New Grad dilema

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Specializes in ED.

I am with those who say stick it out. You might be able to get days once you have some seniority. But just think, you have all those days off you wouldn't have with a 8hr day, even if they aren't always in a row.

Besides, you will bring more to your home relationship if you love your job than if you like it less - attitude and mood mean everything to a relationship.

DC :)

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Well like I have said before, I really have my eye on being a pediatric PA. My wife does hair and one of her clients that has been an RN for over 30+ years and specializes in diabetes suggested to her that I should go the NP route over the PA route. I have been brain storming and really thinking about which way I would like

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Well like I have said before, I really have my eye on being a pediatric PA. My wife does hair and one of her clients that has been an RN for over 30+ years and specializes in diabetes suggested to her that I should go the NP route over the PA route. I have been brain storming and really thinking about which way I would like to go because the last thing I want to do is get out of the military and go in a direction that I just do not like or does not fit ME. I mean here I see it all and when I say ALL, I do mean ALL. My wife and I had a son two years ago and he was 14 1/2 weeks premature due to her having a Placental Abruption in her sleep! She had already been put on bed rest prior to that for about 3 weeks after Memorial Day due to some bleeding, thank goodness I was home on a 96 for Holiday Leave then. So her going into labor early was somewhat expected but NOT as early as she actually did. Both my wife and my son lost a LOT of blood, it was extremely scary. We spent everyday at least twice and sometimes three times a day in the NICU with him. I was able to come home on Emergency Leave and a TAD for a little over 60 days to be with them. The NICU he was in was absolutely awesome. My wife did not go to an OB/GYN in town due to the fact that our local hospital does NOT have the best reputation and we neither of us wanted our son delivered there, which worked out because IF we would have gone that route (the local hospital) she would have been sent to a hospital about an hour away and this one was only 20 minutes away. Anyway what I am getting to is that being in the NICU all that time I got to watch things around me and I surprised my wife with how much I knew and how much control I had over myself being in there. My wife became really good friends with a Respiratory Therapist that worked in there and eventually I met her husband, who is pretty high up in his the medical field and started out as a Respiratory Therapist as well. He is one of the people I have been speaking with and who has been somewhat of a mentor when he can be, but his job requires a lot of his time, so he is not always free. He is however one of the people that have spoken to me about possibly getting my foot in the door where he is. I have also spoken to his wife about being a Respiratory Theropist in a NICU and she loves her job. My wife can't see how in the world anyone would be able to do that kind of thing to a baby, especially one that only weighs 1lb like our son did. I guess I am trying to talk to several different people in the "civilian" world in "civilian" medical positions so that maybe I can get a feel for what I want. That is why shadowing was suggested to me. Here in the military as a Corpsman, you do it all, there is no real seperation from what "job" you do or "responsibility" you hold, unlike the "civilian" side of things. When you go in as a Corpsman, especially an FMF Corpsman, you go into being EVERYTHING. So I really am trying to seperate the two worlds because I don't have much time left under my contract and even though I will be a reservist, I will be entering civilian life head on. I do seem to be leaning more toward a hospital setting here lately, so maybe that is where I will start.

I guess after my son was born the pediatric area really hit me hard. My wife and I have spoken about going to the NICU when I come home on leave and seeing if this one specific doctor in there will schedule a meeting with me and let me pick his brain a little. There were only two in the NICU when our son was there and both were awesome, but when there was one that just stood out. He was older and he knew his stuff! When they gave us his credentials, we were both blown away. There had to be about 5 pages on this man alone and when we saw Harvard Medical on there along with various things, well we knew he was no joke. I think he may be a good mentor as well.

Right now I am just exploring everything and talking to whoever I can to get some feedback, but I am starting to really agree with the idea of shadowing. I think it will help me really get a feel for what exact area I want to go into. I get an extended leave in September/October so I will start trying to set some things up for that time.

Now that I have gone on forever, I guess I will shut up. My wife says I talk too much ha ha. She is a great support system and without her I wouldn't have ever made it through any of this, but she can't relate to what I am talking about. She always says "I do hair, not people" which I think is funny, but she's the one who has to be somewhat of a therapist doing hair because those women sit down and tell her everything ha ha.

Nah, I didn't know if me saying that you could contact me on my personal myspace or facebook rather than here would seem like I was trying to move our conversations to a private area or make it more personal. So, I wanted to put out there that was not whas I was trying to do. I wouldn't list those two pages on this profile if I didn't feel comfortable with others contacting me. So that is why I said that.

Thank you for the advice, sorry if I am picking your brain too much but like I said I am trying to touch base with the "civilian" side of things and I have spoken to a few Corpsman on here in the military area as well, I just need to concentrate on civilian life because it is coming soon :yeah::yeah:

Thanks again.

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Specializes in ED.

Please do all the investigating you have in mind, as that is the best way to go before you get 'stuck' with something, but I do have a thought...

If you need something to do for work while you figure out the permanent thing, as an experienced Corpsman, you could get a job as an ED Tech. You wouldn't have to go to school for that - most places provide on-the-job training to those with the right experience...corpsman, paramedic, etc. There, you could see what all goes on in the ED, and have access to talk to RTs, PAs, Physicians, you name it.

