glass1/2full

Have you considered working in education? We former nurses seem to have this down. You have skills that will be useful. Just maybe do stay away from healthcare for a while if this kind of thing is common in your area. Best to you!

Visiting the forums here for over seven years now, a common theme is dissatifaction with the current realities of for-profit institutional nursing and the ailing not-for-profit nursing sector. New or so-to-be nurses seek advice on whether their chosen career is viable now or for the longer term. Seasoned nurses chime in about their unhelpful attitude and question prioritization or apparent poor resilience before graduation, NCLEX and landing that oh-so-crucial first job on a med-surg or similar unit. For what it is worth -or not- this newly retired R.N. agrees with you. I think questioning your career choice is healthy. You ought to be wondering if you made too many sacrifices. You should consider your future career longevity, happiness and financial stability. That's called being an adult. And being realistic. Life is short. Life can be very sweet. There are better jobs. If your gut is telling you to get out now, maybe you ought to listen and think deeply about what kind of life you want. Nurses are not the most pleasant co-workers. Some are bullies. Some do not wish you well. Some feel you simply must earn your due. (Nothing simple to that, really.) Administrators tend to salvage their own jobs. Physicians have their priorities. Sometimes that is sleep. Sometimes that is shutting down a perceived lesser voice. Even when it feels like you've invested way too much to turn back, you do have choices. I wasted too much energy trying to hold on to what I's worked so hard for, but honestly, I do not and won't ever regret becoming a registered nurse. It was my dream. I did it. And yes, eventually I quit. The personal costs just got waaay too high. The thing about that is that I have transferable skills. I have knowledge and understanding about physiology and myself that have and will serve me and my loved ones well- in another field now. And I still totally rock at taking care of my family and myself. I can review like nobody but the other academically and practically minded nurses I know. No one in my healthcare jobs ever asked about my family. Few asked about how I was doing. Today, this is commonplace where I work. We are family and we do care. Few nurses I worked with fall into this category. I can think of no one, really. This is sad, isn't it? If you hate nursing in today's lousy cultural and economic healthcare environment, leave. I promise if you are happier and healthier, your new found joy will get you hired. And yes, you may be working for half your current pay. Look into multiple income streams and build them. There is a lot you are trained to do and share. Nursing and nurses ought to be about helping all to live a "good" and healthy life. Kind of hard to do under the current conditions, isn't it? Life can be better. I'm living another dream now and so can you: there is nothing shameful in choosing to get out of nursing if it no longer supports your good and healthy life. Be well. Be happy. Be blessed. ~Proud to be a former R.N., psychosocially whole, physically rested, now happily serving my family and friends exclusively, no license required, Good Samaritan forever

Hi Kitcat, Good luck with whatever you decide. A job shadow might help, however sometimes that gives you only a glimpse of "one day in the life of" that particular nurse or technologist, so to speak. I have both degrees, several advanced certifications and work experience in both fields over a twenty five plus year period. Radiography and specialty modalities came first for me, then nursing. I agree that you should consider long term benefits and my vote is also with an imaging career. The only downside of choosing diagnostic imaging over nursing is that technologists do often feel that they get less respect for their expertise than nurses do. Many nurses would also tell you that they are the only ones who know their contribution fully besides those they care for. The working conditions are much better in imaging in these times and if you wish to provide more hands on care, maybe consider working as a CV tech in a cardiac cath lab? The nice thing is that you can switch modalities with some additional training once you have a degree in general radiography and even return to school, if you choose to get an advanced degree or certification. You could even be an RPA one day, if hands on care and special procedures are your forte'. I also agree with the post above that PET is a very exciting area, along with the other functional modalities and advanced research in targeted interventional imaging techniques. Best wishes in moving forward with optimism and courage in following whichever path is right for you!