busphob

Here is another career option for you. This is a posting I got from a friend about quality Managment: ]Admin. Dir. of Quality role available: This role reports to the CEO and has Patient Safety, Quality and Regulatory Compliance beneath it - the role also serves as the Patient Safety Officer. Risk Management, Performance Improvement, Medical Staff Development, Infection Control and the Education Dept. and Case Management are also under the administrative leadership of this role. A Bachelor's degree is required but a Master's is preferred. You will need to have 5 years plus experience in the above areas - with an acute hospital environment. An RN is required, Risk and/or CPHQ preferred as well. This is a great role for someone looking to take on the next step in their career - are you up for a challenge? With your background in law, a career in quality management that utilizes nursing training and legal issues might be a great option for you as well. I am currently 49, went back to school to get a BS in business and have worked in Pathology for 23 years - Am I ready for a career change? Do it now while you are still young. I think there is a lot of descrimination out there for older individuals - hopefully not so much in nursing - I totally agree with the others who said, there are a lot of career choices you can make with nursing experience - I am taking the pre-reqs right now for nursing and would like to move into the quality management side of things. Good luck to you.

Hello: I am writing to get a few opinions about my particular situation. About two years ago I finished my BS degree in Business Management. I worked while going to school in Pathology. I have been here for 22 years. Due to lack of experience in my chosen major - job placement has been tough and the offered salaries even worse. I have been toying with the idea of pursuing the nursing program because I heard job placement was good after graduation. I checked around at different schools such as Provo Tech College which is approximately 53K and Utah Valley University which requires a 3.99 to 4.0 to get through the pre-reqs. I know there is no way I can achieve that kind of GPA on science courses. I am currently 48 years old. Since my emphasis was business, I would have to start from scratch (with the exception of the GE) to pursue this. What are your feelings - do you think it would be even worth it at my age to do this? I am really having a hard time deciding. Since I work full time, should I get accepted after the pre-reqs (and that might be atleast 2 years of waiting) - they told me I would have to quit my job to attend classes during the day. If I choose the Provo Tech route I can probably go cheaper if I take the LPN classes elsewhere but I will still be working to pay off the student loan for probably 10 years. Some opinions would be helpful. I'm still waiting from my hospital to see if they will chip in for the tuition reimbursement on the pre-reqs. I can always benefit from the classes but I know for sure I would never ace chemistry or Biology. :icon_roll

Thanks tmulder: It's good to hear success stories - I'm glad you have found a career that satisfies you. I'm still pondering whether I could get through the classes of chemistry ect and maintain a 4.0 to make the cut to nursing school. If you were 48 years of age would you be willing to pay 40,000+ to go to a private school if you didn't want to be on a waiting list? I would like to get some opinions on that. It seems even if I made more money most of it would go to paying the student loan off and I only have about 17 years before retirement. Would you or anyone else do that at this point in your life? Just eager for some opinions out there. I desperately want to find a new career but not sure I want to pay that much - even my hospital won't reimbursement programs that are that much. thanks for your opinion.

Thank you for responding. I so appreciate this. I have worked in the same department (Pathology for 22 years). I graduated with a B.S. in Business Management and due to no experience have not found a new job. I got interested in nursing when I heard they had 100 percent job placement. I like the fact that you combine training and experience with your schooling. I don't know what I would do if I spent all that money and found the same thing happening all over again. I think I will apply for tuition reimbursement assistance from the hospital I work at and just take the pre-reqs and see what happens. If I don't get accepted, then at least I will have the pre-reqs done before going to a private school. Also I heard the 2 yr RN's get all the grunt work and you will never raise up in the ranks like you would if you have a BSN. Another case in point, I have a BS and it has done nothing for me job wise. Is this another fallacy?

I have an appointment to visit Ameritech's campus. I read from many of you that it is really expensive. I currently work at IHC. If you had to make a choice would you choose the tuition reimbursement option and just hope you pull at 3.9-4.0 GPA on the pre-reqs and just wait for two years or get stuck paying back several thousand dollars in student loans going to a private school? I was also wondering about the two year versus four year RN program? If you were to attend Ameritech can you transfer the credits to a state school to get your BS degree?