pattivt

Hi, I'm Patti and was so glad to find this group!! I've had MS since 1996 though I suspect it was causing problems long before. I've got Relapsing Remitting MS and for the most part have done amazingly well. Was on Avonex for 10 yrs until my insurance company decided to not work with Biogen and I had to stop since I couldn't afford it on my own (600-$900/mo!!). I took a long convoluted path that finally led me into nursing education and I finally discovered my passion!! I absolutely LOVE the work and it's a joy to be able to be a "coach" to the next generation! Only problem is I am a diploma nurse, 59 yrs old and without that BSN, all I can expect is work as part time faculty while I have to supplement with other jobs to make a living (I'm single). I had one instructor opportunity last fall at another local college but as soon as they saw I didn't have the the "sacred BSN" they passed me by... I'm not ashamed of my status by any means and I find can see myself doing this work for many years to come. Only problem is I'm afraid to take out loans for the RN-BSN program because I have $90, 000 student loan debts to pay off (another career that I had to leave because of MS - long story). On the other hand, by getting the BSN, I am increasing the opportunity that I will be in a better financial position to eventually pay off those debts without the physical demands of regular nursing work... It's been a huge dilemma for me and I can't honestly say I know what the best decision is.... I know I have to decide alone so I don't expect any advice, but surely would like to hear anyone else's thots about going back for a degree at this stage of life. I might mention I am a VERY young 59 (to be 60 this year) and I look, act and feel like I am in my 40's and the majority of the time I forget I even have MS . The main thing that affects me is having to work supplemental jobs with long shifts and heavy physical demands. I recently took a job in a SNF to supplement teaching and since this SNF is huge with a very high admit/discharge rate (much like a med surg unit actually!), I often have ended up working long hours with no breaks and overtime . THAT did send me into a flare so I'm having to draw the line in the sand and am cutting back my hours there as I seek work elsewhere . THIS does get exasperating because I KNOW I'm good at teaching, but without that BSN, I can't expect anything more than limited hours. I found a very affordable program, but the issue I'm facing is taking on more student loans that I may never be able to pay back... It's a hard decision and I'm honestly not sure what the best path will be . Good people have given me input both pro AND con, but ultimately I have to make the final decision. I'm just curious to hear your input about going back to school later in life (even though I don't feel that old!!) in order to get a job that will better accomodate my health situation... Thanks much! Patti

:mortarboard: Hello, This is my first post here, but, I felt it was the best place to bring up a very serious issue that I have yet to see addressed concerning the nature of nursing education in the community colleges. I started working at a local California Community College and was initially hired for a "60%" position. As a nurse of 34 years who loves teaching I was very happy with this arrangement, particularly because I have multiple sclerosis (mild case) and have to manage my time and energies. When I actually began teaching however, I was shocked to learn that "60%" in "college speak" was equivalent to 12 hours a week!! Of course I took whatever hours I could but this put me in a difficult place having to scramble to find other sources of income. I never thought during my interview to explore what "60%" meant, but that was my mistake and I know better now. As time has gone on and I've experience more of the "inner workings" of the system I have been disappointed to learn that these kind of limited hours is pretty much standard operating procedure for the community colleges in our state. As a result, I'm coming to wonder if so much of the fuss about the nursing instructor shortage is a less than accurate description of the real situation. For instance, in our school alone we have nearly 40 adjunct faculty who aren't allowed to work more than the alloted 12 hours per week. On the other hand, the district only allows 8 fulltime positions which have long ago been filled. So here we are with 3 dozen qualified instructors in one school who WANT to work and can't and a few who are overworked and highly stressed who can't spread the load out among the many qualified (and willing) faculty available. I know many of us who love teaching and would do anything to work more hours but our hands are tied. With all the talk about the nursing shortage it seems to me that somebody would identify and address this as a contributing issue. All I ever hear from the media though are reports about the critical shortage of nursing instructors and not one word about any the REASON there might be a shortage. As long as the community college systems continue to place nursing in the same category as biology or sociology and apply the same faculty staffing policies across the board I really see little hope for change. Utilizing multiple adjunct faculty may be cost effective for the other departments, but nursing is a such a unique discipline we can't allow this system to be the primary way our nurses are trained. The college "registry" system of staffing faculty isn't working in the nursing department, but until the powers that be recognize this, we are stuck with an antiquated system left over from the budget cuts of previous years.. We have received a great deal of funding for our department, but to date none has been designated for additional instructors other than a few short term grant-based assignments. The saddest thing to me is to see high instructor turnover rate, but who can stay for any length of time when you have to manage 2 or 3 jobs to stay afloat financially? In addition, it is extremely difficult to give 100% when one isn't sure there will be work from term to term (the nature of adjunct teaching contracts). So far, I haven't seen anyone discuss let alone begin to address this issue and I'm be interested to hear others thots and experiences of other instructors in California Colleges as well as instructors in colleges in other states. Thanks Loving teaching, but beyond frustrated with the system , Patti