Back to school!?

[mseymour16]

Okay I would like some feedback about what I am thinking, and would want to know if it would be a good idea. I am in my last year of nursing school and am not all so sure about what I want to do with it yet. I haven't really like hospital nursing and I now that there are still many other jobs I could get out of the hospital with a nursing degree. Lately though, I have been thinking about going back to school to get a social work degree on top of my nursing degree. What I want to know I guess, is if there are jobs out there that can combine both degrees? I love helping people, and would like to help more of the underprivileged population. I would love opinions! Thanks!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

SW and nursing are two entirely different professions -each with their own scope of practice and frames of reference. There is sort of a hybrid... Medical Social Worker. They mainly work in hospital settings - closely aligned with Case Management. You need to take a look at salaries before you make a final decision. You may be very surprised at how low SW salaries are despite the fact that MSW is pretty much the entry level. Their burnout rate is even higher than nursing.

I know that some folks here have strong opinions about the role of salary as a motivator, but it is a reality. Choosing to focus your career on working with "underprivileged" is certainly a noble calling, but this will also mean that you will NEVER make very much money. The only service area with decent salaries is health care - because they must provide competitive salaries to employ clinicians. The farther you get from clinical care, the worse your salary will be. In the US (Darwinian, e.g., if you're poor it's your own danged fault) social systems, there is very little funding in this area and I doubt whether it will change in my lifetime.