I'm a pre-nursing student and I'm trying to figure out if nursing is right for me. I have been a massage therapist for 5 years and I love it. Unfortunately, the area I live in is saturated with therapists and it's hard to make a living at it. I also work as an elderly caregiver, working mostly with people with dementia or at hospice levels. I love helping people in any capacity and I have a passion for anything health related.
I grew up in a family that was very health conscious/holistic. We believe that vaccines and medications in general are not great and often harmful and we have no faith in the FDA. We know that the best way to be be healthy is to eat organic non-processed foods and being active.... to avoid microwaves, plastics, msg, artificial sweeteners, aluminum antiperspirants, sodium laurel sulfate, etc.. We practice Reiki and use aromatherapy or a little pot if we are in pain. I'm going into specifics to try and paint a picture instead of just saying 'I'm holistic'. I should also say I'm not an extremist with these beliefs/knowledge, but I do try to generally follow these guidelines to be healthy and proactive.
For a few years now, I have also been in the role of patient advocate for a couple of family members with their many health issues. Our journey has made my family's confidence in the Western health system plummet. My grandmother's kidney dr. told her that it was not important to drink water. Her lung dr. gave her an inhaler that is not meant for people with high blood pressure, even though she has that condition. It sent her into seizures and to the ER. We saw him at a follow up appt and he offered her another inhaler that he assured her would be okay... when we got it home, I read the pamphlet, and again he had given us one not meant for people with hight bp. Her neuro dr. put her on a medication for epilepsy... she has seizures occasionally, due to a chemical exposure, not epilepsy. The meds aged her 20 years within a week. She slept 15 hrs a day, couldn't take care of herself anymore and her hair started falling out. When we spoke to the dr., I told her we wanted to wean her off the meds. She tried to use fear to keep my grandma on them... We finally got the doc's okay after arguing and then low and behold, she got better and thankfully can take care of herself again. I could go on and on about the incompetence of messed up paper work for important blood tests for another family member and how we had to figure out the diagnoses for her ourselves, because teams of drs. did nothing.
All of this lit a fire under me. I wanted to change the system from the inside. I wanted to become a Doctor of Osteopathic medicine so that I could be a primary care provider, educate people on preventative health and help to slow down the over medicating of people. I wanted to be a DO so I would still be in the Western medicine system, but have an education that was more preventative/holistic-minded. I started on that path last year and then did the math ... I am 28 now and I would be 41 by the time I got out of residency. I decided I didn't want to spend my entire 30's broke, stressed and unable to reasonably consider starting a family. I re-evaluated and decided that becoming a nurse and eventually a nurse practitioner would get me to the same primary care role. I also like the flexibility to work 3 or 4 days a week as an RN and ultimately I would have much of the direct patient care that I enjoy.
My concern is that, as an RN, I may end up butting heads with drs. and nurses that are very 'traditional western medicine minded' in the process of trying to help people. I know that overall the system is becoming steadily more accepting of 'alternative' or 'natural' medicine, but I'm still not sure I'll fit in okay. Even though I'm not a fan of vaccines, as a nurse, I understand that it will be my job to give those to people and I am okay with that. In that role, I don't believe it is my duty to share my opinions/knowledge as to why that is not great... that is what the NPs or drs are for. When and if I become an NP in primary care, that is where it is my duty to offer up that information to educate my patients. I am not against all meds. There are definitely times where they are appropriate, but the prescribing doc should take a moment to make sure the meds don't conflict and that there isn't a simpler option available. I would however, have trouble serving the horrible hospital 'food' to sick patients. Chicken boullion with msg, sugary jello and other things with minimal nutritional value... We're trying to heal people, but aren't giving them nutritious foods to heal with.
I help my elderly folks with toileting and bathing with no problems. I love helping people feel better, and educating on health issues. I feel drawn to share the knowledge I have and want to help prevent the overwhelming errors I've seen. I'm sorry this post is sooo long, but I wanted to paint a full picture of who I am and what is motivating me.
So I guess my question is, if I go into nursing, I am going to be the odd duck out and be frustrated by everything I see? I don't want to spend my career biting my tongue. Are any of you similar to me in beliefs and how are you doing in this work environment? Are there certain areas of nursing that may be a better fit for me than others? In addition to primary care, I'm interested in L/D, urgent care, women's care, NICU, home care and hospice. I am in the Northern Colorado area and I know location can have a lot to do with the environments. Where I am it seems to be a little progressive, but not as much as a place like Boulder.
Thanks so much for your time and any advice you can offer me.
