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Discussion

Help with decididing the future

I am currently an OR nurse I did spend some time on the floor (four months) but I decided inpatient and anything to do with acute care is not for me because I was afraid I would miss something and the patient would die . I like the outpatient atmosphere, but sometimes miss giving meds. I have a BSN and am thinking of going to graduate school because my employer will pay for it, but am having a hard time deciding what will fit my personality and give me the most options if I change my mind and want to switch jobs. I have thought about NP and Educator. I do not have the personality for a nurse manager, but would be interested in administrative work, can anyone give me some ideas of what I could do with my MSN?

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    Hi,

    It sounds to me like you're ambivalent about going to back to school. I don't think you should go back just because your employer will pay for it. You should go back because you want to do something else entirely or something more with nursing. Otherwise, you're going to hate every minute of it.

    Are you unhappy or unsatisfied with what you're doing now? Would you like to be more involved in direct patient care, or work in nurse education/administration? When you say you're interested in working in an outpatient setting, what do you mean by that?? Does a job in research or managing clinical trials intrigue you? I think these questions need to be explored before you start an MSN or other graduate degree. It can be difficult to change tracks once you start a grad program as oftentimes credits won't transfer between programs or schools. Are there any MSNs at your hospital (NPs, CRNAs, CNSs, CNLs) that you could talk to or shadow? Doing so would give you a better view as to what you might like to do.

    Good luck!

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    Thanks for your reply. I am ready for a change that is for sure I would like to take advantage of going to school but do not know what for. I do not think I could be a CRNA it seems boring with a lot of liabilty. I wish I knew more about the NP role outside a hospital setting because that is where I would probably want to work also I was thinking of education I have always been interested in staff development, but do not know how I would get in this area. Would it be wise to go with the NP that way I would have the education to teach.

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    I work as an FNP in a community health center and my job is 100% direct patient care-diagnosing, treating, and educating patients with acute and chronic illnesses. I really enjoy it, and have grown more comfortable with the level of responsibility and autonomy I have. I'm still scared of missing something when I see patients (I've only been an NP for 8 months), and I don't think that ever totally goes away. Fortunately, I have great colleagues to bounce things off of and never feel that I'm in it alone. If this type of work appeals to you, you might want to research NP programs. There are lots of NPs here that have various types of jobs and experiences, and most do involve direct patient care. The CNS and CNL programs prepare you more for staff development/management roles. Nurse educators are greatly needed also. All of the NPs who taught didactic classes at my school were also PhDs, but NPs do teach clinical classes and precept students. There's lots of options out there!

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    The CNS and CNL programs prepare you more for staff development/management roles. Nurse educators are greatly needed also. There's lots of options out there!

    Can someone tell me if the nurse educator is and MSN in education? Thanks in advance!

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