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Epona · Mar 2, 2006

hi there! I am thinking about cardiac nursing myself. I am considering nursing school. I have a few questions that perhaps you can shed some light on...

I really love to help people and think I would be a great nurse. I already have a degree in Communications and Biology with a concentration in pre-med. Here is my dilmma... I am afraid of getting an infectious disease as a nurse. I worked as a medical writer for a hospital a few years back and never thought anything about working with doctors or patients. Well, I came down with a very rare disease (I am better now, but took 4 YEARS to get over), that my doctor thinks I contracted while working in the hospital. I was around docs and patients all the time just doing my job and BOOM... I got some weird and very sickening illness. One day I was fine, the next... on LIFE SUPPORT. It took me YEARS to recover and thank God I lived at home or I would have lost everything!! Anyway, I have always loved medicine and love to make a difference in people's lives...but how risky is it to get a deadly disease?? Stuck with a dirty needle??

Also... can nurses were whites (like a while lab coat) or is that primarily for just the doctors?

And... do nurses get any breaks when on duty??

Thanks and I really appreciate the advice here!!! Epona

SmilingBluEyes · Mar 3, 2006

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Marylou1102 · Mar 3, 2006

Welcome to the site. You will learn a lot from all the experience within.

shastacicuRN · Mar 8, 2006

Hi Epona;

Sorry to hear you got an infectious disease after working in a hospital a few years ago. As nurses we take our chances with disease. Universal precautions and good hand washing is so important in protecting a nurse and others from disease..I did catch Pneumonia from a patient many years ago, but that is about all I can think of or know of ,that I caught from a patient..... If you are interested in going into nursing, go for it! It has been a good career for me. Tho, at 50 years old, I am beginning to slow down a bit.... and must pace myself.....the aches and pains...come and go.....especially after a busy work week!

Yes, nurses can wear just about anything, they want. Just depends on the dress code of the hospital you work in... ours is pretty open.

Yes, we get breaks. In the Cardiac care unit, our charge nurse relieves us, and is very good about breaks. We get two 15 minutes in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. California has that special break law.....the hospital has to pay us for missed breaks..... when I float up to the regular floors, then it is harder to get breaks and there isn't anyone to relieve you as much. Getting a buddy to watch your patients is about the only way.. and I find, I don't get all my breaks on the regular floor.....cuz there isn't enough time to get everything done....... all in all things even out and work out... take care! Best wishes and nice to meet you.

sharann, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2006

Welcome to the boards! I personally get alot more than I give here and I really like this site. There are alot of subspecialty forums to choose from and someone is bound to know the answer somewhere. Great for people to support eachother.