h60avtrn

Hi all, I am prior enlisted Coast Guard looking at finishing a BSN at the end of summer 2010. I have been a civilian RN (ADN) for 4 years now and I am thinking of going back to the military. I hear great things about the slots for CRNA and nurse practitioner once you are in, but like I said, I am prior service and I know things look different from the inside. So what is the true picture of going for an advanced degree once you are in service. Thanks for any information.

Just wanted to share and experience I had last week...I attended the southern regional HIMSS conference in Shreveport, La. There was alot of good information presented and I learned alot. I really felt like a fish out of water at first due to the large number of IT people that were in attendance but I soon found some people that I could at least understand what they were saying. I think this career is evolving infront of us and I am really interested to see where it is going to go. This conference was a great way to do some networking though and I would sugest somthing like it for others looking to get into this field. I have found the unsolicited resume to be a somewhat lost cause. Sincerely, H60AVTRN

Thanks for the insight on the listserv. Just finished signing up!

Thanks for the great info. Sorry for the delayed reply but me and my son took a much needed father and son canoe trip and I put the computer away for a while. Since this post I have gotten in contact with the IT guy a the small surgical hospital I work at and have gotten my name in the mix to work on an upcoming MEDITECH system install at our facility. We are moving out of the stoneage and into the electronic charting erra. Some of our surgical areas were already using the system but now it is going to be for the entire facility. Is there any advice on how to approach this or what I need to be focused on to be shure and learn in the process. As for now I am taking the sponge aproach.

I am currently working at the bedside as an RN and have been for a little over 3 years in ICU and Med/Surg. This is my second carrer. I was formerly an avionics technician in the Coast Guard. I have been looking to make some career moves and I got into a class for informatics in my RN to BSN cirriculm. I have since fallen in love with the idea of moving into the field of informatics. There is only one probelm...Where is it? I live in a rural area and the largest hospital is only about 250 beds and you say the word informatics and people look at you and tilt their heads like a dog hearing a high pitch noise. I don't have any specific IT training but I am computer savy and not afraid of electronics. I am wondering where I should try and enter the profession and how to enter without the IT experience. It seems that everyone wants a certification but to be able to sit for the certification you have to have logged a couple of thousand hours in an NI or IT field. Am I missing somthing here or is this just impossible. I am willing to travel and have seen several jobs that would require extensive travel but is this necessary to get into the field? Is this even the right door to be going through? I would love to find a mentor and attach myself to them and find the answers but I can't even find someone who knows what it is I'm talking about...that brings me to this forum. Thank you for this forum and please HELP! Sincerely, h60avtrn