I am feeling very conflicted about making a decision in the near future about this, and I would appreciate reliable and honest advice. I am finishing a very difficult 5 year degree, and have wanted a job in healthcare for a long time. I still want to pursue a career part time in what i am studying, which is to be a band and music teacher, and am considering going to nursing school part time during the year and taking summer courses while i teach. I think nursing would be a very rewarding profession, and I think that I would be very happy to be a nurse. I do feel a calling toward a job in the medical field, and I am still young, I am 23 years old, and I feel that if I am going to devote so much more energy, time, and money into a second career I need to decide now.
With everything going on in the United States ( I live in Canada), I am extremely concerned about whether I would actually be able to work as a nurse by the time I graduate or not. I am unapollogetically pro-life, and would never have anything to do with abortion whatsoever. This to me even includes post abortion care. How much trouble will I have? It seems that every hospital that is not a Catholic hospital runs into this situation. I have friends in nursing that tell me that you would jsut work in a different branch of the hospital but then I hear stories about nurses still having to walk away from certain situations having to do with abortion. I would actually really like to work in Cosmetic surgery, but I am not sure how the job market is out there for that. I feel something telling me I should go ahead with it because this is something that I feel I really may be meant to do in my life,, but I will NOT participate in anything to do with abortion ever. My husband has a good career here in Canada, so the chacnes of us moving to another country are slimto none until retirement,
I do not want to start up a debate, I am just an exhausted student who is trying to make a really big decision and is increadibly overwhelmed at what i should do. I really appreciate your responses!
What I meant by that was just that I would not care of someone right after the abortion procedure as part of the whole thing. But if they came in say two weeks later with a complication then yes, because i feel that those are two very different things. That would not be part of the abortion procedure and I would still feel that I should help that person, just not right after they have had an abortion.
I actually was wondering if it would work out for me to get a halftime teaching position and be able to nurse another half time position throughout the year, and perhaps a bit more than half time during summer months. Or maybe a 0.4 time job for each, I do know alot of people who have two serious careers like this,, not those two in particular. I hope i could work something out. Thanks very much for your response, i appreciate it!
Thanks, I would still care for the person if they had an abortion in the past. I have a friend who had one years ago, and it upset me very very much but I still talk to her when I see her and i still care about her well-being and want her to be happy. If she ever ended up in the hospital, by all means I would help her. It is just the post-abortion care right after the procedure I would never do. I should have been more specific i guess.
I guess i posted my message wrong because I am getting some negative feedback. I never said I would not care for somebody who has had an abortion in the past, How would i know that some of my students or students that I have already taught while in my program havent had abortions? I dont, but I still teach them and treat them withrespect and still would even if I had found that out, absolutely. What I meant was that, I do not want to be part of the abortion itself. So i guess that owuld include caring for a patient before or directly after the procedure, or taking part in the procedure obviously, or eventaking them to the palce where they would be getting the abortion. None of that, which is directly related to the abortion. As far as caring for someone much afterward or someone who came in after a botched abortion at another place such as planned parenthood, I would not feel right about not helping them then, because i am not taking part in the procedure and contributing to abortion. That makes sense right? I guess im kind of hurt that some people think i should not be a nurse because of that. I feel that being pro life should be a requirement to being a healthcare provider. I believe in taking care of the person, from conception to natural death. I hope that believing that is not going to be a problem.
I didn't see what the ages of students you are going to be teaching are, but what would you do if one of your students had an abortion? Would you refuse to teach her?
This nurse was called upon specifically because of her IV skill. In fact, my assigned nurse (who tried to stick me twice) summoned her because she's the nurse who does the sticks on newborns. I was actually writhing in pain, and I have a decently high pain tolerance. I'm really not that hard of a stick, so I don't know what the problem was except I needed a decently large-bored IV for the upcoming procedure. However, it HURTS LIKE HELL being jabbed multiple times over my wrist bone. That was her selected site, and that's the site she finally got.
She could have at least picked a different site after her selected site failed after several times of digging and jabbing and I was expressing to her that I was in pain because of her actions. I guess her normal patients don't complain too much; they just cry like babies...
That sounds like it might be something personal, either her reaction to you or maybe just her having a bad day and taking it out on you. Regardless of the reason, it sounds like she was being insensitive at best and unprofessional at worst for continuing to jab you even though you told her it hurt.
I had an IV start yesterday for a minor surgical procedure. The nurse had a tough time getting it going which surprised me because usually my veins are fairly easy. She felt badly about having to jab me more than once and apologized profusely. It hurt, but it didn't bother me much because she was very kind to me and very professional in her approach. She might have had a tough time because I was pretty dehydrated or she might have been a little flustered since I'm an RN and was talking "shop" to the nurses in pre-op. BTW, when she was unsuccessful with her first try, she switched sites.
