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.

[color=#888888] i was three years into nursing school when i knew that clinical nursing was not for me. now, i have been out of school a year and my only job has been at a holistic health clinic doing mostly medical assistant type work. i really enjoyed parts of it, mostly what they practiced, but the rest was just the typical stress and b.s. that comes with working other women and in a health care environment so i quit for my own sanity. now, i can't find any other work here doing holistic care and until i move to california next year i don't have many options. i refuse to do hospital nursing as it goes against my morals and i don't like the negative environment. so, my question is what types of non-clinical nursing jobs are out there that don't require much more college. i am already swimming in student loans and don't want to add much more to that. but i would really like to be able to use my degree and do something i love everyday. any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

I was three years into nursing school when I knew that clinical nursing was not for me. Now, I have been out of school a year and my only job has been at a holistic health clinic doing mostly medical assistant type work. I really enjoyed parts of it, mostly what they practiced, but the rest was just the typical stress and b.s. that comes with working other women and in a health care environment so I quit for my own sanity. Now, I can't find any other work here doing holistic care and until I move to California next year I don't have many options. I refuse to do hospital nursing as it goes against my morals and I don't like the negative environment. So, my question is what types of non-clinical nursing jobs are out there that don't require much more college. I am already swimming in student loans and don't want to add much more to that. But I would really like to be able to use my degree and do something I love everyday. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

Thanks, I had started reading that and there was too many postings to read through them all at once. I'll keep looking.

I just spoke with Kaplan about their Forensic Nursing Certification program and was "accepted" as I'm sure most are. I got the whole hour speech/interview about how it works and the history of forensic nursing and if I'm qualified enough for their program. Forensics has always been something I have been interested in, but never pursued and I now have a nursing degree I am not using because I don't want to do hospital nursing. I really want to learn more about this before I sign up for anything, does anyone have advice on how to meet with a nurse who does this? How do you find them? There isn't much information available online and aside from taking an online course in forensic nursing I don't see many schools that offer this on campus. I just don't want to spend almost $4000 for this Kaplan certification and it be a total loss and not mean anything to employers. If anyone does this already, has been to Kaplan or has ANY information on how to go about with schooling in this please let me know. I am ready to use my degree for something I am interested in! Thanks! :)

Hi Everyone, I am currently a RN-BSN working in a Holistic Family Practice Clinic. I am ready to move on from the company I work for and am want to still be able to use my degree, but have not interest in any other form of nursing. I am looking for other ideas of what I can use my degree for and still do holistic nursing in some form. I do not have any special certifications and would be interested to hear what other people have found to be good sources for this. I living in Wilmington, NC and there aren't too many schools near me that have specialized training. I would love to find something that I can do on my own and have my own business possibly one day. Any suggestions or ideas would be great. Thank you! :) ~ Sarah

What do you do when you have a nursing degree but don't believe in Western medicine or our health care system? I recently received my BSN degree and through my schooling came to the realization that I very much disagree with our health care system and Western medicine. I do not want to work in a hospital and am more interested in working in holistic/alternative nursing but have no idea where to begin to get into that field. Has anyone else had these feelings? I would appreciate any advice on this, I feel completely lost right now. I am still interested in helping people and being a nurse, but I don't feel that Western medicine is really that helpful. No one else in my nursing school cared to try and understand my feelings/beliefs, so now that I am done I am really trying to find others who do, but am having a hard time. I don't want to be a typical nurse in a hospital because I feel that by giving medications and other Western medicine treatments I would be going against what I believe. I didn't work as hard as I did in school to not use my knowledge. I know that I am a very compassionate and caring person who is great with people, I just need to find the right place for me and don't know where to begin!

What do you do when you have a nursing degree but don't believe in Western medicine or our health care system? I recently received my BSN degree and through my schooling came to the realization that I very much disagree with our health care system and Western medicine. I do not want to work in a hospital and am more interested in working in holistic/alternative nursing but have no idea where to begin to get into that field. Has anyone else had these feelings? I would appreciate any advice on this, I feel completely lost right now. I am still interested in helping people and being a nurse, but I don't feel that Western medicine is really that helpful. No one else in my nursing school cared to try and understand my feelings/beliefs, so now that I am done I am really trying to find others who do but am having a hard time. I don't want to be a typical nurse in a hospital because I feel that by giving medications and other Western medicine treatments I would be going against what I believe. I know that I am a very compassionate and caring person who is great with people, I just need to find the right place for me and don't know where to begin!