considering nursing, part-time, nontraditional roles?

[lauramomof4]

Hi, I'm new here. There's so much to read and although there's a lot of posts that look really helpful, I was wondering if some of you would be willing to tell me your opinion about my own specific situation.

I have a bachelor's degree in education and when my son with special needs (second child) was born 17 years ago, I was substitute teaching, just getting started in my career, but I needed and wanted to look at opportunities to work from home because of his complex medical needs (he's been through 20+ surgeries, he has a genetic syndrome, learning disabilities, a lot... but doing great!). Teaching had been my second choice and I liked it fine but not really my passion. I followed my interest for the medical field and went back to school to do medical transcription.

I have been doing MT for close to that amount of time now, and it's been a wonderful career for me. The whole MT field though has really been going down the tubes. Over the past 15 years, my pay has stayed the same and now even decreased and it's that way pretty much across the board for us (read at MTStars.com and it would give you a pretty accurate picture, it's grim).

I have found myself at the age of 43 needing to look at other options once again, and nursing has always been in the back of my mind (actually ever since I was a little girl). BUT, I have some concerns.

I LOVE the flexibility and ability to work from home that MT has given me. From what I see of nursing, especially hospital nursing, it's really become pressured and quite grueling. I was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago, and I really need a job that offers flexibility. I have managed my MS well but I struggle with very severe fatigue on some days and I have a lot of trouble focusing. It's very up and down and it's unpredictable. There's no way I could go to full-time nursing and working 12-hour days, etc. I graduated from college with honors, have always been an excellent student, and a high achiever, so this has been really hard for me. :-(

What I would love to do is have a more respected credential and a degree in the healthcare field that would allow me to work at something part time or p.r.n. so I can at least have the safety net of knowing I'm not going to have to worry about starving, but the rest of the time to be able to work in more of a self-employed capacity helping people with their health through things like nutrition and exercise and I'm very interested in the concept of wellness coaching (or also I think something that would be an excellent fit is something along the lines of patient advocacy, etc. if that makes any sense... having had a special needs child and a chronic medical condition myself, I think I have a good background).

Nursing seems to make the most sense to me. Nurses will always be needed, it's a versatile and compared to MT, a potentially well-paying career. I think I could make it through school but it would be very difficult. I have 2 other kids, we homeschool our son, I am the main breadwinner for the family, and I have MS. I feel overwhelmed, and I am concerned about getting in over my head. Academically, I think I have a great background and I think I would do well, but it's all the other life issues that worry me.

I could go to community college and the tuition for an ASN/RN would be around 6,000 dollars, which I do not feel would be too much of a risk. I know there are not as many options without a BSN, but do you think my goals would be realistic? Or would I have to just pretty much count on getting out, working whatever shift is available, most like 12-hour shifts and full time?

The other consideration I had was choosing massage therapy and combining it with a master's in holistic health or nutrition. I think it's a wonderful healing modality and they have the potential to have quite a lot of independence, but I would be more inclined to think of an RN as a trusted health advisor (as in wellness coach or natural health consulting) than a massage therapist if that makes sense.

I know there's a lot of options in nursing, but how much does the experience factor matter, and how many options really for someone who is a new graduate, or for someone like me?

I would love for you to share your opinions or advice. Thanks ahead of time so much.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Best wishes to you as map out a plan! It sounds like you will work something out! You say you've been in MT, maybe also look into other areas in Health Information Management. Working with information can sometimes better allow for working around bad days than working in a hands-on clinical capacity.

Much of the opportunity and flexibility in nursing comes from one's experience working as a nurse, as opposed to just having the license. The skills and knowledge required by those opportunities often come from specific work experience, not just nursing school. New grads are often strongly recommended to work a few years full time in an acute care setting to build the skills and experience for which nurses are valued. Nursing school really only introduces you to nursing and gives you the license to *start* practice. Strong assessment skills, clinical judgement, prioritization, working with physicians - these can only be developed with more time and experience and exposure than nursing school alone provides. There are roles for nurses that do not require acute care experience, but just be aware that not having solid acute care work experience does *limit* the scope of flexibility and opportunity for which nursing is known.

[lauramomof4]

I might consider other areas of HIM but I think I'm hoping to do something more people oriented.... but you are exactly right that it is working around the bad days that I'm concerned about. Thanks for your insight into this. I am thinking that nursing might be too demanding of a roundabout way for me to get to where I really want to be, which is not in full-time nursing; it's more in alternative/complementary health. I know the therapeutic massage curriculum and hours would not be as stressful overall, and I might be able to combine it with a master's in a field related but not the same, specifically I think exercise and/or nutrition. A nursing background would be helpful, but not the only way to get there.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I would advise you to move in another direction rather than nursing - for a couple of reasons. Nursing education is an intense experience that can be very stressful and requires physical exertion that can be strenuous. This situation would certainly not be a healthy one for you. Secondly, new grads need to be employed full time in order to become fully proficient. Organizations won't hire new grads into part-time positions because it would just not be practical ... it would take forever to get up to speed.