AB1489

Hello all, It's been a while since I posted here- a little back story- I have been a nurse for about 6 years with some experience in neuro, med surg float, home health, labor and delivery and now postpartum/mother baby. I enjoy working postpartum but don't feel very challenged. There are of course task/timing related challenges, social issues, and the occasional surprise emergency, but nothing that really blows me away. The reason why I'm bringing any of this up is that I'm about halfway through a family nurse practitioner program and I'm feeling like I need to go back to working med surg for the remainder of my program so that I connect the things that I'm learning in classes a little better in my mind. The other reason why I am bringing this up is because I have asked my manager to drop down to a casual/PRN status in February when I will start clinical and I'm not sure if it's going to be able to happen. However, there is a casual/PRN med surg position in my health system that really runs the gamut of many things that will be seen regularly in primary care and I'm wondering if I should take the leap? Should I stay where I am comfortable and see what happens a little bit closer to when clinical starts and just study my butt off? Or should I apply to go somewhere where I will feel a little bit uncomfortable, but get the hours that I will be needing when clinical begins and be able to hopefully translate things more easily into practice? I am fully aware that the role of a nurse practitioner is completely different than the role of a med surg RN, but I just want to do what will make me the best nurse practitioner in the future.

Hi there! I am currently a FNP student at frontier and I know that they recently started a post masters psych np program. The program is pretty reasonably priced. I'm not sure how long it is bit o really don't think it's 2 years.

Hi! I have almost completed my essay, and am applying to 160. I was hoping to be ready for 158, but I was not. I actually was already in CNEP class 128, but I was having some questions about whether or not I wanted to continue with school/whether I should stay in midwifery and what not. See, I started my program the same exact day as I started working at a very large facility with over 12,000 births per year and I feel that I got overwhelmed and my vision of what I really wanted to do became blurry. So, over the past 6 months I have been working as a nurse recruiter, and with the anti-stress that that was, I was able to take a step back and really realize how passionate I am about women's health (especially with this election), and how much I truly want to be a midwife-- litigious environment, crappy hours and all. I truly cannot imagine a better career, or one closer to embodying the essence of life day in and day out. I wish you luck!!!!!:)

You know, I was actually thinking about that on my way to work last night. The Starman deserved it, that's for sure.

Hi there, I am feeling like I am in the exact same place as you. I am currently taking an academic hiatus at Frontier and am literally changing my mind daily about whether or not I want to continue my path to becoming a midwife. I began school this fall the same exact day that I began a job at a hospital in my area that did over 11,000 births last year, and has the most high-risk patients in the area. So, needless to say, I have seen quite a few emergencies in my short time here and it has scared the crap out of me. I keep going back and forth thinking...do I really want this responsibility, this schedule, this fear of being sued? But then I also think, who wouldn't want to be with women on potentially one of the most amazing days of their lives, see that beautiful baby come into the world, and help these women know how truly strong they are? Sometimes I wonder if I want to become a midwife because I care about the principle of midwifery, and essentially women's rights, but do I actually need to be the person doing it? Can I just be an advocate, or do I need to be the midwife? Sorry that this did not answer your question, but hopefully it at least let you know that someone else out there has similar fears and indecision. Good luck to you!

I'm not a midwife yet, but I am starting school this fall to become one through Frontier. I'm 25 right now and if all goes as planned, I'll be 27-just turning 28 when I graduate. I am single (I have a boyfriend who is long-distance right now because of his schooling), no kids, so I figured this was the best time to do something that I've been wanting to do since nursing school. Good luck :-)

Hey guys, I'm a little late to the party here but I got in for Class 128, in the midwifery program! See you all in August!

I have thought about it, but none of the units at my current hospital that I like enough to consider have been hiring lately... so I've been keeping my eye out. I thought that float nursing would be a good idea initially... and I have learned a lot, but it is just so stressful.

