goodness! I'm so sorry!

I didn't mean to have the "roll eyes smiley" come off that way. When I first looked at it, I actually thought of it as when someone does a "half" smile and looks puzzled.

NO! NO! NO! I wasn't AT ALL meaning for that to come off as me rolling my eyes at his advice in any way, shape or form! I am EXTREMELY grateful for all the advice. I was simply curious as to what a CRNA is/does and meant for it to come off as a curious/puzzled tone and look, since I don't know what CRNA's do!!!

Geesh. This is why I hate e-mail, etc. You always lose the tone and can't always understand what is meant or in what context the peron is speaking.

Next time I will think CAREFULLY before choosing my 'face' :)

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No problem...but this is what you use when you mean to say "huh?" or "what?" :confused:

:D

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Yes, thank you. I have taken a mental note.:chuckle

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ER, L&D, ICU, OR, Educator.
Originally posted by jewelsg627

The post about NP's salaries (I want to be an NP) and many of the figures were shocking--thinking about what NP's do.

The hours (mostly 6 am- 6pm). Part of the reason I wanted to do nursing is b/c people said I would be able to pick my own hours,

... doing rounds, we came upon this one lady who had a stroke in the left side of her brain. Of all the 15 or so pts. we saw that day, she was doing GREAT! Greats vitals, etc. However, she couldn't verbally tells us what she wanted. I thought about how frustrating it must be for her.

She was such a cute old woman.

Okay...why did you pick NP again?

It probably should be better thought out than just nice hours, questionably "good" salaries, and cute old women who leave an emotional impression on you.

I think you must decide, deep inside, that you are a NURSE...and a NURSE cannot become a physician without a labotomy, if she is truely a NURSE in her heart.

That is exactly what patients LOVE about their NP's.

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Those were simply examples...not the FULL reasons of why I want to be a nurse.

Medicine in general has always fascinated me. I have had many people, my father especially,tell me that I act like a nurse (though I'm not quite sure what they mean by that exactly :)). I have even had strangers come up to me and ask me if I was a nurse on more than one occasion. (I am not totally religious, but if I were, I suppose I could take that s "a sign"). However, from seeing the Neurosurgery ACNP that I followed around and working with Pediatric CNS's at Stanford and working with a Neuroscience CNS/NP, makes me think that I could really see myself doing something like nursing. Another factor, in my decison to be an NP was that I LIKE being around pts. and helping people out. I think that given my exp. with my brother I could fully sympathize and understnading what families are going through. I think (and have been told by many others) that being a doctor, you are in and out of pts. rooms in 10 mintues. I want to be able to sit down with pts. and talk with them and get to know them.

My worry is that I am TOO emotional to do this job!

P.S. - The reference to the "cute old lady" was an example, again. I would like to think I am not stupid enough to go into a profession soley on seeing a cute old woman that made me cry

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Another note:

THIS is the EXACT reason WHY I am posting on this forum! To found out MORE about nursing and see what ACTUAL professional nurses think about my situation. As I said before, I think of myself as being more intelligent than jumping into a career before I do my research more deeply, first...

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