I appreciate your response, but I do not have personal issues. I am a pretty well put-together young woman, and I have accomplished a great amount in my life.
I guess i posted my message wrong because I am getting some negative feedback. I never said I would not care for somebody who has had an abortion in the past, How would i know that some of my students or students that I have already taught while in my program havent had abortions? I dont, but I still teach them and treat them withrespect and still would even if I had found that out, absolutely. What I meant was that, I do not want to be part of the abortion itself. So i guess that owuld include caring for a patient before or directly after the procedure, or taking part in the procedure obviously, or eventaking them to the palce where they would be getting the abortion. None of that, which is directly related to the abortion. As far as caring for someone much afterward or someone who came in after a botched abortion at another place such as planned parenthood, I would not feel right about not helping them then, because i am not taking part in the procedure and contributing to abortion. That makes sense right? I guess im kind of hurt that some people think i should not be a nurse because of that. I feel that being pro life should be a requirement to being a healthcare provider. I believe in taking care of the person, from conception to natural death. I hope that believing that is not going to be a problem.
Thank you for clarifying what you meant. I had a feeling you meant what you wrote---that while you could not morally participate in an abortion or IMMEDIATE post-abortion care, you would be able to take care of someone who had complications from an abortion, who had an abortion in the past. Moreover, you are not sitting in judgment of women who end up getting abortions. It's just that for you to actively participate in an elective abortion is a violation of your religious and ethical beliefs.
I think some posters assumed that you were trying to judge women who were having or had previously had abortions. As you state from your story about your friend, that isn't the case. I honestly do not see that you having a pro-life stance should exclude you from a nursing career---what would exclude you is if you were being judgmental and it appears that you are not.
My concerns, as stated earlier, would be about trying to combine two demanding careers. If it's possible for you to do both and you know that you would only be able to get part-time work as a music teacher, then maybe combining teaching music and nursing is your path. I can tell you that I would not be able to balance that, but I'm not you. (BTW, just a crazy, random thought---not meant to steer you away from nursing but to just open another avenue of opportunity for you---have you ever thought about becoming a music therapist? You might be able to combine that with teaching part-time or even with nursing part-time---or maybe that could be a full-time career path that would be a great fit for you. I knew a music therapist who worked with developmentally disabled persons and volunteered to play the harp in area hospitals and nursing homes. She seemed quite satisfied with her career choices. Again, I am not trying to discourage you---I'm just throwing out an option that perhaps you haven't considered yet.
I do wish you the best, whatever you choose, and please don't let the negative posts get you down. People are very passionate over on AN and, whether or not you intended to do so, your original post certainly stimulated lively discussion!
I guess what i meant to ask was, would i ever have to take part in the abortion itself, including post op care RIGHt after?
I appreciate everyone's input though I really do.
No. You can refuse. And I've never seen a nursing instructor force a student to take an assignment taking care of a post-op elective AB. I don't know about OR courses---that might be tricky, depending on the institution at which one does clinical. But usually nursing programs, at least in the US, only offer OR rotations in advanced practice education or as electives in undergrad education.
And if you are still concerned, consider a school affiliated with a faith body that is pro-life and in agreement with your values. You are far less likely to encounter conflicts regarding pro-life issues at a school known to be pro-choice. If that isn't an option, talk with the director of the program before you enroll. Yes, that increases your chance of not getting admitted if the director is pro-choice and has a problem with pro-life students---but wouldn't you rather know the school was like that before you got in rather than in the middle of your program?
Thank you i appreciate it. I have heard alot about music therapy, I do not think it interests me enough. I do like the lively and fun times in band. I should not say that i would never judge a person for having an abortion, i have to be honest. I do not see my old friend in the same way, but i would never start talking about my anti-abortion views in front of her because that would be extremeley inconsiderate. I think it is a terrible thing and it really breaks my heart that it happens, and does anger me alot. But i can definately promise that I would never ever be rude or disrespectful to a patient if I had found out that they had an abortion in the past. I would treat them well like I would all of my patients. I can also say that other than knowing that for certain medical reasons, I do not feel that it is any of my business, and would definately not treat them poorly when they are comming to me for care that is completely differnet and seperate from that. The same would go for my students if i had somehow known that one of them had done that. I would never ever treat someone poorly.
Beebop25
143 Posts
What I meant by that was just that I would not care of someone right after the abortion procedure as part of the whole thing. But if they came in say two weeks later with a complication then yes, because i feel that those are two very different things. That would not be part of the abortion procedure and I would still feel that I should help that person, just not right after they have had an abortion.