Anyone with a medical background before NS?

[wmnshealth]

I have three small children and trying to get a sense of the time demands of nursing school and if it's even doable before my youngest is in kindgarten.

Briefly, I have a bachelor's (in something unrelated) and master's (public health) and have worked for several years as a clinical coordinator in clinical research. I do not do patient care, but I do interact with patients and their families a great deal as part of my job and speak with many physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel all day long, and routinely perform chart documentation. I know the basic/common diagnoses (and respective treatments) like HTN, CAD 2' ASCVD, PVD, COPD, IDDM, etc, but couldn't draw blood or cath a patient if my life depended on it. :wink2:

Anyone out there currently going through nursing school, who also had somewhat of a medical background already? And if so, are you finding NS any less demanding than your peers?

I mean, don't get me wrong- I do NOT expect NS to be any kind of cakewalk, but I'm not a "blank slate", either, know what I mean?

any feedback would really be appreciated!

[rachelgeorgina]

I certainly hadn't worked in healthcare prior to nursing school, but I'd spent a good part of my life in and out of hospitals (it was there that I learnt how to take a manual blood pressure!) as a patient myself and with other family members. It's certainly made a difference.

[cingle]

I'm only 3 weeks in to nursing school, so you can take this with a grain of salt if you'd like...

I've had a long career as a medical assistant, working outpatient care with responsibilities for med administration (injections, oral meds, etc.), phlebotomy, phone triage, working with pharmacies on med refills, vital signs, obtaining patient history, etc. I can say that at this (limited) point I have encountered almost no new information. Having said that, I know it's coming!

Thankfully, almost everything has been review for me albeit some of these things I haven't actually performed in years (making an occupied bed, for instance). I had at least heard of them in the past and seen these things done before. I'm not certain how my peers without any medical experience are faring -- for that matter, I'm not sure how I'm faring since we've had no tests up to this point.

[lainith]

I worked as a home health care aid before entering nursing school. It has given me a very small advantage in being comfortable working with patients and having some basis of knowledge in different areas.

[MissBrittanyRN]

I am a new grad RN, but I worked as a patient care tech before starting nursing school. That job was for certified nursing assistants, but I did IV's, foleys, blood draws, and assisted in deliveries (worked in labor and delivery). It was beneficial because we did not get IV insertion or blood draw experience in nursing school. As for making a difference during nursing school, I had a much easier time than classmates on the skills check-off portions of first semester only (foleys, vitals signs, beds/baths). As far as nursing theory and pathophysiology, I did not have an upper hand. As things became more complex during second year, I did well, but I did not have any advantages, especially because a lot of my classmates had taken nursing assistant jobs during the summer between year one and two, and they even witnessed more procedures than I did myself, because they worked in med/surg and I only knew how to delivery babies! My best advice is to take a position as a student nurse/intern/extern, whatever they call it in your area during the summer between your first and second year (if that is possible for you), and maybe even prn during your second year of NS. I recommend ICU or ED, even if your not interested in those specialties, because it will help you gain the most complex experience, without having all of the RN responsibilites. When you return to school, and you learn about the complex alterations in health, and the high risk issues, you may have a better foundation, the interventions will not be completely foreign, and maybe you will have a job secured upon graduation. It's a tough new grad market today (at least in my area), although hopefully it will turn around by your graduation date. Good luck to you!

[Lennonninja, MSN, APRN, NP]

My prior experience is mostly veterinary. I was a vet assistant for almost 4 years so I've done TONS of medications (figuring out doses and administering them), assisted with surgery, did countless hours of client education, drawn blood, blah blah blah... And even though it's a different species I feel like it's certainly been helpful to me so far.

But what's been the most helpful has been already having finished all of my co-reqs like Micro and Advanced Physio, Sociology, etc. I've seen a lot of that stuff come into play with Fundamentals and Pharm already.

[lvntornstudent08]

Been an LVN for 8 years. Has helped in some aspects. I don't stress as much and my varied professional experience gives me some advantage in areas but all in all, this is a brand new bag so to speak. The knowledge base of an RN is much more complex. Good luck, you can do it if You have the passion for it!