On the idea of Peds PA vs. NP, *if* the route you choose to go is family practice or the like, then I also suggest NP. Most PAs I have dealt with, while very competent in their role, that role is very much like a 'mini-doctor'. My personal choice for primary care physician is a nurse practitioner - before I even went to nursing school. Why? Because nurses have a different approach to caring for patients than doctors (or PAs) do. I don't know if I can explain the difference, but I bet you already know where I am coming from. If you choose that route, it will take you longer to go NP than PA, but my guess is you would find it worthwhile.

However, as a corpsman, my guess is that if you get to shadow there, or become an ED Technician, you would fall in love with the job ;)

DC :)

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Thank you so much DC Collins, I really appreciate your advice and it sounds like some great advice at that! I DO understand what you are saying about PA/NP positions, that is what my wife's client was basically telling her to relay over to me, actually it was pretty much exactly what she was saying. I don't mind the longer route at all, if I did I would have never chosen to go into the military ha ha. I have the best support system at home, so I know that no matter what way I go, my wife will be behind me 100%.

I never really thought about starting out as an ED Tech, but what you say makes sense. I am very aware that I will need to continue on with school to get where I want to go, but right now I am just trying to decide which road that is.

Thank you again for throwing some info and thoughts my way! I am always open to suggestions and eager to learn or take in advice. I know most people go into the medical field because of having some kind of job security or because of the money, but honestly, I just want to do what makes me happy and I want to better myself. I am completely aware of the hard work and dedication anything medical comes along with and I don't mind any of it. My wife does hair for a living and one lesson she taught me is that at the end of the day, all that matters is that you love what you do and have a passion for it, not the money or the benefits. Those are nice and will cushion your life with material things, but unless you love what you do, you are cheating yourself out of a lot. My wife does not have to work, but she LOVES doing hair and making people feel great about themselves and that inspires me to find exactly what direction I want to be in and fall in love with whatever job I have.

I have already began making a few calls about shadowing when I go home again, so hopefully I will find an area that grabs me.

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Specializes in ED.

I am total agreement btw with your wife about loving your job. How much happier life is when you get to help people *and* get paid for it too! That's why I went back to school in my mid-40's - I had wanted to be a nurse in my teens when we had a male nurse as a family friend - great role model. I finally had the chance and jumped on it.

And finally, I have to agree with you that supportive wives are everything...mine is the same way.

Good luck to you on your quest!

DC :)

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Yes they sure are, I don't know where I would be today without my wife.

Good for you for going back to school even if it was in your 40's! It is NEVER too late to go after your dream. I was 29 when I decided to join the military.

Thanks again man, best wishes to you as well. :)

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UPDATE: GOOD NEWS FOR ME :yeah: I have had AWESOME luck in arranging to shadow in a few different facilities, both hospital and Family Practices, while at home on my upcoming extended leave. Even better news is I actually landed a couple in my hometown area and a couple a little further away but not too far. I am super excited because this will give me a chance to see exactly which setting I want to be in!

New2ERNursing, I took your advice and tapped into a few of my "connections" out there in the medical world for my local shadowing so we will see what comes from all of this. So any updates on your situation in deciding which direction you are going to go, meaning have you decided to stick it out at your current job or move on? I know you said you scored an "off the record" meeting, has anything came from all that?

DC Collins, I looked into the ED Tech as well and have NOT counted that completely out. I am planning on getting as much information as I can while I am shadowing those few days while at home. I appreciate the tip on that!

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Specializes in ED.

My pleasure :)

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Congrats on your good news and job change, I am sure you will be a lot happier now that you are closer to home and able to see your fiance' more.

I will be shadowing in both Family Practices and Hospitals in my hometown and a city about 20 minutes away. I've pulled some strings and will be kind of "floating" around in the hospitals, mainly the Trauma/Critical Care areas, NICU/PICU/ED/ICU. With the connections both my wife and I have, we managed to speak to some VERY Military friendly people that understand the process I will be going through and the skills I have acquired during my enlistment. I am super excited about putting myself out there and getting a feel for what area I'd like to be in.

My wife actually ran into two friends of hers last night when she went to see some band that came to town that are both PA's in our home area, one is a PA at an Orthopedic office who interned at our local Pediatric office before deciding that area just wasn't what he wanted to do, and the other is one of the new PA's at a local Family Practice which I am very familiar with and was once a patient. She did some networking with both of them as well, so thats at least two more connections I have scored!

I was extremely lucky because the hospital that is further away has put a freeze on new grads right now and I am understanding it is a pretty hard place to get into, but at least I will be able to put my face out there and meet a few more people. I actually have grabbed up a pretty respected mentor in that hospital and he is extending a helping hand and sharing some very useful knowledge with me.

The local Hospital is not my first choice really, simply because it does not have the best of reputations, but I still want to put my face out there and not close the door on any area or opportunity. My wife does have two relatives that are RN's there, so I plan on speaking to them about my concerns.

Anyway, CONGRATS again and keep us informed on how your new job is working out.

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