doublegregg

thanks everyone for their posts, and i appreciate everyone being honest about their opinions. so even if i were able to make it through nursing school --- what happens as nurses get older (i'm 52) and they have trouble keeping up with the demands of a shift? is there a place for them to use their experience without the physical pressures? or do they have to soldier on? i'm looking for a second career that i can be active in for at least 20 more years. i don't figure i could be a -- i guess cna or lpn?? it seems like they would really be doing a lot of physical work - but i was also hoping that getting an advanced degree (MSN) might lead to more opportunities in environments that would be less stressful or demanding. thank you, doublegee

not sure if i could regularly go through the minimal 8 hour shifts... maybe if i go part time --- like three 8 hour shifts -- do part time nurses get medical benefits somehow, or are they like any other part time worker who is left up to the whims of acquiring private medical insurance? i'd assume that a nurse on limited duty would not be looked on very highly by hospital administration, and if applying for a job would be looked on as burdensome. thanks for the input~! doublegee

what are the clinical hours like, and how many hours are there per week? i'll have to think long and hard about the long hours. i guess it's like a 'regular job' --- a 40 hour week was required for many decades, and now in some fields it's changing. but employers need the regularity of the 8 hour day - except in nursing, where i guess long hours are preferred, for some reason. i'd really prefer (my body would prefer) to be able to work 4 hours - especially if there's lots of standing, walking, bending, manipulating.... i don't know if it's my dream, but currently i'm a somatic body worker (like a massage therapist), and have enjoyed helping people who desperately need help, or are really interested in knowing how to improve themselves. i also like educating them - i try to educate them in how they can manage and control their chronic pain, back trouble, etc. through self awareness and finding out what contributes to their physical ailments (stress, overdoing activity, or ignoring the warning signs of mounting pain). thanks for your input, doublegee

hi this is my first post - i'm just returning to school and am on ssdi for rsi (repetitive strain). basically my chronic pain has gotten a lot better, but i don't respond very well to stress, long hours of activity, standing... uh.. sounds almost like what i'd imagine a job description for a nurse is. i'm thinking of going into nursing -- maybe an accelerated MSN program. i have a BFA already. but - are all nursing shifts, like in clinics or hospitals, full 8, 10 hour shifts? i can see where that would become a problem for me, pretty quickly. it's sort of distressing reading all the posts in this forum about nurses with disabilities. i get the feeling that nurses are sort of like work horses, and might be getting squeezed by the financial part of the medical field. i'm really wondering if going into nursing with an improving disability might be a big mistake. thanks! doublgee