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I also find the terminology puzzling...I suppose you mean "decrease your FTE?" This would mean that instead of a Full Time Equivalent (full time position) you would become .8FTE or 80% of Full Time. If this is your question, I would say "it depends". In some institutions they would be delighted if you were going to agree to work 80% of each day but still come in each day. They may be less than delighted it you wanted to work full time for 8 days out 10 and take off the others. On the other hand, they may be watching the budget and be glad you asked. I suggest you test the waters gently to see how your manager thinks about it. Then, if the response is favorable, you could venture further and indicate you would be interested in this option. Good luck.

The flexibility you seek definitely exists in the profession of nursing - but not in the beginning. Those hiring a nurse will make a clear distinction between new graduates and experienced nurses, so you will need to plan on 2 years in the hospital setting to make yourself eligible for some of the more attractive positions, then you will need to consider that many nurses are competing for those more attractive situations, so you will possibly not be the first choice. Nursing is difficult for so many reasons (none of which relate to the book-learning involved which is fun) and I have not yet heard of a nursing school that did not make it difficult to get in and difficult to stay in. Do your homework before you make any decisions. Check out the school you want to go to and find out how competitive it is. Ask about what will happen if your child is sick and you cannot come to school. You can determine ahead of time that the school part could be worked out. Then go to the local hospital (wherever you think you would work) and ask about positions for new graduates. Get the details so you will be prepared for the actual schedule. Realize that in a staff nursing job, you will not have a minute to do anything but your job while you are at work - no phone calls, no personal emergencies, etc. So make sure you can get someone 100% reliable to take care of your child while you are there. Once you have determined that all works for you, ask your local hospital if you may sign up as a volunteer so you can see what a patient unit is really like when you are there for more than just a few minutes. Often you can get permission to shadow a nurse for the day which is very helpful to get the real feel of the job. If you can do it, it is worth it but it is not easy.

I went to nursing school many years ago but some things have remained that same...it is hard to get in and the stressors imposed to help you develop the type of mental muscle you will need in the profession are a real trial by fire. But, take heart, the hardest obstacle is the first semester. The grueling application process is designed to weed out anyone who doesn't really belong and the first semester is designed to week out anyone who got in by mistake... Generally, this is done by focusing on the nursing process, rather than the details of anatomy, physiology or procedures. A question will sound like it is asking you to know details of A&P or a procedure but it isn't really...it is testing whether you understand the importance of the "process". For example, what should a student nurse do if he/she enters a patient room and finds the arterial puncture site bleeding profusely: Hold direct pressure until the instructor or an RN comes to help? Put on a pair of sterile gloves fast and hold direct pressure until relieved? Call out for help while running to hold pressure? Assess the situation? It will always be to "Assess" the situation first...that is one of the key elements of the nursing process, so review the nursing process and always look for the key elements in the answers... Once you understand how the nursing process works, you will find that the other details begin to fall into place more easily. But I do know that nursing school is very hard and I wish you success.

Pharm sales is a good profession for someone who doesn't already have a profession. It is not a good step for a nurse to make because it is a step way down... As a pharm rep your job is to market the product and educate the providers about how the product can be used effectively. This involves alot of sucking up...buying lunches to get the staff to come and listen...paying for parties and small research projects, etc. I advise you to forget it. What you may wish to consider appears to be along the same lines but it is a valid path your nursing experience could take you, if you want to enter private industry. That is, working as a Clinical Specialist for device companies...for example, in the Cardiac Cath Lab, there are devices (new gadgets used in the procedure) and new equipment like monitors and ultrasound machines, etc that need someone clinical to show how to use it...it involves staff training in inservices, in clinical settings and very often in the Investigator meetings scheduled in those nice out-of-town locations. They expect you to have expertise in the clinical area and then they will train you on their product. Another rapidly growing field is research...I have been in research for 20 years and it is growing to be a full profession, in it's own right but for licensed professionals it can provide stimulating and good-paying work for a long time. The professional organization is ACRP and, if you google it, you can learn much more about the research field. But, stay away from Pharm sales...

I labored over a decision about what type of program to do...back in 1978 when the BSN was just starting to be known as important and significantly different. If I had it to do over, I would have done it differently. I decided to do a long diploma program which would give me lots of experience. It was three full time years, including summers and it was difficult. When I graduated, I could be in charge of any type of floor in our hospital and I had done many procedures many times and I thought I had made the right decision. Now, I don't think so. I continued my education (to get the BSN) using the Regents External Degree Program (now Excelsior) as it allowed me to take tests for all my experience and knowledge and take courses at any accredited college for things I needed for the distribution requirements (humanities, etc)...It took years...finally, I graduated and felt like I was not much further along but I was definitely filled up to my eyeballs with nursing. So, for my Masters I started an MPH program. After completing nearly half the program at Hunter, I realized I hadn't learned much at all and I switched to Columbia University School of Public Health and got an MPH . When I graduated, I felt like I had finally caught up with myself. After a great deal of nursing experience I applied to become an instructor in several of the nursing programs (I am in NYC so there are quite a few). I discovered that the profession of nursing is not the slightest bit interested in having me teach anything (despite my extensive experience and 20 years in research) because I did not have an "advanced" degree in nursing. This is the same in nursing programs all over the country as I discovered when I applied to online schools. My advice is - get the fastest RN possible. There are tons of programs that will allow you in an MSN program with your background (many of them part-time and online)....then you will have an advanced nursing degree which means much more than the BSN...because you are right about what the BS stands for... Good luck with your schedule. I think you will find it to be well worth the effort!

No, you don't need a BSN. Research is a wide-open and growing field. I have worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for 19 years. The trend when I started was to hire nurses with solid skills and experience. Now the cost of hiring an RN is almost prohibitive for an individual doctor. In New York where I live, salaries are very high. The trend is to hire Administrative Coordinators to handle the paperwork and to hire an individual with a license for the clinical assessments and tasks. Each individual doctor or research office will have slightly differing needs depending on the nature of their research. The educational degree really doesn't matter. It's all about getting the job done legally and safely and being able to afford it. The nature of the research will also dictate the nature of the job. If you see a job advertised and they indicate that they are willing to train you, jump at the chance to get the experience. There are many, many research jobs with no weekends, no holidays, and charting is on your own terms. There is certification available for research coordinators and many who start as coordinators later change to work in private industry. Good luck!