socishan

Also, what about international nursing for the Peace Corps or something like Docs without Borders? Depending on where you went, you may get more outdoor time and perhaps the Peace Corps might be able to use any knowledge of environmental management that you have (a lot of this would be more focused on sustainable development rather than "park" management, though). But, it could be a way to tie together your nursing skills with a larger environmental/outdoors issue. Ie, if you went to Haiti to nurse, perhaps you could also involve yourself in developmental plans that educate farmers about using groundwater irrigation to elongate the sustainability of their seasonal crops if you had a background in environmental sustainability or management. It might not pay much working for one of these types of organizations, but nursing could be a way to get you overseas-- and then while you're there, you might be able to help out with larger environmental issues too. I'd talk to a rep for the Peace Corp or a similar place and see what they think. Or check out their website which has tons of information on what kind of skills/backgrounds/degrees are useful to them if you're interested. Good luck.

Thanks- tough but very much worth it. If you can and haven't already, I would say to start memorizing the bones/skeleton and the muscles BEFORE you start the class because the memorization for those 2 systems was the most time-intensive for me. I got one of those coloring books (by Kaplan) and used it to fill in the blanks and quiz myself rather than using it to actually color in. It was very helpful. If you get those bones and muscles down beforehand, you will already be ahead

I took my A&P class in the summer. It was a condensed A&P class-- that is, instead of taking 2 semesters of A&P, at my school, they cram both semesters into one class/one semester and give you more credit hours for it. So, I ended up taking an entire year of A&P during the summer along with Microbiology that same summer, and also worked on top if it. I got A's in both. Other students failed one or the other (different set of students in each class). It's all in how bad you want it. It CAN be done. I will say that taking A&P over the summer is pretty intense. I had at least one exam and one practical a week, sometimes more- they seemed to roll right into each other. I spent every waking hour studying and managing my time between work and the 2 classes. I will say one thing, though: after the class is done, keep your book around and brush up again before you start the nursing program, because you may forget some of the info after cramming it in so quickly. I went over things a second time, and it really helped. Good luck to you.

This is true: my friend went to Hawaii, Puerto Vallarta, and took an Alaskan Cruise all within her last 2 years of selling or so, just for being a top seller in her company. I also believe that this does NOT include any trips that could be given to the MDs if they gave out x number of prescriptions, although I never saw that part firsthand (never saw Dr. A packing her bags for Hawaii), so I couldn't say that one with certainty.

I guess that would be your decision to make. :wink2: I can't say if I'd recommend doing this or not since I've personally never worked in this field before. I know my friend enjoyed her job a lot, but she was VERY sales-minded, very outgoing, and very much into that lifestyle. I know this is something that I couldn't do since I'm no good at sales and had my stint in the business world and didn't love it too much. If you've got the personality for it (ie, outgoing, friendly, can "sell" things), then sure, why not? There are a LOT of hours involved, at least from what I've seen with my friend. Lots of driving, and lots of long days, starting early in the AM and going late into the evening, especially with business-related dinners and functions and all that. It would definitely be a hard job to have with children if you didn't have a good sort of day care situation worked out, which is why my friend and her husband decided that she would stay at home with their new baby for now. Oh, and this may sound silly, but there are a lot of additional "hours" involved when it comes to your personal appearance in this field and the look you project, at least from what I've seen. The clothes are NOT business casual, but are instead more business professional/corporate. Collared shirts, heels, suits, and all that. Too much ironing and dry cleaning for me, lol. And it's not a job you can really roll out of bed and go to work with your hair up in a quick ponytail, you know? The drug reps I've met are all very polished, with well-maintained hair styles and perfect make-up and all that. So you'd have to take that into account also--- shopping for the appropriate attire, getting up a bit early every morning to pull off that polished look... doing your hair and makeup, and that sort of stuff. Again, it may sound silly, but it's just what I've noticed. That sort of personal upkeep can take extra time out of your day. Just keep in mind that there are a lot of sales involved and that how much product you sell can sometimes affect your salary and your successfulness in that industry. But, if you're a people-person and are sales-minded and like moving around a lot (ie, driving to different offices, ect) it could be a good fit for you. Good luck!

Yes, in my area Pharm Sales Reps are known to make good money. I have a friend that started doing this after she finished college up until just a few months ago when she had her first baby. I am not sure how helpful it would be to have a nursing background, but I would think it would be helpful. My friend had a general communications B.A. degree and no health care experience at all. She had sales experience, though, which helped land her the job. From my understanding, she had a hard time at first building client relationships and establishing customers to work with, but once things got rolling, she always had extra money to spend. A lot of the compensation comes in the form of bonuses and extra incentives on top of the base paycheck. She went on several vacations she'd won for high sales not too long before she quit. It is hard, I think, to build a good client base at first, though, because many doctors/hospitals/practitioners already have drug reps that they work with on a steady basis. Anyways, from what I've noticed in my area and from knowing my friend in that industry is that it helps to be attractive. Like I said, my friend had no health care experience at all, but she could be in the Sport Illustrated Swim Suit edition if you know what I mean. I'm not sure if this is some strange, freaky thing that happens around here but nowhere else, but a lot of the pharm sales reps are quite attractive... it was always weird going out to eat or for a night out with my friend when she'd bring her co-workers with that she'd become friends with. Like stepping into an edition of Cosmo for a night or something.... like I said, maybe this was particular to my friend and this area or something. It may not be like this elsewhere.

