This may be in a thread somewhere but I am curious... How long have you been a nurse? What degrees/certifications do you hold? Would you do it all again if you had the chance?
I'll start! I've been a nurse for 15 years and I have my BSN +my School Nurse certification. I am contemplating going back for my MSN but I'm not sure it is worth it!
I don't know how to be anything other than a nurse and I'm not sure I would want to be anything else :) but I'm not sure I would do all the schooling again! I would have to find another way to become a nurse lol
LVN in 2005, ADN in 2007. I started to work as an LVN at our County Jail - hated it, but am grateful for the experience - I learned alot, had an awesome RN manager that kindof took me under his wing. That job only lasted about 6 months, I then started to work in an Urgent Care clinic - did that until I was accepted into LVN-RN program. Did some Private Home Health during the LVN-RN program since that worked best with my school schedule at the time.
When I finished the ADN program - I did 2 years Pediatrics in a hospital setting and started to sub as a school nurse on the side. Once I got my 2 years of experience I started to apply for FT school nurse positions. Fall 2009 I was hired as the district PT Flex nurse then half way thru the 2010-11 school year I landed my own elementary school and have been here since. I do some Private Home Health on the side - mostly in the summer and occasional weekend day here and there - I only work with one family, I have been with them for 6 years now, parents have become great friends.
I love working as a school nurse and wouldn't trade it for anything - my youngest is graduating this year, I always thought I would go back to the hospital but I love my schedule. I do admit to missing working on the floor, I miss seeing new stuff and working with a great team of nurses.
The only thing I wish I could change about my career choice is that I wish I had my act together after I graduated from High school - graduate with my BSN then keep going to school for NP. I went back to school in my late 30's and feel I am to old or maybe just don't have that desire any more and would rather travel.... especially since I am so close to not having children at home anymore - I really am looking forward to me time and being an empty nester :)
I graduated with my ADN in 2011. I was a pediatric triage nurse in private practice for two years, and have been a school nurse for 3. I'd love to get my MSN and teach nursing school, but I have a kid starting college in 3 years. I'd also love to be a SAHM, but that's not an option, either.
I have a BA in Liberal Arts, and completed an Alternative Teacher Certification program in 2002 (I taught for 8 years). I am currently in another certification program to teach the high school health science classes. I think I'd really love working with high school kids, and I miss teaching.
Been a nurse since the mid 90s. Did it bass ackwards and got my BA in Psych first, then went back and got my ADN. I am Certified in Med Surg and spent most of my career at the bedside, working Md Surg, Onc, Neuro, Tele and ED. Adults, not Peds.
Also worked Employee Health and OBGYN Clinic my last few years at the hospital. Those last 2 jobs, and Onc are my favorite areas. I've been in management, and I hate it.
Now I work as a SN, and HH as a per diem.
I would stay a nurse, just maybe would have gone back for Psych NP when my kids were little. Really, I have no regrets about my career. I like where I am, and I can look at myself in the mirror every day and know I've helped at least 1 person. That's purdy cool.
In college I was a music major (piano performance) since I've played since I was 4 and always loved it. So I was music-pre vet. Then I let someone talk me out of it, when it was actually my choice in the end, because of the sheer difficulty of getting in, even if you made great grades. So I switched to pre-med. That was all well and good until I hit physics...man, did that class suck the life out of my soul. I made it till the final drop-by date and left it because, while the chemistry and biology etc were tough, if I worked my ass off, I made good grades. It just wasn't going to happen with physics.
The only thing that stayed the same was my music. Practicing 5-6 hour a day, orchestra practice (for flute, percussion), handbell choir, choir, plays, concerts, and music classes? That was my life and what made me the most happy (even when I was incredibly frustrated haha). My parents, though, said I'd better come up with an escape plan financially because, while they were the ones who drug me up to that private college in the first place, the loans were piling up and teaching piano/music wouldn't cut it. Assuming I wanted to teach, which I didn't.
Then came nursing school...I (stupidly) figured, "how hard can it be?" cause some of my mom's friends were nurses and they, to be honest, didn't appear to be too bright. Keep in mind I was in my early 20s and silly...for all I knew, maybe they somehow came alive at work! So I said I'd do that, which made mom and dad happy, even though I didn't want to. It would be a job, after all.
