LeLeeFNP

Dear OP, I appreciate you being so brave posting this as it was quite sincere and heartfelt. I can assure you that you are not alone in the way you feel. I don't think you feel as if cleaning poop is beneath you but you probably were just more shocked at the experience than anything else. I have been in the nursing field for 10 years now and it is truly a rewarding career. But I admit I remember having your exact same "come to Jesus moment" during my first clinical experience. Now that I am a Nurse Practitioner I realize the value of taking care of patients holistically, from there basic self care needs all the way through performing their physical exam and establishing their plan of care. I encourage you to stick with nursing because if you do I believe you will be able to find your passion within our amazing profession. I should mention that yes there are many nurses in various specialties that clean poop as part of their roles but they do so much more than that too. They truly impact their patient's lives. I encourage you to read the book "NURSING 411: The Ultimate Career Guide for Busy Adults". It goes into detail about various careers in nursing that many people never knew existed. I know I didn't for sure when I started out. More than that it is an inspirational book that talks about how you can really improve your life and find true enjoyment in the nursing profession. Good luck to you and please feel free to pm me if you need support on your journey. I truly love to mentor! Take care. Salimah Jones APRN, FNP-C ~Founder of The Nursing Guide~

May i ask if you are an ACNP? My boss is looking for 2 new ACNPs in the Nashville area. He will accept new grads. Not sure what area you are in or what your specialty is.

I'll be totally honest and just tell you that I would go for it if i were you. As you can probably tell by my name, one of the main reasons I decided to go for NP was so that I can enjoy a career that is less physically and mentally challenging. Minute clinic sounds like a dream job to me. Go to work, see a couple of sore throats, prescribe a few antibiotics, and do my shopping right after work. I don't know about you but that sounds amazing compared to my current back breaking job as a critical care nurse. I'm only 29 but feel like I'm 69 because of the hard work i do as a staff nurse and how broken down my body is because of it. Anyway good luck to you whatever you decide.

OP, That load is INSANE. Anyone would be overwhelmed with all those classes. You have the 4 toughest courses in the whole program in one semester. I am in research right now and it is a PAIN!!! It is sooooo time consuming and boring. I took Health Assessment and Patho in my first semester along with health policy. It was tough but i got a 4.0. Then I took Pharm and theory over the summer. Now I have research, and women's health didactic and clinical (I'm in a FNP distance ed program). Anyway i am only taking 8-10 credits per semester and will finish in two years so I'm not sure why you have to take so many credits in one semester? Are you in a DNP program? How many credits is your total program? Are you taking summer courses? I don't see how anyone could keep up with a load like that if you want to have any type of life. Especially if you work. That's just way too much.

I will PM you

Where do I obtain these CDs?

Thanks everyone! I will definately take all of your words of encouragement and advice. I am fortunate enough to have a very supportive husband, mother and mother-in-law to help out with my two children. I have a prn job with an agency and don't have to work that much. But I was just concerned with possible out of pocket expenses from having to purchase lots of medical equipment in addition to my books. I guess I need to look into some additional sources of aid. I dont want to go crazy with student loans. It sounds like the cost of equipment hasn't been an issue. I will definately look into getting the items you all suggested. Thanks again!

well i did it. i resigned from my full time job and am now just working prn for an agency. i'm still doing critical care, but its less stressful because i only have to work 1 day per week and still earn the same salary as working 3 days at my full time job. i don't have to work any weekends or holidays, no required staff meetings, no politics. i get in and out. its still physically stressful, however i get the least critical assignments now, so it gives me a break from the mental stress. This may not be the least stressful but its definately LESS stressful. I actually have a life now, and time with my family, so this will have to do until i finish graduate school.

okay well you either need to reread my post or you are are just weird. I never said anything about not caring for your patients or wanting to help them when they are vulnerable etc. Of course you are going to do whats right for them and help them in their time of need whether that means cleaning their poo, or vomit, or whatever, I simply said that any NORMAL human being would not find the "task" itself pleasant unless they are just a total freak. The thought of helping your patient may give you such pleasure that you are able to overlook it. Great for you. I'm sure the angels above are looking down and singing their praises. I'm just saying don't judge others because deep down everyone knows logically that these are not tasks that normal people enjoy. Again I say "normal people" so if this doesn't include you then simply take yourself out of the equation. No attitude here, just reality.

sounds like you already have your mind made up.

i had to do this same assignment for my BSN program and I feel your pain. I'd be more than happy to complete your interview questions as the staff nurse with a BSN

if you want to go for your FNP, WGU does not offer that specialty. they only offer the MSN of Nursing Education or Nursing Leadership and Management. I went for my rn-to bsn through them and am now pursuing an online fnp through campus based universities that offer online programs. this would be my suggestion for you as well. another option would be to pursue the msn through wgu through one of their specialties and then go back to a different school that offers fnp for a post masters certificate.