Tell me about it!! The LTC facility that I work for is also owned by one of the corporate "big dogs" and it's just appalling. I just went to a staff meeting the other day where all the directors got up and talked to us about Company X's philosophy and how their mission is to provide top-notch care for all of it's residents. They also talked about how much they care about their employees and how we are the "backbone" of the organization, how we should basically thank our lucky stars that we have jobs there. At one point, one of the head honchos made the comment about us taking sick time if we need it, because we get a certain number of sick days per year, and how lucky we are to have those sick days. One of the employees literally started laughing out loud when the head honcho said this... just a week ago, someone got fired for calling in sick to work with strep throat because they weren't able to provide a doctor's note (probably were too sick to get up and go to the dr that day!) and were fired on the spot. The corporate heads have NO idea what's really going on.... no clue at all. In reality, the employees are terrorized into coming into work EVEN IF they are sick and contagious. And the residents do NOT receive top notch care. "Marge" is a very slow eater and never has time to finish her breakfast, lunch, or dinner before "dining hours" are over- and her tray is ALWAYS taken from her with food practically hanging from her mouth. That's top notch care?---

Absolutely- it is VERY helpful. I'm sure it's helpful when conversing with Spanish-speaking patients, but what's neat is that I've ALSO found it to be helpful when working with Spanish-speaking co-workers, too. I'm certainly not fluent, but I do know enough to carry on a basic conversation, and it's helped many times already in my job as a CNA for LTC. In the facility where I work, most of the housekeeping and kitchen staff, and some of the other CNAs are all Spanish-speaking. It's very helpful when you need a grilled cheese sandwich made quickly for a resident who won't eat her chicken. The kitchen staff seems to really appreciate it when I ask in Spanish and they seem to be more helpful since they see I'm making an effort to understand and use their native language. Or, if I need more bath towels from the laundry staff... I can get them quicker if I ask in Spanish and the staff seems to know me already and are all very friendly to me. I think it's very rewarding. Many native Spanish-speakers who live here are making the effort to learn English if they haven't already... and it only takes me 5 seconds to ask about a new word in Spanish and then try to learn it. I enjoy making the effort too. And, here's food for thought- I once read a study that suggested people who are multi or bi-lingual are less likely to suffer from dementias like Alzheimer's in their later years. You never know- it can't hurt, right?

Sorry it took a couple of days to get back to you... I was out of town. I use Illinois Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

Yes, I buy my own health insurance. It's somewhat expensive, but it's the best option for me right now as a nursing student who only works part time while I'm in school. I get decent coverage for a bit less than $150 per month, but I'm not sure if this is unusual or not- it might vary quite a bit depending on where you live. I'm in Illinois.

Great stories, everyone. Thanks for sharing. FYI, Indynurse, congrats on finding your niche- nothing wrong at all with "non-clinical" nursing. It's a good thing that a nurse is in your role and not someone else- you can obviously lend insight that only a nurse could... it's so neat that nurses have so many options on what to do these days.

Hi all - was wondering if you could share some more stories, I love hearing about everyone's experiences and talent on this site. What's your favorite specialty area in nursing? Do you work in this area now- if so, how'd you end up there? What do YOU view as the pros and cons of your favorite specialty area? Did you always know you wanted to be a rehab, med-surge, ER, NICU, psych nurse, etc...? How'd you find your "niche?" I'd love to hear! Thanks :thankya:

Thanks everyone for your replies so far. You bring up a lot of good points. And just because something's different doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, right!? It just takes some getting used to. :wink2:

Grrrr, I was just thinking about this some more, and this is really upsetting! Everyone's posts are right on so far! What a better way to determine underlying problems than by examining the stool--- it is necessary! And, just to make a point, I have a bachelor's and master's degrees in a different field and I didn't go to school to clean up pee or poop, either. But I do it on a daily basis because my patients deserve to not have to lie around in their poop when it's not their fault that they are incontinent in the first place. As a side-note, a very close YOUNG family member of mine has Crohn's disease and recently spent over a year in the hospital before he had to have his colon completely removed. He didn't like the fact that the staff had to clean up his messes either, and was very embarrassed by it. But, I'm glad they did it because as much as his self esteem was hurt by having this horrible disease in the first place, at least his staff cleaned him with dignity and respect and didn't make him lie there in it. Why become a nurse if you don't have a caring heart?

My understanding of nursing so far (I am still in nursing school but am working as a CNA) is that pee, poop, blood, sputum.... all that stuff goes along with nursing. I think your coworker needs to get off of her high horse and find another career if she can't deal with that. That's like a heart surgeon saying, "I'm sorry- but I can't handle blood. Someone else will have to perform the surgery today." What!!?? Or an airline pilot saying, "I'm not flying today, I've got a bit of a fear of heights." Okay, you get my drift. Bodily fluids go along with the job. But, most important is the patient--- this nurse would really let a patient lay around in a pile of poo all day???? She shouldn't be a nurse if she doesn't care about the patient. Not only is that unhealthy to the patient, but it's degrading to their self esteem also. I'm sorry, but that makes me sick to think that this lady is a nurse. I wouldn't want her taking care of me. And how is she going to feel when/if she's elderly and incontinent herself and none of the staff wants to touch HER poo? I'm guessing she wouldn't be happy if SHE had to lay in it all day...