I kept up with the music at the same time and that began the year I believe I nearly killed myself:eek: I was doing all that music stuff I've described (and more), plus working 15 hours a week, and nursing school. I had NO idea about the prep that went into clinicals and all the studying, but I was not going to drop the music so I barely slept at all that year (I think I was at 24-26 credits and I'd had to get special permission for that, for some reason).
I got lucky getting into the program (I don't know how, but there was no wait list waiting or lottery issues so maybe it was "meant to be") and after getting dropped by that program for not passing a couple classes, I had to go to another school to finish up. It all worked out and I was in my last couple weeks of school when I jokingly applied for my first job. I still remember the street I was driving on when I got the call from the manager asking when I could start (after a short phone interview). I didn't realize back then how incredibly lucky I'd had it thus far.
I started on Med-Surg/Onc and floated to post partum when I could since I was way more comfortable there because of how I grew up. Then moved to ICU after a little over a year and I've been doing that or PACU (in addition to post partum when I can) since then. I'm traveling now, and have been on and off for the past 3 years, and I'm done with it mentally, I'm just trying to find a staff job somewhere near my home.
Well, I was going to be an Art teacher. I was naturally gifted and even when I was really young, I was praised for my abilities. I was very proud of it... but I was always an underachiever and had no clue how to get what I wanted. I had no guidance. I was afraid of the world.
I was working retail when my best friend called me up and asked me to be a CNA with her and the rest is history. I started attending community college hoping to get myself back on track to be an Art teacher, but I somehow ended up as a nurse instead. I dunno...
So, I've worked with the geriatric population since I was 18 and it's all I really know. I was an exceptional CNA and am still growing stronger as a nurse, but I'm nothing special. I continue to study and teach myself something everyday because I enjoy it and want a better understanding of what I'm doing and why, but I have no desire to further my degree.
I've always wanted to teach CNA classes, but I need to work for insurance benefits and I can't see how I can fit that in. I don't even know if I would go over well as an instructor because my expectations would be too high. I love CNA's and I love teaching newbies, but I have been frustrated by the poor work ethic and lack of common sense which is far too much these days-- or so it seems. I hope that doesn't sound arrogant.
I find myself getting myself finally getting my creative juices back and in my off-time I have been working on getting my art skills back up to par. I miss that part of me
Sorry for the whine, time for a little cheese... because I'm a cheesy kinda gal and that's something to know about me, as well
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
*1971 Grad LPN at a school connected w/ hospital near Boston. Decided I needed to go work at the biggest, scariest place I could, so I wouldn't be afraid in my new work, which turned out to be MGH. Worked 3-11 w/ fresh spinal cord injuries under the doc who was a pioneer of halo frames...back when they were attached to plaster body casts! Unit also included Guilliane (sp)Barre, and Rheumatoid pts requiring surgeries on various joints, also post-burn psych pt's w/ grafts who were there because we had our own PT dept attached to that service. We had true Team Nsg, and every person, no matter what their role, was equally important. We wore culottes and polo shirts for modesty's sake. Great job; LOVED it! Got floated a few times to Neuro ICU (and refused floating to fresh Burns Unit, or Pediatrics, two services I can not and will not do!)
*Since then I have also worked (ahem:)
*3-11 charge and med nurse @ a Chronic Disease Hospital; several years later was charge and med nurse at a darling little 28 bed nursing home in a large 2 story house with a dumb-waiter which brought up 6 trays at a time from the basement kitchen, and occasionally crazy little giggling NA's! Interestingly enough, only two of the 28 patients were bed-bound.
*Moved to the suburbs and since away from public transportation (subway) I got my learner's permit, bought a car and got my driver's license , all within a 3 day period of time!
*Worked in a small community hospital north of Boston as Med Nurse and also had the opportunity to float to different services there and gain a lot more experience. Also did Team Nsg there w/ a great bunch of folks.
*After several years there I took my first PDN case which lasted another few years, until I fell in love with a man I'd known as a friend and correspondent for 5 years, and moved to TN in order for us to get married.
[broke up on Christmas Eve. Didn't get married. One of the BEST 'worse' things that ever happened for me!]
*Worked PD and HH and staff relief (at Vandy and other area hospitals in city and 'burbs)) via agency.
*Break from nsg: worked as The Animal Lady w/ orphaned baby creatures, sick and injured wildlife at a museum for a couple years; gave public "Animal Shows" with our live animal residents, some of whom got released, others were unable to be released. Also appeared on Local TV show w/ the critters. (...think Joan Embry who used to appear on the Tonight Show w/ animals.) It was a WONDERFUL job, but only paid $7/hr.