please don't listen to all of the negative posts on here. Many people look for opportunties to bash people on these boards just to make themeselves feel better. you came here for advice and stated your honest opinion. you can't help how you feel. people want to act like they are saints on here but the truth of the matter is nobody ENJOYS the things you mentioned (unless they are just downright crazy, wierd and disgusting). Some people enjoy the positive aspects of nursing so much that it overshadows the negative aspects. Some people like others have mentioned do it for a few years to put in their "dues" because they aspire to do other things such as advanced practice nursing, teaching, or administration. My advice is if you really are just too grossed out by these things, now is the perfect time to do something else. There are many other healthcare jobs out there that aren't nearly as gross, and you would hate to waste your time and money for a job that you can't stand. I would definately suggest looking into other areas such as radiology tech, respiratory therapist, speech and language pathology, or physical therapy. you will have to complete more schooling for ST and PT, but it may be worth it. Yes there are other areas of nursing such as working in a clinic that arent as gross, but often as others have mentioned, these jobs are extremely hard to come by, or you will need a certain amount of experience in a hospital to obtain them. Good luck with whatever you decide and feel free to PM me if you need more advice or just want to talk.

Is anyone applying for spring 2011/Summer 2011/Fall 2011 for Regents FNP program? If so have you heard back and been assigned a home school? I was assigned to apsu and i am so nervous about writing my reason for pursuing graduate study. Anyone have any tips or know others currently in the program?

i want to apply for the the MSN FNP but i haven't had a statistics course (wasn't included in my BSN). Does anyone know if i can take statistics while i'm in the program? I know the website says they offer it online but i don't know if i would have to complete it first before i apply or if i can be admitted to the program first and just take it along with my other classes.

does anyone know of any schools that will offer a statistics course online? I did an RN to BSN program and statistics was not in my undergrad curriculum. I see that most NP programs, with exception of a few, require an undergraduate statistics course. If anyone knows of the fastest way I can meet this requirement or any other online NP schools that don't require a statistics course (so far I have found SLU, and TSU RODP do not) please let me know! Thanks

UC sent me an e-mail today saying that they have received an overwhelming response for their FNP program and that they need to close admission until 2012 I am getting nervous about the demand for FNP programs and the number of nurses entering this field. Wondering if it will be too competetive for me to get into any program, and worse, wondering if I do become a FNP if the market will be flooded by then... wondering if I should consider adult or acute care instead, doesn't seem as though they are in as high of a demand.

you guys i have been applying to many of these areas that you suggested (PACU, post-partum, hospice, long term care, case management, teaching etc). Out of the places that I've heard back from I have encountered responses such as "we have identified other candidates whose experience are a better match" yada yada yada. I'm afraid that since all of my nursing experience is primarily acute/critical care that I am stuck in this field! Nursing is nursing right? I thought nurses had the freedom to move around and try out different specialties. Any job wil have to provide training regardless so I don't understand what the big issue is. I am in school right now and thinking of going for my NP, but I don't want to have to wait 2 plus years to change jobs because i just can't imagine continuing to do this job for that much longer. I know that it is going to take time to find the right position that fits me, but I am feeling discouraged by the responses that I have gotten thus far...

yes being on the waitlist means you still have a chance. many people end up not taking the job when they get offers because they decide not to move or get other offers etc. good luck, but if you don't get in its not the end of the world. You may feel like it is at first but you will soon see that you can get the same experience at other hospitals.

Am I really reading right that your are 65 years old and still working?

thank you for your comment. just wanted to say that i am not looking for a job the is PERFECT with no stress as i know that is impossible. I just want to not have to deal with emergencies constantly, and not have such a large workload and tasklist for the shift that I am unable to get everything done, so i leave in shambles, not even knowing what i accomplished. Also i just cant take the physical stress of turning and lifting patients constantly. I'm only 28 and have gray hair now since working this job....

Wow. Many of you sound like you have great jobs in nursing that you really love. Thank you for sharing...that is very encouraging! Also thanks to those who gave feedback about the not so great issues that could occur in some of the areas others suggested. I know units can vary depending on location and your demographic area. Thus far all the jobs that were mentioned sound 100% better and less stressful than my job...but then again I guess the grass could always just appear to be greener. Anyone have any tips regarding changing specialties? Nowadays it's easier to get into areas where u already have experience.

thanks to everyone who gave helpful advice and suggestions. i will definately check into some of the areas you all mentioned!

Wow you nailed it! This is an exact depiction of how it is working 12 hour nights. Unfortunately I am stuck doing it for childcare reasons (I work opposite shifts of my husband so that we can switch of watching the kids) which by the way doesn nothing for my marraige life. I work mostly weekends also just to make it easier for myself ( i am busy playing mom during the week, running the kids to and from school etc), which does nothing for my social life by the way, and forget having any holidays off. One of the main reasons i went back to school to pursue nursing was for all the reasons i mentioned above that I thought would be so great, but actually suck in real life. I thought having more days off and not having to pay for childcare would make our lives so much easier. But i soon realized that the grass is definately NOT greener.

Okay so I know that I may get a bunch of responses that I am not looking for with this post, but I wanted to get opinions about nursing jobs or specialties that are not extremely stressful. I am aware that nursing is a stressful profession and everyone experiences some deal of stress on any job, however I currently work in critical care which is downright physically and mentally exhausting. I am looking to move into a specialty that doesn't require so much physical labor as well as a slower pace, and patients with lower acuity. I am not interested in Medical Surgical nursing, as I already tried that and did not enjoy it. Thanks in advance for all of your opinions!