Are you a performer or writer and a nurse?

NSFA08 · Apr 12, 2007

My reason for starting the thread.... (this is a response I wrote to a PM):

i have been a "working actress" since '98. after i had my son 4 yrs. ago, my tv roles and commercials have become fewer and fewer -- partly due to focusing on motherhood & not so much my hustle.

after having a nagging feeling about attending med school (which is completely out of character for me, i thought), i decided to try massage therapy to see if i even liked working with the body before i invested a bunch of time and money into medicine. massage therapy has worked out well for me -- financially rewarding, flexible, etc. but, it's become too much on my body. i keep getting tendonitis in my hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder. because of the recurring injuries, i started considering med school again, which ultimately led me to pursuing nursing.

after meeting with 4 schools -- UCLA, CSUN & 2 CCs, i found that i'm only 2 science classes & a sociology class away from applying to nursing school. my hope is that i am able to work the same days that i work in massage -- i.e., friday and saturday nights -- in a hospital setting.i have a friend who's a picu nurse who says she works with actresses during those shifts.

my anxiety is coming from kinda putting my acting pursuits on hold for another couple of years as i attend school and get settled into the hospital environment. the medical thing doesn't seem to be going anywhere within me, and neither is my acting passion. so i'm believing that there's a place for both of them in my life. i'd hate to forsake one thing for the other...

anyway, i started the thread because i want to know realistically what people are experiencing as performers and nursing professionals. i want to know if it's working for them, and if it's not, why. hope i get some feedback!

Selke · Apr 13, 2007

:welcome:

I can't answer your question, but I think being an actress is a valuable skill for nursing. Nursing (any health care profession) is performance. Voice and presence are therapeutic, and knowing how to manipulate those for maximum effect is what the best learn on the job. You interact with the public constantly, both patients and coworkers, and have to communicate both verbally and nonverbally in a wide variety of situations, some highly emotional and traumatic, some highly rational, with every kind of personality, educational level, and social class out there. I've thought acting experience would have helped me negotiate the performance and communication part more smoothly :) and less awkwardly. There are days you don't want to be at work, you're grumpy, the pts or family are upset, or you have a personality clash with somebody, and acting skills would be very helpful.

I worked once with a nurse who I later learned did some voiceover work in the past. She had a lovely voice which must have been therapeutic for her patients. I think nurses who sing well also have great voices and know how to use them well therapeutically.

If you go into nursing, maybe you could teach performance and voice workshops aimed at nurses and health care professionals! Performance should be more explicitly addressed in nursing and APN programs. In regards to my field, I see birth as performance or ritual and the midwife or OB who is the healer or shaman or leader who directs the energy and action in the birth room.

Best of luck and I hope there are actress/nurses here who can answer your question.