ksyrae

Hi Pharmacist-Turned-RN, In my whole 21 yr career as an RN, I have not met many pharmacist's turned into an RN. I agree with you, it is usually the other way around. However, I have to point out that my most important colleagues other than the MD is the pharmacist. You are the one I turn to for advise regarding new/changed/different medication regimens. I have also seen the trend of physicians allowing your profession to accept your "recommendations" regarding starting certain medications on a diverse patient population, dosing considerations, plus many other factors pertaining to patient's medication regimens. In that respect, I believe your knowledge base exceeds that of the staff RN. In my opinion, nursing is a rewarding career. However, with your advanced knowledge base you can provide a more "holistic" care of patients as an advanced nurse practitioner. Considering the trend is for nurse practitioners to obtain a PhD, you are 90% there considering the trend is now for pharmacist to also obtain a PhD.

Great to have actual evidenced based practice material on several health topics. With technology being what it is, a majority of patients now enter health care facilities with either lap tops, computer tablets, or smart phones with internet capabilities. They seem to get most of their health care information from the internet, whether correct or incorrect. This makes my job difficult when trying to provide patient education because most of the patient's internet information regarding health care is incorrect. I often have patients state "that's not what I read .. on this/that website". Many patients often question certain procedures/treatments for the wrong reasons based on what they have read on the internet, instead of asking questions based on informed consent.

I completely agree with your post. But isn't that why the Affordable Care Act of 2010 passed? To reform the health care system by reconceptualizing the role of nurses? Some facilities have started to do that with successful patient outcomes while reducing cost - by giving more authority to RN's & APRN's. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report by the IOM is an excellent read of what the nursing profession has to do to participate in reforming health care instead of leaving it up to physicians & other non-nursing staff . [h=1]The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health - Institute of Medicine[/h]

Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Tx & Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, Tx are in real need of nurses. Hope this helps .

You are absolutely right. In my city, we have 4 BSN & 1 ADN nursing schools. The trend from the area hospitals is to find reasons for firing seasoned nurses & hire new grads at a lower starting pay rate. However, there are only 3 major hospitals in the area, so flex time, cancellations, & on call for nurses really begin between late spring to mid autumn. A majority of new grads are moving away. Those who stayed in the area to practice have about a 6 month period before finding a employment.