bloviate

I did actually end up coming to DFW and it was a good move. Glad to be away from gaptoothed rednecks I worked with in LV. Working in a retail clinic right now. Great job and very happy to be back in civilization.

That is correct. I got recruited for a job working Trauma and then ended up doing something completely different. I ended up finding out the place was very dysfunctional. It is a small system and they aren't at all open to the idea of midlevels which is surprising. I would think that with reimbursement pressures they would be looking for alternatives. I hope that no one has to find out the hard way that Longview TX is not a place you want to be as a midlevel which is the reason that I've posted this.

There are only two facilities here. I am reluctant to drop names and I don't think it really matters to be honest. One is the same as the other

Beware of this place. This place does not have it's act together and has no idea how to use midlevels and it shows badly in how they treat us. Terrible place. Stick to the bigger markets.

It's pretty busy with the papers. I haven't studied as much as I did in my undergrad. The biggest thing I noticed is the schedule is brutal starting out and then it seems to let up in the last few semesters. I think what you really might be getting at is "do I measure up." If you did reasonably well in your undergrad and are fairly self disciplined you will do fine.

I agree. Move to where the jobs are. I am in the Southeast right now and the area is saturated or the pay is poor. That is not the case in other places in the country. I might beat you by a few hundred miles on that move linearthinker. Good luck to everyone.

I am in my mid 40's and going to school right now. I haven't heard about age being a problem. I'm happy to be away from the hospital. Overjoyed to be honest.

Congratulations. I am very happy for you

I am a student and we were just discussing this topic in class. Apparently PhD nurses are dwindling and the profession is very concerned about it. That being said I have a feeling faculty jobs are going to become more available in the future and schools are going to be a little more flexible about that issue. I don't know about tenure for DNP's and so forth. That information wasn't available for us and they only made one small mention about the issue in the text. Do you have anything to add on that since you identified yourself as a PhD nurse already? As to the original poster. I read something about a hybrid degree DrNP that combined research and clinical practice. I wonder if that might be a viable option? I don't even know if it's offered anywhere yet to be honest. Just something else I was reading about. Another thing that I wasn't aware of is that some nursing programs were having trouble getting accreditation and recognition for their PhD programs and were awarding degrees like DNSc etc. There was a lot of stuff I learned in that discussion about where nursing is right now and it was interesting. I'm getting too old to pursue anything past this MS so this is going to be my personal "terminal degree" :-)

LOL. It's also fun catching the ebola virus and bleeding from your eye sockets.

LOL. I knew the females on this thread were going to be in denial. Of course, I was right. This issue is real. The guy that wrote the paper was spot on. I said it in the 1990s when I was in school. I say it today more forcefully and with more confidence. I went into nursing loving women. I won't be crass enough to say where I am at with that now. Just glad to be leaving that garbage behind. B

I think this whole thread was a trolling attempt to be honest. At least that's what I thought when I read it. If not, it's just a lame topic. I want to be able to sit for boards when I am done and then go to work. My degree program will let me do that. Experience and continuing ed is going to take care of the rest of my needs. I retain as much as I can right now in school but I realize there is NO WAY they can prepare me for everything that I am going to be trying to do. Finally, I am happy as can be with my on-line program. It's super convenient and has opened the doors for me to do some other things while attending school. I am rather curious how people are doing about finding jobs out of school. I've been researching a little bit and it seems experience is being asked for in a large number of these open positions. Anyone have any thoughts on how to deal with that when interviewing etc. B

So what you're saying here if I might paraphrase is.......... Because I encountered two programs that don't require references I am going to condemn the whole system. This method is being used not only in nursing but for MBA's, much of the undergrad curriculum, various PhD programs etc. I'd say it's been found to be acceptable.

Good point about emotional exhaustion. I can't do work right now and that's a good part of the reason. I was lazy and fat before I started school. Now I am just fat.........Just kidding. I had to focus not only on school but on taking better care of myself by exercise, diet etc. That has been a deliberate effort. I've lost weight and I am in better physical condition now. Good side effects. I've had get a little more hardy to deal with all of this.

I took the first semester off from working. I plan to work per-diem just enough to pay......whatever. With careful budgeting and cutting expenses, I think you can do a lot to ease the financial burden of grad school. Fun isn't exactly in the mix. One nice thing about this thread is it's good to know MOST of us are facing the same issues. B