*Back to nursing, small hosp in spinal cord postop as Med nurse, 3-11, naturally!
*Moved to another state, went back to school ...not for nursing... worked part-time as PDN at that time. Could not decide between majors: English, (Head of Dept wanted me to go into MFA program); Art and Fine Arts Program, or Biology, et al, (so I could continue education and transfer to larger university w/ wildlife care in mind). Two years in I decided I didn't care a thing about a college degree.
*Back to nsg:
*Doc's office (the only job I grew to dislike in the extreme); then a large hosp on their float team, all services; supposed to be only part-time but I did 4-5 eight hour shifts a week, also 3-11. Worked CCU stepdown and med/surg/resp most of the time.
*Baylor W/E's in HH for 9 years and ADORED the job. Had a dog who accompanied me EVERYWHERE. He had a 4-county-wide fan base. This was before Therapy Dogs were a thing.
* When the HH agency folded, I went back to PDN.
* Eventually I had a stupid "Bright Idea" to go back and work LTC. Worst mistake I've ever made! After six months of trying to keep up with how LTC's make nurses wear 8 hats at once, I was sole nurse on a locked ward and in a buzz of confusion amidst 7 Alzheimer's patients, I misplaced 1/2 cc of a cream med applied to skin, which was on narc count. The DON turned me in to BoN. (!)
*Did the entire Ethics/Morals course for BoN ($500, long form paper addressing BoN, etc. etc.) Tried to find a job to be 'observed' at and work under an RN....supposed to be at a LTC again but the multiple, multiple, multiple job applications I submitted never rec'd ANY response.
* Did PD as a CNA to get by in the meantime, withe the same agency I started w/ when I moved here, thank God; they were people who knew me well and were familiar with me and my work ethic, and welcomed me back with open arms.
* When it came time to go before the BoN and have a hearing to have my license restored from probationary state, I tried to make arrangements to be able to make it to their office, an 8 hour drive away, for the hearing. NOTHING worked out, and I mean EVERYTHING I tried fell through. The 'Fates' were working against me at every turn.
It was so frustrating, embarrassing, humiliating; it took at least 2 & 1/2 years to get over the shame I felt.
*I decided that since I could not get to BoN to regain my license back, and since I could not find any job in nursing, AND because I really, really hated the way the Nursing field had changed and was changing, plus the exorbitant cost of renewal...the whole point was moot by then anyway. I let my license (which was still current through all that) lapse. Forty-one years of sterling evaluations and kudos for my work at all jobs, but for that one LTC. I think, and many RN's, who know me and my story of that rotten time in my life, think the whole thing was an overblown reaction to my actual 'sins'. It does still gall me some, but it has lost the power to hurt. In the final analysis, it has all turned out okay for me.
* Went back to PD cases as a CNA, so I still get to do the one-on-one "old-fashioned" kind of patient care, opportunities for
which are few and far between. Have been lucky to get long-term cases w/ patients I really enjoy...for the most part. The pay is crummy. If the nation were to go to $15/hour minimum wage....I would get a $3/hr raise!
By now there may be a few AN readers who might have figured out who I am, but at this point I don't quite care enough to delete this before I post it.
I can truly say that (but for that blankety-blank LTC experience) I would do it all over again. I've enjoyed my varied career and the in-between breaks from nursing. And, OH LORDIE, do I ever have a gazillion anecdotes! Am not actually thinking of publishing a book about them all, but have started writing down all that I can remember of all my notable (for one reason or another) patients and jobs.
The thing I like and liked best is getting to work with and take care of so many great folks. And the laughter, because, as we all know, not only is it the best medicine, people truly ARE funny. As many people as there are in the world, that's as many ways there are of doing things; variety being the spice of life, I have never been bored!
I have been a nurse for an entire 18 months! I graduated with my ADN and I plan on going for my BSN within the next year. I have been a school nurse for 6 months but still hold a PRN position at my hospital because my SN job is only part time I'm impatiently waiting for it to become full time which should happen within the next year or so (fingers crossed). My background in nursing is limited considering I've only been doing this a short time, but I work on our intermediate care unit at my hospital. I really like my job at the hospital when the days go as they're supposed to and we're staffed appropriately. But, as y'all know, that doesn't happen very often! However, my team I work with is fantastic, so they make it doable. I usually don't miss my bedside job when I'm at my school though! My friends in nursing school used to think I was crazy for WANTING to be a school nurse, but I truly love this job! I was a SAHM for 6 years before I graduated so this schedule works wonderfully with my kiddo's schedule. I'm excited to see where my career goes from here!
