Sarah27

Hi, I am an RN-BSN and have been out of school for 5 years now. I did some clinical nursing for my first year out of school in a small doctors office before deciding it wasn't for me. I took a break from nursing for a few years and now would like to try something new where I can still use my degree. I have read some interesting things about nurse coders and think this might be something I would enjoy doing. My questions are: Which site is the best to get certified? Do I have to have classes to get certified or can I buy the books, self-study and take the exam? If I only want basic certification which is the best one to get? What is the job outlook for this career like? Does anyone on here do this as a career? I have done hours of research and have found a ton of conflicting information which is why I am now reaching out on allnurses. I hope that some people who are actually in this field of work will reply to this with relevant information. When looking at jobs I also notice that many won't hire you as a coder unless you have several years of experience. How am I to get experience as a coder if no one will hire me? This goes back to the whole nursing thing - not hiring new grads with no experience - how are we supposed to get experience then? It's just frustrating. So, also trying to figure out how to get around this part of it. Any advice would be appreciated. And because I have posted several threads on here before and have always gotten nasty responses from someone - if you don't have anything nice to say please don't comment on this thread. Thank you.

Where are you thinking of getting your certifications from? I have seen so many different websites that offer them, it's hard to know which one is the best. You and I sound like we are on the same path though!

Hi, I graduated from nursing school in 2009 with my RN-BSN and practiced for one year in a holistic clinic. I have since not been actively practicing nursing and would like to get back into the field but am more interested in getting additional certifications and training in order to do more holistic nursing. I am not interested in the traditional western medicine clinical nursing at all. I am considering additional training in wellness coaching, aromatherapy certification and yoga certification. Or should I just get holistic nursing certification? My other question is - do any of you already work as a nurse with additional training such as these and what kind of work do you do? I'm trying to determine what kinds of businesses I can find work in with an RN and additional holistic training. I am open to other areas of training depending on the time and cost, but am really just concerned about what the job outlook is for this kind of work. I know there is a growing interest in complimentary and alternative therapies, especially in hospitals. Any advice on how to start getting into this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, I have a RN-BSN degree and have been out of the nursing field for several years now. I only worked in it a short time after graduation and have since been pursuing other areas of interest. I am now looking at getting back into nursing. I enjoy patient care, but not the clinical part of it and want to find another role where I can still use my degree. I don't have any nursing management experience but I have an interest in working in Hospice possibly in a different role, whether involved in helping administration or the running of the facility. I'm not sure what I can do with my degree in this area that isn't clinically related. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

eriksoln - Thank you for the suggestions, I like the idea of helping with a rape prevention/self defense class. I am definitely looking into all ares of suggestion and do realize I may or may not be putting my degree to alot of use in the future. But I do know now that there are so many ways of "helping" people other than nursing, which back when I started school I was just so focused on nursing being the only way.

eriksoln - Well, the fact is I did what I did for a reason and yes, now I wish I would have done it differently but that doesn't really matter at this point. I just need to move on and do something different. And I didn't have moral issue with nursing before I got into it more and experienced what I did, especially in my clinical rounds. By then I was pretty far in and wanted to finish. So, no I didn't have issue with the field going into it, that wouldn't even make sense.

HyperSaurus, SN - Good question. I almost didn't make it through school, I looked at my different options and met with a career counselor even to discuss them and still ended up deciding to finish. I didn't want to have 3/4 of a degree, I had already worked so hard and spent alot of money and no one can ever take your education away from you. happy2learn and MInurse.st - I probably should have mentioned sooner that I have no interest in going to culinary school or cooking for that matter. But I appreciate all of the great advice, even though my thread was hijacked. :)

HealerWoman - That sounds interesting. I will look into Case Management more too. I had looked into some, but noticed they wanted someone with more clinical experience than me and there is certification required. I don't mind more education, it never hurts, but I do need to do some serious research. Thanks! :)

To LucasRN - Yes, I have looked into doing the nurse aesthetician thing at a spa. It is interesting, but I don't know that I would be okay doing Botox and chemical peels, I'm trying to stay away from unnatural treatments. Thanks for the suggestion though. :) To Fuzzleguz and Nurse1211 - Thanks for the advice! Definitely alot of areas to look into. I have looked into getting some holistic nursing certificates, but have had a hard time finding any that weren't the online ones, which I don't trust. I imagine once I get out to California that world will open up to me alot more. Personal training sounds interesting too! Thanks again for the replies! :) To missjennmb - Haha, yeah, very judgemental to begin with! It seems that I hit a nerve with some people on here. I don't think I should have to explain my whole life story or why I did or didn't do something and got to where I am now to ask for advice. So, thank you for being understanding. Anyhow, I think we definitely have similar views based on what you said. I'm definitely trying not to give up hope on this and even if I only find something I love part time at least all those years of hard work will come to use. :)

To LucasRN - Yes, I have looked into doing the nurse aesthetician thing at a spa. It is interesting, but I don't know that I would be okay doing Botox and chemical peels, I'm trying to stay away from unnatural treatments. Thanks for the suggestion though. :) To Fuzzleguz and Nurse1211 - Thanks for the advice! Definitely alot of areas to look into. I have looked into getting some holistic nursing certificates, but have had a hard time finding any that weren't the online ones, which I don't trust. I imagine once I get out to California that world will open up to me alot more. Personal training sounds interesting too! Thanks again for the replies! :) To missjennmb - Haha, yeah, very judgemental to begin with! I don't think I should have to explain my whole life story or why I did or didn't do something and got to where I am now to ask for advice. So, thank you for being understanding. Anyhow, I think we definitely have similar views based on what you said. I'm definitely trying not to give up hope on this and even if I only find something I love part time at least all those years of hard work will come to use. :)

Thank you for being understanding of where I am coming from and not attacking me. I'm glad you were able to find something to use your skills. I hope I can do the same. I just need to keep researching. All of the non-judgemental advice I am getting is very useful.

Thanks for the info. I will do some more research into those areas.

I went to nursing school because I wanted to help people. Just because I have a different value system does not mean I should be shunned from nursing and using my skills. There have to be jobs out there for people like me. And yes, I have considered other lines of work.

I'm not against getting other certification, education if necessary. I just want to know what options are out there for non-clinical work so I can do some more research.

I didn't say that I couldn't work with other women, but from my experience it isn't easy to. And no, I don't believe in much of our health care system and much of western medicine, but that is my right. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't be able to use my degree in some way. Believe me I have wish I would have gone to school for something else at this point, but I would like to use my education.