Need career advice, direction!

[KatieBell]

I am a BSN nurse and have been working for 4 years only. During that time I have worked ICU and ER both at level on trauma centers. Currently I work for a French NGO doing relief work mostly in Africa. Of course, I can not do this forever, and I have started to think that going back to the Emergency room is not totally appealing either. Much of my work in Africa has been not actual nursing, but training local staff how to nurse, monitor and otherwise take care of patients (ie think: don't yell at the mother, try to explain to her nicely why she should not remove that NG tube!). I have really loved to see people develop new skills and also learn to really support patients.

So, Now, I am looking for what I can do beyond this. I started an MPH, and found it was mostly statistics which of course I did not like. So, now I am thinking about getting a PhD in Nursing which would allow me to be an instructor in the US. I have heard there are instructor shortages.

Is this an option that makes sense? And is there any way I could do some of the course work on line or independently while I am in Africa?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Yes ... that sounds like a possibility to me. But jumping from where you are now (both physically and in your career) won't be easy. For example, many doctoral programs require that you do Master's level work first -- but there are some who accept people with just a BSN and incorporate the MSN into the program. Also, most doctoral programs require that you have a fairly clear idea about your research interests (and at least some experience in that field) before they will accept you.

My recommendation would be to start looking at the various programs -- reviewing their requirements for admission, etc. -- and pick a few that appeal to you. Talk to the admissions people for those programs and get a sense of whether or not you would have a realistic chance of getting accepted and whether your interests and talents are a reasonable match for their programs. If you find a good match, then it's just a matter of "going for it."

Good luck,

llg