DogLady

Thank you that’s really helpful to hear. It’s hard to do the right thing when I feel like I’m leaving my clients in the lurch. You might be right about not being at the right place of employment. Thank you for your wise words!

I'm a nursing student in Canada, I have a job as a home care HCA this Summer for a private company. I have one main client I care for a few days per week and a second I care for once weekly. I developed a cough, sore throat, and runny nose 2 days ago. Following my province's public health rules I called my work to say I could not come in, and I would get tested for COVID asap. I got tested yesterday, the results should be back within the next few days. I think I did the right thing. I hate calling in sick and I never do it. I've only been caring for my clients for 3 weeks but I feel responsible for them. I feel like I'm abandoning them. What makes things worse is my company gave me a lot of attitude when I called them initially. They have kept me on the work schedule. I got a text today asking how I was doing, (I am totally fine - I think I have a cold) and then asking if I could come in tomorrow since I'm feeling fine. I'm legally required to self-quarantine until I get a negative test result. I know my clients may not get their usual level of care but I am trying to keep them safe! They would likely die if they contracted COVID. I'm just looking for reassurance that I'm doing the right thing. It seems like my company does not have any back-up caregivers for situations like this. I'm being made to feel terrible for calling in sick. This job is making me feel like home care is the wild west - I had to buy my own masks and gloves until I was finally provided with masks. Any thoughts and advice for the babiest of baby nurses would be much appreciated.

Ha ha that's what one of my teachers told me during evaluations... I actually love nursing, I love direct patient care and all the emotional and technical aspects. I've never had an interest in being a doctor or a vet. There are many reasons I wanted to get out of the veterinary field, I feel like I love animals too much to work as an RVT. It's hard to see all the neglect and the few abuse cases really stick with you. I had too many ethical issues working for a corporation that's both trying to make money and provide healthcare... it gets tricky. I was hoping to hear experiences of people who moved from a different career into nursing.

Hello! I'm another nursing student worried about my career change ? I'm 29 years old and in my 2nd year of nursing school (bachelor program) in Alberta. This is my second career, I have worked as an RVT (registered veterinary technologist) for the past 5 years. I worked in emergency, primary care, and at a dental specialty clinic. I loved so many things about being an RVT (the animals!!!), the job can be really cool, I had so much autonomy, I took extra education and was getting a lot of experience in advanced anesthesia. However, even with a higher responsibility job (that included working 14 hour days, advanced cases) I was making $22 an hour, which isn't great in AB. In addition, no one knows what an RVT is! You don't get a lot of societal respect or recognition for your work, and there's a limited career path. Veterinary medicine lags behind human medicine in a lot of ways. There are so many things to love (the animals!!!) and also many things that are not so great....... SO! I am in nursing school, fast track program so I will graduate in two years exactly. I worked for 3 years getting college pre-reqs to apply (while working full-time - it was a big effort). Of course, now that I'm here I am really questioning why I am here and what I am doing. The economy is in a sorry state in Alberta, our new conservative government just announced lay-offs at AHS. I've been working casually as an RVT and I'm remembering what I love about it. I was in a really great job before I left and now I feel like I made a mistake going into human nursing. I love a lot of parts of nursing school so far, though the first term was community focused and not really my thing. I'm doing well and I have a 4.0. Still, I feel like it's pointless (especially with the political climate), and I'm worried I made a mistake. I'm 10 years older than everyone in my cohort and it's really hard to relate to anyone. They all live with their parents and are in such a different situation. Thanks for reading this, if anyone has any advice on making a career move just generally and what got them through (especially in a tough economy) that would be lovely ?