options in nursing?

Tutti · Mar 23, 2004

Working in a Doctor's office seems like it would be safe enough. Many LTC facilities have lots of support with other nurses around in the case of an emergency, and I hate to say this, but lots of those Pts. have a no code order, and when it comes close to death, Hospice steps in sometimes and guides you right through the process. I'm sure there are many other avenues. How about a drug rehab facility? Just some thoughts.

Nurse Ratched, RN · Mar 23, 2004

This is a very reasonable question. It shows that you have an understanding of the fact that nurses do more than insert bedpans :) - that's better than a big chunk of the public! I myself don't want to run any more codes than absolutely necessary, and certainly can't blame you for the same.

There are many areas of nursing that are less potentially stressful and scary than others. Not everyone wants to or should work ICU or ED. To my mind, the secret to nursing is keeping your ears and eyes open so you see what's happening before someone tanks. Sometimes folks will surprise you, tho! :)

You will get comfortable with your assessment skills and your ability to prevent someone from circling the drain. You can't escape a certain amount of acuity in pts - you have to deal with that much to get through school. However, if your niche is not the adrenaline pumping areas, that's fine. Check out the forums list and look at all the different areas available.

angel337, MSN, RN · Mar 23, 2004

I don't want to get flamed for this, but I'm just curious if there are areas to work in nursing where you don't have someones life in your hands? I would love to do nothing more then help people, but under that kind of stress I can see myself making a mistake and then losing my license and well its all downhill from there. I don't want to run codes or do anything like that. What areas are there to work in where you don't have to deal with life or death situations if there are any?

unfortunately you have to have SOME clinial experience before you can go into a nonclinical area of nursing such as sales, marketing, insurance companies. most nonclinical nursing jobs require that you have nursing knowledge and assessment skills that you have actually applied to a real patient. you don't really sound like you are interested in nursing (i could be wrong) and before you get to far in school, it really would benefit you talk to a nursing advisor at your local college to get a thorough idea of what nursing school is like and what you can realistically expect from a career in nursing.

Rep · Mar 23, 2004

I myself have work as a volunteer staff nurse but for few opportunities to get hired as a regular staff. I applied for a job in the pharmaceutical industry as a medical sales representative. Usually these pharmaceutical companies would prefer applicants with related medical background because they can be easily trained with their knowledge in drugs and the human anatomy. This is can be the case in my country but I hope I have given you an idea where you can adapt really well.

alk3rainbow · Mar 23, 2004

unfortunately you have to have SOME clinial experience before you can go into a nonclinical area of nursing such as sales, marketing, insurance companies. most nonclinical nursing jobs require that you have nursing knowledge and assessment skills that you have actually applied to a real patient. you don't really sound like you are interested in nursing (i could be wrong) and before you get to far in school, it really would benefit you talk to a nursing advisor at your local college to get a thorough idea of what nursing school is like and what you can realistically expect from a career in nursing.

Well I did just recently get my CNA license so I could get an insight into nursing, and I did enjoy it. I'm not sure I would enjoy working in a LTC facility once I'm a nurse, but I did enjoy the residents and I enjoyed being there for them. I actually really am interested in nursing. I'm just not interested in med/surg or ICU or the ER or anything like that. A doctors office sounds safe enough, but I don't know if too many doctors hire RN's or what kind of salary I could expect from a doctors office. Drug rehab sounds very interesting though, and it also got me thinking about nurse psychiatry...not that life and death situations don't exist in all aspects of nursing, but I guess some deal with them less then others and those are the areas I'm a little curious about. I expect to get through school just fine dealing with these areas and learning how to handle certain situations, but long term wise, as a nurse I'm just wondering what options are out there.

nurseunderwater · Mar 23, 2004

I did detox nursing and it can be fast paced and critical. Alcoholics have been known to go bad when in serious withdrawel. Also there are a lot of dual diag pts with mental illness to make things "more" interesting. It can get frustrating as there are many frequent flyers who are coming by for a sandwich and a place to sleep. That said, don't be discouraged, there are so many different areas of nursing that you will see in school, if this is your thing to do you will find your place.

sjoe · Mar 23, 2004

Look through he long list of "nursing specialties" forums on this BB and you will find many non-lethal options.

alk3rainbow · Mar 23, 2004

Look through he long list of "nursing specialties" forums on this BB and you will find many non-lethal options.

Thanks for the advice everyone...I have looked through the specialties list, but I don't know what half the things are like telephone triage nursing, hyperbaric nursing, forensic nursing, or correctional nursing. I will look around the boards though and see if I can get a feel for anything. Thanks for your help.

CherryRN · Mar 23, 2004

Go into Psych nursing. It's pretty interesting and not really "life or death". I'm sure there are emergencies at times though.

Maybe a Psych nurse can step in here with more info.

Cherry

Noney · Mar 23, 2004

Open up a Sunday paper and look in the help wanted ads under nursing, you'll be surprised what you learn about nursing by just looking at ads. i'm sure you'll have a job fair at school. As far as LTC goes if you like lots of paperwork you might consider being a MDS nurse.

There are a lot of jobs you can do and still be considered a nurse. You be rotated through a lot of different areas in school.

Good luck:)

Noney

Nurse Ratched, RN · Mar 23, 2004

Go into Psych nursing. It's pretty interesting and not really "life or death". I'm sure there are emergencies at times though.
Maybe a Psych nurse can step in here with more info.

The trick with psych nursing is being able to tell when someone is physically ill and when it's a function of their mental illness (or personality disorder.) :)