NurseGuy30

I'm currently an RN ADN with almost 5 years experience, about 3 of those years as manager of a post-acute rehab unit before I moved on to acute care. I hope to complete my BSN within the next six months. I'm looking at masters degrees. I'd like to be involved in research more than anything else. I'm well aware of the MSN/NP and DNP options out there. But I'm not sure I want to go into primary care for a living. I recently spoke with Benedictine University about the MPH degree, and that sounds very interesting; but I also don't know that I want to be a PHN, and I'm wondering if that's all that degree is likely to be available for an RN/MPH. So how about it? What advanced degree is most valuable for a nurse who wants to do research? NP? DNP? NPH?

Hoping for 6 months here too, I have 34 CUs to complete.

Oh, and FNP specialty.

Mary, I'm hoping for ADN to MSN. Frontier looks appealing.

Thanks!

Ah! ADN program I'm graduating from,.not an np program. Sorry.

I know you need to have a year RN experience, generally speaking, to get in. Will they accept someone with only LTC experience?

I'm about to graduate from an NP program and already work as an LPN at an LTC/rehab facility, on the rehab side. I enjoy my job, and when I get my RN I'll make a very good wage. I plan to pick up some PEDS home health clients through an agency as well. My goal is to be an FNP. When I think about the future, I wonder whether NP programs will take someone without hosital RN experience. This is of course complicated by the fact that I'd prefer an RN to FNP program. I've been looking at Frontier. Can you get into a good FNP program without hospital experience, or is it time for me to suck it up and take a rather large cut in pay by going into acute care?

I did my time as a CNA, and I don't think I could ever, ever, ever go back to being a CNA, for any amount of money. I love being a Nurse. (And a fairly well compensated nurse

FWIW, which is probably not much, I started my healthcare career as a tech on an oncology floor. I was on-and-off depressed for some six months. Now it honestly doesn't bother it much. For me, death just took some getting used to. It's a part of life, the patients would still die if I was elsewhere, and I can make their final experience just a tad better for them. It's something we all have to do someday. So my advice: go through that fire, and get used to it. It'll lighten up. May not help at all, just FWIW.

Rain---------------->Parade

I work out three times a week. It means getting to campus an hour and a half early, but it's totally worth it. It makes me feel better all week long.

Nursing school is the hardest thing I've ever done, and having a full-time job as a CNA doesn't make it any easier. Neither does having two young children. I'm approaching middle age. I have a bachelor of arts degree under my belt which was a lot of fun to get, and a lot of hard work, but never earned me a nickle. You know, my father never got a second chance at a career choice. Most people probably never do. They never got the second chance to pursue the dream of finding and doing something they love, and providing better for their families. So when you come down to it, I'm chasing my dreams, which is tough--but I can't think of a place I'd rather be. I'm pretty darn lucky. So cheers, here's to second chances.

You could work as a PCT or CNA at a local hospital, maybe just the weekends. Those jobs can even be hard to get. My advice: apply, follow up, go visit the hiring manager, tell them why they should hire you. Then a few years down the road you're an obvious choice for their next RN hire. Or not. In any case, the job prospects for RNs are going to be a heck of a lot better than the job prospects for nursing school dropouts, no matter what the damned economy looks like in two years. Chin up, yeah?

A nurse at a hospital I did a rotation in: "This is a Catholic hospital. A sister gets on the PA to say prayers at exactly 8:30 AM and exactly 8:30 PM. So if someone gets on the horn at 9:45 and says 'Sweet Jesus!' you know you should get ready to run."