Husband wants to be a nurse????

hypnotic_nurse · Oct 13, 2004

My brother-in-law had a degree in "management" and the best he could do was managing restaurants. He went to nursing school and now works with computers (as a nurse). He makes very good money and really enjoys it.

If your husband wants to work and just can't find anything with the degree that he has, he may very well enjoy one of the areas he could work in as a nurse. But maybe you should have him shadow a nurse so he can see what he'd have to get through in school and where he might have to work for awhile. :)

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 13, 2004

I would tell him to shadow some nurses to see what they REALLY do and then decide if it's really for him.

harley_fan · Oct 13, 2004

I had already suggested following a nurse for a shift to get a better feel of what it's like to stand on your feet for 12 hours, deal w/family members, change pads, empty commodes, deal w/doctors, etc. He told me that he doesn't need to. I feel like I am being completely negative towards him, but there is so much more to nursing than hours and pay!!

Thanks for the input!

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2004

There are jobs out there for nurses through insurance companies, factories, large companies have nurses on duty for their staff. I wouldnt completely discount his consideration of going into nursing. It could be a potentially lucrative move on his part. Encourage him if he is having difficulty finding work otherwise suitable. Maybe he is on to something.

Maybe he could shadow a nurse in a factory setting doing workmans comp cases, occupational nursing, nursing in correctional facilities. It might be right up his alley if hospital nursing isnt his thing.

dansamy · Oct 13, 2004

With his business degree plus an RN, he could get into a lot of nice corporate jobs. I think it's a smart decision on his part.

explorer · Oct 13, 2004

I had already suggested following a nurse for a shift to get a better feel of what it's like to stand on your feet for 12 hours, deal w/family members, change pads, empty commodes, deal w/doctors, etc. He told me that he doesn't need to. I feel like I am being completely negative towards him, but there is so much more to nursing than hours and pay!!
Thanks for the input!

With his Business Administration degree and an RN BSN he might be able to be an administrator in a LTC Facility.

:balloons:

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Oct 13, 2004

With his Business Administration degree and an RN BSN he might be able to be an administrator in a LTC Facility.
:balloons:

I agree with the BA/BSN comments of everyone. My concern is "how old is he"? Not that he would be too old to go to school (I was 46) but would he have enough years left to work afterwards to make it worth the 3 year sacrifice? I went back to school because I wanted to prove to myself that I could get a degree and wanted to show my children the importance of having a degree. I have never regretted a day. I love nursing ! It can be very frustraiting like any job but the rewards are tremendous! I think he'll find out soon enough when classes start if nursing is for him. Surely he won't have to start from scratch. History, English and all that rot should follow him from his BA.

angel337, MSN, RN · Oct 13, 2004

there are a lot of nursing jobs that don't include the bedpans, commodes and patient lifting all day. maybe your husband knows this and this is why he is pursuing the profession. i know quite a few people that graduated from my program and stepped right into nontraditional nursing jobs without the bedside experience. sometimes it is hard to get those positions without a couple years clinical experience but it can be done. depending on where you live the opportunities are endless. i don't think you are being unrealistic because most people have to do bedside before they can do anything else, but his bachelors degree will help him. i understand his frustration with having a degree that hasn't really worked for him yet (i've been there) so i say just support his efforts, everything else will fall into place :)

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2004

HarleyFan: I feel your pain. Although my husband has had a great job in a hard-to-find field (outdoor education) for 20 years, he has frequently suffered bouts of career envy. He has a master's degree in education but has variously wanted to pursue plumbing, being a chef...you name it.

I'm a career changer myself so I've always let him know that if he's serious, I'm with him 100%. I drew up a list of benefits and drawbacks to each. One year he took his entire 3 week vacation in a plumbing apprentice program. He's taken a few culinary courses at a local college. Each time, he says he has realized he's better off keeping his current job and viewing the other as a hobby.

It has always been hard for me see nursing as a profession removed from body fluids and patient contact. I have such a job now but it took me 20 years of patient care experience to get it. Many people in my nursing class washed out after the clinical realities. If he does follow through, the prospect of the better money and benefits may or may not get him through his first colostomy bag change. I hope he picks a program where clinical training comes earlier rather than later.

You have my understanding and my sympathies. Best wishes to you and your family.

palesarah · Oct 13, 2004

offhand- my dad surprised my entire family by applying for and enrolling in an ADN nursing program alongside my older sister (who was also a second career learner) at the age of 49. It wasn't such a drastic change- he had been working in community mental health as a case manager- but he had never really told any of us why he decided to do it. My sister had always wanted to be a nurse, but life had gotten in the way. But my dad? Total surprise.

Now, he's a great nurse whose patients love him, and it was his success that encouraged me to become a nurse.

Maybe it's different with your husband, but maybe it's not that different. Guys are so hard to figure out! Good luck to you both

EwwThat'sNasty · Oct 13, 2004

Simple answer. Have him get a job as an LNA. This is easy enough, and with a bit of a look anywhere, many places will do the training for free (but watch for commitments). By the time the training is over, and he has the LNA he has gained a few and, I think, important things.

He will (or maybe not) have survived a C. difficile day.... and had his share of vomit and other neat things that we (especially LNA's) find. If this is a big turn-off he might decide to become a nuclear physicist or male belly dancer or something. Three years will have been saved.

Now, I don't suggest that he work as an LNA for a long time. By the time he has the LNA license he could simply stop, that's cool. Or, he could then take the LNA to a Hospital (from the free nursing home licensing course). Here, he would most likely quickly rise into EKG, CPM or whatever, adding a new dimension beyond Code Brown.

Then...said hospital is likely to be quite willing to send him to school at their expense. But...RN or LPN? I suggest LPN. Why? Because he knows what it's like to BE an LNA.... and by being an LPN he will develop an understanding of the LPN's point of view. And, by the way, the same hospital that welcomed him as the new LPN will be quite happy to pay for the summer transitional, and the next two semesters required to sit for the NCLEX RN exam.

By now he is very sure as to such questions as: Is he a hands-on patient care sort of guy. Or...has he found the excitement of the ER, and been attracted to it, or is he a "procedure and 'machine'" person. Or does the whole thing bite?

Were I to do it all again I'd follow this route. LNA's and LPN's can be murderous to a male nurse who doesn't know elementals such as which end is up on the bedpan,? or now...how do you ambulate Ms. Largebottom properly.

Miss these essentials and miss the comfort zone, I think.

And why three years anyway? BN's aren't worth much more than an associate's degree RN. In many places there is no differential. If he already has a non-nursing BS then jump into a BSx/RN to Masters program. They are abundant, his hospital will pay most of the way, and many programs have funds from the re-investment act for the last year.

Alternatives are: Sonography, Radiology tech, CTtech, and others. Big demand, big pay, and one or two year programs.

Just some thoughts.