Considering joining the Peace Corps as an RN

[nursern07]

Hello all! I have been working as a BSN in LTC for 1 year and just started to work at an acute rehab facility as well. Love my residents at the LTC, but I want different experiences right now. Not loving the rehab, but need the experience and benefits it offers. I'm young, no kids, no significant ohter at the time. I want to do so much!! That's what's great about nursing. I think travel nursing would be cool, but I know I don't have the experience required yet. I am also very very interested in forensic nursing, however not as a SANE and the job opps don't really appear to be plentiful lol. I want to travel and I want to go back to school (I know, I want to do a lot, right?). Anywho, I am seriously considering doing the Master's International program through the peace corps. As an FYI, the MI program is grad school for a year and then joining the peace corps for 27 months within your field, working there (actually volunteering) and gaining experience so when you come back, you have your MSN. I've always been interested in working with those with HIV/AIDS, I don't know why but it's something I've always wanted to be involved with. I felt this way, I could get my taste if that field, travel and get my MSN.

Anywho, has anyone done the MI program or at least worked with the Peace Corps? The only school that offers the MI program in nursing is George Mason University in VA, which I am so willing to relocate, I need a change of scenery (from relatively small and boring town in MA lol). I would love to get some experience in the ED while living in Virginia. I was planning on working at the hospital for one year for the experience and then move.

I don't know if I'm taking on too much or what. I thought maybe upon my return I could do some forensic work. I was thinking of starting some online courses now but I asked myself if it would be a waste if I'm possibly moving out of the country for two years. My head is so full of ideas right now. I really need to do something else beside what I'm doing bc I'm just not all that happy. And it's not nursing and there's nothing wrong with rehab or where I work, it's just not a great fit for me.

Any words of advice would be great, I really don't have anyone to talk to about this stuff, everyone tells me I'm crazy for wanting to do so much. Maybe I am, but if the opportunity is knocking, shouldn't I answer?

[barbyann]

I think the MI program sounds like the adventure you are looking for. You are young and not tied down, now is the time to throw caution to the wind. I would suggest you contact at least two people who are recent grads of the program and get a first hand account of what you are in for.

You owe it to yourself to thoroughly investigate this option. If it doesn't work out start looking under a different rock. An itchy soul needs to be scratched!

[JCCCNurseGrrl]

My advice is to do it! I had a similar opportunity with Americorps a couple years ago, and it CHANGED MY LIFE! Think about it - it's not like you're going to ever regret it, right? And you'll learn sooo much!

[AWanderingMinstral]

Howdy! I served in the Peace Corps in Togo, a tiny country in West Africa, as a community health volunteer. I returned to my hometown and attended nursing school. I am now applying to both MPH and MSN/MPH programs for September 2009. I have considered applying to the MI program to gain additional international experience AND earn a master's degree. However, as you said, there aren't very many nursing programs that participate. In addition, I didn't want to spend, full-time, one to two years on coursework and another 27 months in the Peace Corps. I simply cannot go THAT long without an income.

I have decided to apply to one or two MPH programs in global health that require up to one term of international study. In addition, I am also applying to the U.S. Public Health Service. While it's largely a domestic program, I imagine you can develop contacts that may open doors abroad.

Good luck and feel free to PM me with any further questions.

[nursern07]

I know what you mean about going that long without income. I looked more into the program and it seems as though a major program they want you to get into is health administration, which is so NOT what I want to do. I'm so confused about everything. I hear these great stories about new grads or nurses with little experience or even nurses who have been in one specialty for years starting in a new specialty. Everywhere I look says "needs experience." This in itself is frustrating. I love my residents at my SNF, but I want something a little more exciting while I'm still young lol. I keep going back and forth between different things. I really need to do something. I am still considering the Peace Corps, it's really something I think will satisfy this urge I'm having to do something, but I don't think I'm going to do the MI program. It's what to do after that I'm wondering about.

I still am interested in forensics, but I'm so worried I'll spend all this money on school and not be able to find a job. I have absolutely no connections. I was Googling Massachusetts and internships with the ME dept and I can't find a thing! I was looking into online programs but will I get the education I really need? Will all my questions going to be answered if I email my Prof? What about field experience? With an online program, is there any??

What I'm worried about the most is my loans. Apparently, private loans (like MEFA) aren't eligible for deferment... what am I supposed to do? I need to do something, everyone says go for it, but it really isn't that easy.

I also own a condo, but my mother says she can rent it out for me, so that at least isn't weighing on my mind, but the loans. My mother can't pay them while I'm away for two years. Any advice from someone who had loans and then joined?

Sorry for my melancholy rant and thanks for reading lol

[AWanderingMinstral]

I know what you mean about going that long without income. I looked more into the program and it seems as though a major program they want you to get into is health administration, which is so NOT what I want to do. I'm so confused about everything. I hear these great stories about new grads or nurses with little experience or even nurses who have been in one specialty for years starting in a new specialty. Everywhere I look says "needs experience." This in itself is frustrating. I love my residents at my SNF, but I want something a little more exciting while I'm still young lol. I keep going back and forth between different things. I really need to do something. I am still considering the Peace Corps, it's really something I think will satisfy this urge I'm having to do something, but I don't think I'm going to do the MI program. It's what to do after that I'm wondering about.

I still am interested in forensics, but I'm so worried I'll spend all this money on school and not be able to find a job. I have absolutely no connections. I was Googling Massachusetts and internships with the ME dept and I can't find a thing! I was looking into online programs but will I get the education I really need? Will all my questions going to be answered if I email my Prof? What about field experience? With an online program, is there any??

What I'm worried about the most is my loans. Apparently, private loans (like MEFA) aren't eligible for deferment... what am I supposed to do? I need to do something, everyone says go for it, but it really isn't that easy.

I also own a condo, but my mother says she can rent it out for me, so that at least isn't weighing on my mind, but the loans. My mother can't pay them while I'm away for two years. Any advice from someone who had loans and then joined?

Sorry for my melancholy rant and thanks for reading lol

Where to begin? Well, forensics and global health are quite different fields. My general impression is that global health focuses more on health promotion and prevention. I imagine that has much more to do with cost (it's cheaper and more feasible, in developing countries, to make efforts to prevent HIV, for example, than it is to treat it). So, are you interested in health education? As a Peace Corps volunteer focused on community health, you will spend the bulk of your time on health education projects. The beauty of the Peace Corps is that the sky's the limit. No one is really dictating what you have to do. One of the volunteers started a non-profit called Hope Through Health (check it out at http://www.hthglobal.org). As for student loans, I'm not sure which ones can and cannot be deferred in a program like the Peace Corps. All of mine were government loans and they qualified. If you cannot defer your student loans and you want to still work abroad, consider a one-year master's in public health program. I know that Johns Hopkins has one and, while it's competitive to gain entry and expensive, their reputation is stellar.

As for career advice, I highly recommend you contact a professor with advanced degrees. One of my RN-to-BSN professors gave me a lot of career advice this summer and that has helped me figure out what my next move will be.

Good luck and feel free to write again!