commitmentphobe

What do you like or dislike most about the WOCN specialty? I have an offer for a position on an in-hospital wound care team, and I'm not sure what to do. Dressing changes were my favorite part of the job when I worked med/surg, which is what got me interested in this in the first place. I originally applied in the Summer and was disappointed when I didn't get an offer. Since then I recommitted to my current job (procedural nursing) and decided to stay put for a while and pursue an online master's. Cut to today, and they have another position open and have offered it to me! I'm supposed to start my master's program this Spring. Would it be insane to work full time, work on a master's program one class at a time and simultaneously complete the WOCN certification within two years of hire? Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

If this is your goal, the mom/baby job sounds like a good way to get into women's health. Would you also have the option to cross train to labor & delivery in the future? At my hospital, almost all of the birthing center nurses rotate between the two.

Thanks! Glad to know you don't necessarily need peds experience. Before nursing school, I had a job where part of my job involved educating teens about birth control, so I think I'd enjoy those random questions! Most of the school nurse positions in my area are just PRN, but I think some of the surrounding counties have full-time options. I'll have to look into it!

Is working in the ICU all it's cracked up to be? Part of me has always wanted to work there--I won't really feel like I've "made it" as a nurse until I can take care of the sickest patients. I'm thinking about making the switch to my hospital's MICU. They get very high acuity patients, and all the other hospitals in the area send their patients to us. I know I would learn a ton. But then again, I currently have a pretty cushy procedural nursing gig. Low stress, day job, no weekends. Sure, I might not be fully actualized as a nurse, but maybe that's okay for the sake of my mental health? I know the ICU job would be much more stressful, probably even once I've overcome the learning curve. And what if I can't do it? It's scary! Should I do it and push myself? Or should I stay at a job that makes me mostly happy, if not deeply fulfilled? I'd appreciate some advice?

Hello fellow nurse parents! What schedule do you prefer for spending time with your family, and why? I'm currently working 4-10s with no weekends or holidays, which is great right now while the little guy is in preschool. But eventually he'll go to kindergarten and have summers off, and I wonder if going back to 3-12s would be better because I'd have more days off? But the weekends! (My husband works a Monday-Friday job, so having our weekends together has been really nice.) Conversely, there's a job posted at my hospital that is 5-8s Monday-Friday. The job sounds amazing, but I can't imagine working 5 days a week, especially in the future when the kid is out of school in the Summer. I should probably just be a school nurse, but I don't know anything about pediatrics ?