How many of you have a spouse also in the medical field?

Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

My hubby is a nurse and a OTR truck driver of over 20 years. We met working at a LTC while we were both LPNs. He now has his RN. He runs absolute circles around me in nursing, but he cannot top my documentation. That's my only thing I think I probably have on him.

He was inspired to go to nursing school (before we got together) by a male RN who was taking apparently fabulous care of his dad in the hospital.

He is a LTC nurse and a really, really good one, IMO.

I know he misses driving sometimes, but the hours and the aching that go along with it are the things he doesn't miss at all. It may be different if we didn't have young children, but the working hours are a strong factor for us, too.

I love talking shop with hubby. I also understand the demands of his job. It helps!

Maybe your hubby should go job shadowing, if possible, to see what's involved in the fields he is interested in.

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Jul 21, 2009

Yeah, I enrolled him in an intro course for both rad tech and resp therapist this fall. We'll see. I'm hoping he'll meet someone he can shadow or they will take them to a hospital to experience what it's like. I always tell him that regardless of opportunity there's no point spending a lot of school for a job you hate. : )

I see I'm not the only nurse married to a former truck driver. He had to quit because he ended up with psoriatic arthritis & on disability. He's much better now though.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 21, 2009

my husband is an rn -- i met him when we were both working icu/ccu together.

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Jul 21, 2009

nice, talk about the ability to relate about one's day!

GOMER42 · Jul 21, 2009

Radiation therapists (cancer treatment, not X-ray) and Nuclear medicine technologists make a good living (more than RNs). One career that I wish I'd known about before nursing is the Perfusion technologists. There are some Bachelors programs for this throughout the country, but these people start out making 80-90K!

Congrats on finishing nursing school and good luck to your hubby in choosing a path.

southernbeegirl, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2009

so many people that have spouses that are NOT in the medical field have to suffer when the spouse has no idea what the other does. i have a friend whose husband is forever saying "why are you so tired? all you do is sit on your butt all day"

one day we are going to introduce him to the trusty wood chipper, lol.

J9G2008 · Jul 21, 2009

So funny you should post this! My hubby recently was laid off, but has been in a midlife crisis as to what he should be when he grows up. We are having this discussion right now.

He is looking at being a paramedic, but I don't know how much room for advancement there is in that field. (Not that there isn't-I just don't know it well enough.)

Keep the suggestions coming-there are more of us looking to find cool jobs in healthcare besides RNs!

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 21, 2009

My wife is a dietitian, and played a major role in my decision to pursue nursing as a second career.

NurseBlueBear · Jul 21, 2009

I guess I am an exception. My hubby is not, and has no interest in entering, the medical field. He is the lead tech at an auto shop. He is as good with cars and engines as I am at what I do. We have a mutual respect for what the other person does. We are both always on the run at work and when we get home we just want to relax with the kids. We do our best to keep our work at work. I am fine with that, but to each their own.

Christen, ANP · Jul 21, 2009

My hubby was a medical technologist and now he's in PA school! We actually got to work at the same facility for a while, which was really nice. Now that he's in PA school, well, we definitally have some interesting, in depth conversations! We both have pretty firm opinions in some things. :)

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Jul 21, 2009

I guess I am an exception. My hubby is not, and has no interest in entering, the medical field. He is the lead tech at an auto shop. He is as good with cars and engines as I am at what I do. We have a mutual respect for what the other person does. We are both always on the run at work and when we get home we just want to relax with the kids. We do our best to keep our work at work. I am fine with that, but to each their own.

I don't think you are the exception at all! Most of my co-workers have spouses in other fields. My husband has the issue of being a completely opposite schedule from me, (I work nights/most weekends) and when he had a job, he worked days. It's not an issue of wanting to come home and discuss our work, except for the occaisional day from h***. For us it's the issue of maybe actually coming home and getting to see each other for more than 5 minutes a day. What other fields have the same flexibility where he could work the same sort of hours as me? (I'm a night owl and happen to love nights). Perhaps I just haven't found that life/work balance, but I can't give up sleep to spend time with him as I would be non-functional as a nurse. But as it is he can no longer be a truck driver so I am solely looking for suggestions and to see what nurses & their spouses do.

We're looking in the long-run so that he takes classes and eventually ends up in a career that allows him similar flexibility of shifts as me.