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
Thank yew, Far'wyn.
I would like to add one more thing: The entire time I was an LPN, 'they' were saying "LPN's are being phased out."
It has taken my whole entire career to see this happening. It's a shame, because I think there's room for all levels and kinds of pt. care and nursing work within a hospital.
I feel sorry for RN's...I know, such temerity, huh? But I think y'all have got the short end of the stick. With BSN's doing the (now bastardized) current version of Primary Care for a patient population of much sicker people and the ratios being generally unfair for both patient and RN...I think you've gotten dumped on. But that is merely the opinion of a COB who is heartily glad NOT to be working as a nurse now. More power to you!
If I was a BSN, I'd say it meant I was Burdened, Scorched, and Numb.
As long as I was an LPN, folks were telling me I needed to, or should, get my RN.
But, I never, ever wanted the RN's responsibility.
I have nothing but respect for RN's,
"but I can tell you anyhow, I'd rather see than be one"
As a little girl, I dreamed of growing up to be a flight attendant. I did attend one open interview with Northwest Airlines in the late 1990's, but didn't get selected, so....I turned to nursing! Graduated from LPN school in 2002 and finally graduated with my ADN in 2013. As an LPN, I worked in geriatrics and psych. As an RN, I've worked in psych and my new favorite field, school nursing! I love, love, love being a nurse! And when I travel by plane, I don't envy the frazzled flight attendants trying to accommodate rude passengers!
Been a nurse since the mid 90s. Did it bass ackwards and got my BA in Psych first, then went back and got my ADN. I am Certified in Med Surg and spent most of my career at the bedside, working Md Surg, Onc, Neuro, Tele and ED. Adults, not Peds.
Also worked Employee Health and OBGYN Clinic my last few years at the hospital. Those last 2 jobs, and Onc are my favorite areas. I've been in management, and I hate it.
Now I work as a SN, and HH as a per diem.
I would stay a nurse, just maybe would have gone back for Psych NP when my kids were little. Really, I have no regrets about my career. I like where I am, and I can look at myself in the mirror every day and know I've helped at least 1 person. That's purdy cool.
I started out in psych as well before becoming a nurse.....how interesting! I was 2 years into my BA in Psychology degree when I worked summers at a vascular surgeon's office and changed my major to nursing. I do love nursing and couldn't see myself doing anything else.
I've been an RN for 8 years, completed my BSN in 2015, have worked in ortho, neuro, telemetry and PCU, and am now living my dream of being a travel nurse, currently working my first assignment in Hawaii!!!
So I said I'd do that, which made mom and dad happy, even though I didn't want to. It would be a job, after all.
but the multiple, multiple, multiple job applications I submitted never rec'd ANY response. 
I graduated with my ADN and I plan on going for my BSN within the next year. I have been a school nurse for 6 months but still hold a PRN position at my hospital because my SN job is only part time 
AdobeRN
1,294 Posts
LVN in 2005, ADN in 2007. I started to work as an LVN at our County Jail - hated it, but am grateful for the experience - I learned alot, had an awesome RN manager that kindof took me under his wing. That job only lasted about 6 months, I then started to work in an Urgent Care clinic - did that until I was accepted into LVN-RN program. Did some Private Home Health during the LVN-RN program since that worked best with my school schedule at the time.
When I finished the ADN program - I did 2 years Pediatrics in a hospital setting and started to sub as a school nurse on the side. Once I got my 2 years of experience I started to apply for FT school nurse positions. Fall 2009 I was hired as the district PT Flex nurse then half way thru the 2010-11 school year I landed my own elementary school and have been here since. I do some Private Home Health on the side - mostly in the summer and occasional weekend day here and there - I only work with one family, I have been with them for 6 years now, parents have become great friends.
I love working as a school nurse and wouldn't trade it for anything - my youngest is graduating this year, I always thought I would go back to the hospital but I love my schedule. I do admit to missing working on the floor, I miss seeing new stuff and working with a great team of nurses.
The only thing I wish I could change about my career choice is that I wish I had my act together after I graduated from High school - graduate with my BSN then keep going to school for NP. I went back to school in my late 30's and feel I am to old or maybe just don't have that desire any more and would rather travel.... especially since I am so close to not having children at home anymore - I really am looking forward to me time and being an empty nester :)