I have been a nurse for close to two years now, first working at a large teaching hospital on a neurosurgery unit, and then moving to be a float nurse (to explore other specialties) at a community hospital close to home. I have been a float nurse for slightly over a year now, and it is seriously making me question my decision to even be a nurse. I feel less confident in my skills than I did when I was first off of orientation at the teaching hospital. I just feel completely unsupported and unsafe. Today I floated to the critical care unit, where I had to take care of 4 patients. Literally everyone else on the unit had 1-2 patients, and one person had 3. I do not understand why I constantly get the short end of the stick? I am a good worker, and I used to be so resilient but now I just feel so worn down and I am at a loss of what to do. I don't mind stress, but I don't want to be so stressed out that I constantly feel unsafe and never get to eat or pee (at least like once a week would be nice), and I just don't know that I want to put other people's lives in my hands in this current work situation. I had year evaluation yesterday and my manager asked if I had any issues with anything, and I do, but I really didn't know where to start so I just gave one example of patients' heparin drips not requiring a second check from a nurse. Safety issues run rampant at this place. We do not have charge nurses, and we never get report from the ED when there is an admission. Every unit that I go to is different (obviously), and I spend valuable time looking for things when I wish I knew where they were to begin with. I hate going to 2 different units, occasionally 3 per shift. I just can't deal. I like taking care of people, and my patients like me and compliment my care all the time. I just feel so exhausted and constantly on the verge of tears. I was talking to my boyfriend about how I don't like how I act anymore, and my he told me that I used to be infectiously positive. I can't stand the negative person I have become. I know I should get a new job, but I'm trying to figure out what is right for me. Should I even be a nurse? I have been interested in things such as counseling and teaching before. I am currently in a masters program but have also applied to a midwifery program and am waiting to hear back. I am truly just questioning all of my decisions in life. Thank God I am on vacation after tomorrow... I don't know what I would do after this week so far.

Basically all of those things sound like a great deal of fun, and something that I would enjoy. I think you're right and I think that I have made the decision that I basically already knew was the right answer, to go for the MSN in education and leadership right now. I think directly out of nursing school I was so focused on furthering my education that I jumped into something just to jump into something. I love the idea of helping the community as a whole and being involved in many different realms. Thanks for the insight sadiemae1123

thanks Zmansc, good point regarding what I like now might not be ideal in 20 years. And yeah, it seems like there are a lot of post-masters options...

Sadiemae1123 The public health nurse thing sounds truly right up my alley. Good idea. I was a "peer educator" in high school and we helped with sex education classes and also learned a lot about HIV/AIDS and I feel like I'm truly doing something when it comes to that sort of realm.

Good luck to you Lisalis! The FNP profession deserves someone that is excited about it, and it's not that I think I wouldn't be okay with it, I just think that there are other things that I think I would love, and that's the important part. My dad has spent a lot of time talking me out of being a midwife, and put an emphasis on me making up my mind...but there's so much to explore! And I'm not exactly sure why, but I let him talk me out of doing a lot of things. I think you're right and I really do just need to follow my heart.

Hey guys, I thought I would post in here to see what others have to say, because I'm sure my family and friends are sick of hearing all of my indecisiveness. I am currently a float pool nurse, which is not a job that I like... I do like being a nurse though, and think that it would be possible for me to find a different job in a different area that would more suit my interests. As I have been a nurse for about two years, I feel like this is about the time when more opportunities open up outside of the bedside/hospital realm. I am interested in things such as public health, research, hospice, midwifery, and teaching. I am currently enrolled in the first semester of a family nurse practitioner program, and I truly do not know why. I have thought in the past that it would be good to be in the position of a primary care provider and work more in the community, but I do not know that I want that responsibility at this time in my life, and I think that I would be able to further explore that realm working as a public health nurse or something like that. Here are the things that I could do... finish my FNP and spend a whole bunch of money on something that I don't know that I want, or I could switch my concentration to the MSN in education and leadership, which is shorter, $15,000 less, online (so I could move if I want to, which is something that I may honestly need to do within a year or so). Or I could apply to school to be a midwife, which is something that I endlessly read about and find extremely intriguing... I could try to do that now, or finish my masters only now, and get a post masters certificate if I truly decide that this is what I want to do. I think that the masters program would boost my chances getting into a midwifery program, because my undergrad GPA was a 3.23 and it seems that midwifery programs are rather competitive. Or I could work for a while after getting my masters and stop spending so much darn money. If any of you have read this whole thing, I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts!

I would be commuting about a half an hour (which is not bad at all in my opinion). Honestly, probably getting a job at the places that I'm looking would be more flexible considering that I work 2-8's and 2-12's right now, and would be rotating 3-12's at a different hospital. I am moving a little closer to the city in about a month, so I would be even closer to all of the hospitals that are up thataway shortly. I would have to work some nights, but not all nights.