mgra328

Nursienurse...i live in riverview, right outside of Tampa!! I'd love to know what hospital you work at! :) I nver really thought about what kind of people work at a school. (they are kind of uptight aren't they..in general of course!) From my mom, i do know that nurses definitely have to have a sense of humor! Thanks for the insight. I'd love to hear more about your work situation and any recommendations you can give me for where to work and where not to work in the bay area. I was accepted to USF and hope to switch my major to pre-nursing soon. Thanks for the post...it was most helpful!

I would never "rule out" nurse educator, but I'm guessing I'd have to be a floor nurse for a bit first, no? And what's funny is that I'm starting to think that I don't want to neccessarily teach, as much as I would want to be immersed in my subject area all day....

My whole life, I've planned on becoming either a History or English teacher. But as I"m about to go back to school to finish my degree, something is telling me to consider nursing school. I spend most of my time perusing the nursing pre-reqs instead of the education dept and lurking on allnurses.com! :) I think my only hold-outs are 1.My family fashions me as a teacher-type and to some extent, so do I. By considering another field, I feel that I'm abandoning my former self or something. But the truth is that surly students that don't really want to learn, self-entitled parents that think their child can do no wrong and hours upon hours of unpaid work and detention duty sound less than appealing. Helping my son with his homework is painful for me, as he is a typical 6 year old that would rather play video games than write sentences. Shouldn't a future teacher enjoy motivating him?? 2. My mother is a nurse and we have a less than great relationship. She missed most of my life events growing up and always blamed it on "the job." I always thought that nurses had a profession that made being heavily invloved in their child's life near impossible. Now, as an adult and parent myself, I'm starting to think that her lack of involvement was more a matter of her personal choices and less due to her profession. (She's a very selfish person who puts herself before her family 90% of the time.) I understand that there will be things that I miss out on as a nurse. Holidays are required as a hospital employee and I feel my family can work around it. (Celebrate the day before or after for instance.) I guess my questions are...how do you feel your work/life balance is? Do you think that this is a good fit for a mom who's willing to make extra effort to not neglect either her job or her children? How long do most nurses work in the field before part time becomes a viable option? I want to have this option if my home life begins to require it, but I know that I'll likely have to be full time to get my skills up for a certain period of time. How did you know that you wanted to be a nurse? As I said...I feel a calling. It's a feeling I can't shake, although it doesn't really make perfect sense to me. I do well in biology, but math eludes me! I'm more of an English and history person. Mom RNs: What shift do you work and what is your childcare situation? Thank you for your time and thanks for reading!

ahhh!!! thank you so much. :) it's right there..i feel silly. lol!

I know this has been posted before but can't seem to find it. I need to do some pre-reqs first, but am wondering what everyone thinks about getting your ASN or BSN first. I'm not in a big hurry to finish school since my kids are still so little...I won't be able to attend a full time program any time soon. This is why I'm thinking of just going for my BSN straight away. Is that silly to do considering many hospitals will pay for your BSN while you're employed by them? Any distinct advantages or disadvantages to either route? Thanks so much! Michelle :)

karen-thanks so much again!! i'd love to speak more, but i have no clue how to PM and don't see your email anywhere...

karen- thank you so much for your encouraging words! how refreshing. :) if i may...one more question. i see that your specialty is peds. now, from one mom to another, how are you able to handle seeing children that are so ill day in day out? i'm interested in learning more about ER nursing but am not sure how i would deal with seeing a critically injured baby or child. or, heaven for bid, and abused baby or child. i'm not sure anyone ever has skin thick enough for that! especially having little ones of your own...

becembrie: i've been considering it for a couple of years now. as i said my mother is a nurse and...it's a long story but i pretty much excluded the profession bc that's "her" profession. she was never around for me when i was a child and often used her work as an excuse. now that i'm a mother myself and know other adult nurses (and see, as an adult, the kind of person my mother is) i realize it's not the job...it's her. i thought that if i went into nursing i would never see my kids and miss all their important moments just like my mother did. further, when i told my mother i was interested in nursing she tried to push me away from it and told me that i would hate it. i don't know why. that's it in a nutshell. but i've always been fascinated by medicine...i wanted to be a doctor when i was young but wasn't sure i would be able to balance years and years of med school with motherhood. besides...i think i'd be happier with closer contact with the patients. i've also been a bit nervous because while i'm quite proficient in english and history, math and chemistry were not my forte. i loved biology, but i struggle a bit in math.

I'm seriously considering nursing school in the near future. I'm just wondering if anyone feels there are any must have qualities for someone in this profession. I'm really a people person. I love to be helpful and love talking to people. I'm compassionate and am seeking a career where it actually makes a difference in someone's day if I show up for work or not. I've always been interested in medicine and how the body works, but was turned off by my mother who is a nurse. (I have some mother issues but that's a whole other story!) I also considered teaching for some time, but something keeps calling me back to nursing. Also....is it possible to begin my career part time? I feel that being a mom of three, it may be difficult to work full time since my kids are so little. I know nurses hours are flexible but am not sure if I can have any flexibility right out of the gate or if that's something that I'll have to sort of work up to. Thank you! :) Michelle