You made it past the title! Congrats. That was a bit too direct.
So I want to go into nursing or medicine. I have no idea how it will be like but I've already completed pre-med pre reqs and spent some years after college working office jobs and It. My core motivations are wanting to interact with people and apply my technical skills/make a difference, and not be chained to a desk, also pay and the fact that nursing field is broad and I would be able to change specialties. Cons are that I don't like the hospital environment and I get stressed out easily, which leads me to hate people. (I've only shadowed someone several times and was not in the best place at the time) I admire that they make a difference but they look hella stressed out the whole time and I don't know if I can take it or if it worth it.
Any advice for someone in my position? Are there any jobs that would be suitable that would be in a relatively decent environment and have a combination of office and patient interaction time? Thanks!
Perhaps you are looking toward healthcare as a career because that is what you have known growing up in your family. Maybe it is a comfort zone kind of thing?
There is definitely a familiarity/family tradition element to it. I can't lie about that. There is also security. Achievement etc. What's driving me besides those is that I think I would be good because I would be able to focus on the patients. It's a personality thing. I'm kind of hyper aware. Which can be good and bad at this sort of job. I'm not the best at dealing with ********.
The hard part is getting an idea of how it would be like. I've shadowed in a hospital/helped feed patient/ refilled water/ice. It was ****** but it was rewarding. This woman was 92 and lost use of her arms and I spoon fed her. She was nasty as all hell, cursing at the other patients relatives in the room. She was in pain and was then got psychotic medication. It was rewarding but wore me out. But I felt like maybe I would be good at this provided I can handle all the other ****, which is a lot (and I've already listed it). Since my experience so far has been in IT and I like technical things, I figured there would be somewhere to go if I don't. Ideally I would like to have a mix of both which is why I thought research would be good to have some patient contact and be able to gather data and be part of a trial.
My real question after all of this is. Is there a way to get the feel for the job. Because I know shadowing and volunteering is not it.
As you already said, it would be stupid to invest so much in a career and find out you cannot do it.
Have you shadowed anyone who is working in health informatics? Since you have IT expereince have you considered going for a health informatics certificate, diploma, or degree? The program prerequisites are often a healthcare or IT degree and experience.
If you want patient contact on a one to one basis along with technology, have you looked at careers in diagnostic techology? (ultrasound, radiation, MRI, CT etc)
I'll be real honest, I like people and I still struggle enjoying my job. Another nurse friend and I were both taking turns venting just last night about really how unlikable nursing is (in our opinions). I have read a few posts on here where folks say they love their job. I admire that and wish I could say that. I've been at the bedside for 5 years and I've yet to be able to say, "I love nursing!" I mean, just yesterday only one nurse got lunch and that was not until 2p. 12 hours is a crazy long time to go with no food. Plus, half the time your computer won't work, the glucometer is broken, or there's not enough VS machines so you have to go to another floor just for a VS machine, and your manager taps you on the shoulder as your going to the bathroom for the first time in 6 hrs or more and goes, "Hey! I'm just going around showing our HCAPS scores and thought maybe we could bring these up a little..":banghead:
I have experience with a software program where the writers and whoever reviewed the program clearly had no experience in the clinical settings it was intended for. I'm not sure when Medicare plans to start reimbursing sexual function interventions in the home, SNF, or hospice setting but it was interesting to see the nursing care plans these guys came up with..
My real question after all of this is. Is there a way to get the feel for the job. Because I know shadowing and volunteering is not it.
IMO, there is no way to get a feel for it until you work it. Nursing school is not even adequate preparation, and I had a preceptorship where I worked a person's full time schedule for I think 6? 8? weeks before I graduated. By the end of it, I took my preceptor's whole patient load - meds, assessments, charting, and all - and even that did not prepare me for the experience of being a nurse. Until that full load of responsibility is firmly on YOUR shoulders and no one else's, until you are the licensed nurse yourself, there is no way to experience what it feels like.
The good thing about nursing is, as you said, there are so many options that if you really hate your job after you get that magic year of experience, you can transfer to another specialty.
