JDunk

First off, thank you for the vote of confidence and including both the good and bad. I think poor management can screw up a good job in any profession. Second, TOTALLY IGNORE people who preface anything with "only". It was the LPNs & Rn's taking care of my mom (after both brain surgeries and multiple bladder cancer surgeries) who my mom and us looked to for assurance, and we got it! It was them who let me stay by her side in ICU day and night and it was them who risked their jobs to pray with my mom when she asked. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the nursing profession and its the only other job (besides maybe MD) that I have ever considered outside of Lighting Design. Currently I am still not sure if I will continue on to be an educator or change careers to nursing, either way I know Ill make an impact on peoples lives. This is the most important thing in a job for me. However, Alot of what my decision is coming down to is my ability to pay off the 60-70k in schooling it will take to get my MFA. It is a fool who does not consider the financial implications of his/her career.

That is an AWESOME site! With great links to all the fundamentals behind the math. Ive been playing for hours already and in a short time it really makes you much better. Thanks a ton! This helps alot if you havent done any basic algebra in a few years and are just getting back in to doing some prereqs.

Ive been looking at what it would take to get in. During my research I found this site: http://www.testprepreview.com/nursing_practice.htm seems like they at least have some good practice test problems to run through. questions seem somewhat harder than Blessed's site though. I dont really know much about it but I thought I would at least share what I found. :)

Big Thanks to each of you! Its nice to see so much encouragement. Its a hard decision to make after working in my field since 15. I'm just more mature now and have been thinking about a job that has more fulfillment and long-term satisfaction. Ive been thinking that volunteering at my local hospital might be an excellent way for me to get a feel for what nurses actually do day-to-day. Thank god for these forums as it is so beneficial to read real experiences from practicing health care professionals.

Hi my name is Jason, I am a 32yo male. I am currently considering a career change to nursing. I have been reading this forum for over a week and decided to join tonight. I really could not think of a better group to pose my questions too.:) I'm interested to know what you love, and what you hate about your jobs. I am particularly interested to hear from people who changed their career to nursing after pursuing other careers with both positive and negative reactions to that decision. Here is a little bit about my history: I left undergraduate work in Theatrical Lighting Design at age 23. Since then I have worked as a professional Lighting designer touring with concerts and flying all over the country for corporate shows and other live events. (Its really not as cool as it may sound) Several years ago I started thinking about going back to school to finish and then move on to my MFA and pursue college level teaching. I hoped that coming back would re-infuse me with a desire in my art. Well... I'm back (just started in Jan) and I finish my BFA here in summer, but the course work has done the opposite of what I had hoped for. Instead I have become heavily interested in medicine, a career I had long since thought I was too old to pursue... but now I'm starting to think that it may not be too late to change. I am a mild man with a cool head and enjoy working out solutions to difficult problems. I enjoy high-stress environments and like long hours of work (I know its sick.. but its true). I like a collaborative environment and communicate well with others. On top of this I have a lot of interest in helping other human beings. Please let me know your thoughts I would love to hear from you! :)