Help! Need career advice!

[Gaby1985]

Hello everyone,

I am brand new to allnurses.com. First and foremost, I would like to say that I have much respect for all nurses and healthcare professionals out there :) I truly admire all the work that you do. Secondly, I would really like some advice regarding a nursing career. I've been somewhat stressed for the past few weeks trying to figure out my life in my head and also, would really appreciate suggestions and calrifications.

I am currently in my second year of graduate school in a Master's of Public Health Program and will graduate next May. I have an undergraduate degree (BS) in Health Science. For about a year now, I have had nursing in the back of my mind, but never actually did anything proactive about it. I am currently a health educator for a non-profit organization. I enjoy health education, community health and health promotion. I love the fact that I am able to work full time and luckily, my supervisor and overall organization is flexible in allowing me to adjust my schedule according to my school responsibilites. Anyway, for the last 6 months or so I've been looking to see what kinds of other jobs are out there so that I can get an idea of what to expect when I graduate. I have noticed that many of the positions I have been drawn to require at least an RN. Positions such as health educator in a hospital or clinical setting, infection control or even program coordinator for health-related initiatives.

I am passionate about public health and I really enjoy the diversity and flexiblity of the field. I can't picture myself doing anything else! However, I've also realized that nursing shares the same diversity as public health. With nursing one is not limited to only work one on one with patients or at a hospital. There are many other opportunities and options that nursing offers. With that being said, I think that having an MPH along with an RN would really benefit me and make me a more well-rounded public health professional. However, I do have some concerns and questions for those of you that are experienced in nursing. First, I've been coming across many "accelerated nursing programs" at the master's level. Cal state Long Beach and UCLA offer a 3 year RN to MSN program for those of us who do not have previous nursing experience. The thought of it kind of scares me just because it is difficult for me to imagine being thrown in a clinical setting and learning everything there is to learn about nursing in 3 years, on top of taking the required courses. Versus someone who let's say has had their RN for at least 2 years and then applied to a BSN program? Thoughts and opinions about this?

Additionally, I've heard that an MSN is mainly for those nurses who plan on teaching in the future or who want to be a Nurse Practitioner or who want to be in more administrative positons? Is this really the case? I am going to begin taking the prerequisite courses (micro, A&P etc.) in the fall so that I can get those done as soon as possible. Since I plan on doing mainly public health/community health work do you think that an accelrated MSN program would be the way to go? Or do you suggest working towards an RN instead? What about a BSN? I apolgize for the super long post and all the questions! I just want to make sure I make the right decision and that I know what I will get myself into. I would really appreciate some feedback! Thanks in advance!