I am not a total people person, either, so I am convinced nursing was not the best fit for me as I have run out of energy to deal with the manipulators, the detoxers, the helicopter families, etc. after only about two and a half years in the field. However, I am still glad that I went down this path. It enabled me to get my feet firmly underneath me as a new graduate, which not many fields offer these days, and it is stimulating work where you are constantly learning new things.
Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.
I'd get an IT or computer science degree first, work in the healthcare field, then pursue nursing or medicine later if you still like what you see. It's stressful, it gets kinda crazy, but also rewarding.
I wrote Passing California NCLEX-RN in 60 Questions Mini-Series, so you can expect brutal honesty.
1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession?
A 2-year degree = $65K starting salary? Sign me right up!
Side benefits: respectable social status and something about helping people. I do say exactly these three things, but in a more diplomatic way during interviews."
OP, if someone gives you beef, you may plagiarize mine.
In return, do negotiate for higher pay as a new grad. Good luck.
I wrote Passing California NCLEX-RN in 60 Questions Mini-Series, so you can expect brutal honesty.
1. What made you want to go into the nursing profession?
A 2-year degree = $65K starting salary? Sign me right up!
Side benefits: respectable social status and something about helping people. I do say exactly these three things, but in a more diplomatic way during interviews."
OP, if someone gives you beef, you may plagiarize mine.
In return, do negotiate for higher pay as a new grad. Good luck.
If you could read the post again, OP was not asking about good answers to throw in during job interviews. His question was: "Are there any jobs that would be suitable that would be in a relatively decent environment and have a combination of office and patient interaction time?"
OP has not graduated from a nursing degree. He is contemplating if nursing is suitable for him.
Thank you! That was a lot of useful information :)
I sort of liked working with people at my last job and not be chained to a desk. Also my family has been in medicine so it's kind of the first place I look. My personality assessment says that I would be good at it. but I'm not sure I can handle 8 patients, multitudes of tasks, needy family members, lack of status, bullying, ****** hospital setting, and 12 hour shifts.
Perhaps I'm being overly negative, but these are my concerns.
Sounds like you don't really dislike people. Rather, you don't like the overly fast-paced setting of today's hospital or long-term care setting or home care setting. I think your head is screwed on straight! No one likes being overworked and shown disrespect by patients, family, coworkers, or bosses.
Have you thought about working at a university? Have you considered applying for med school? You have already completed the pre-requisites. You'll make a lot more money as a doctor.
Or as suggested above, work for a Silicon Valley outfit or a similar, much smaller one elsewhere.
His question was: "Are there any jobs that would be suitable that would be in a relatively decent environment and have a combination of office and patient interaction time?".
That is not his actual question, it is just a formality; his actual question is everything prior to that.
OP basically wants to go into Acute Dialysis, Informatics, Case Management, or even Public Health....the general theme of his original post: minimal interaction with people in a particular place at a particular time.
Notice how other nurses understood this theme and countered with "nursing is not right for you"? Thus I, the author of Passing California NCLEX-RN in 60 Questions Mini-Series, encouraged OP to throw some red herring in there
Gogol
7 Posts
There is definitely a familiarity/family tradition element to it. I can't lie about that. There is also security. Achievement etc. What's driving me besides those is that I think I would be good because I would be able to focus on the patients. It's a personality thing. I'm kind of hyper aware. Which can be good and bad at this sort of job. I'm not the best at dealing with ********.
The hard part is getting an idea of how it would be like. I've shadowed in a hospital/helped feed patient/ refilled water/ice. It was ****** but it was rewarding. This woman was 92 and lost use of her arms and I spoon fed her. She was nasty as all hell, cursing at the other patients relatives in the room. She was in pain and was then got psychotic medication. It was rewarding but wore me out. But I felt like maybe I would be good at this provided I can handle all the other ****, which is a lot (and I've already listed it). Since my experience so far has been in IT and I like technical things, I figured there would be somewhere to go if I don't. Ideally I would like to have a mix of both which is why I thought research would be good to have some patient contact and be able to gather data and be part of a trial.
My real question after all of this is. Is there a way to get the feel for the job. Because I know shadowing and volunteering is not it.
As you already said, it would be stupid to invest so much in a career and find out you cannot do it.