pooh

Chile; WE are well paid compared to other professionals? WHAT other professions are you referring to? I'm an LPN in Minnesota and make just under $30G/year - 10 years experience. I'm working on my RN and can expect another $6G/year entry level and MN is one of the higher paying places that I've scouted out on the net. It's also a $#%^ expensive place to live, relatively. I don't get paid one penny extra for the fact that I've completed 2/3 of my RN degree and all that science, anat and phys has come in darn handy sometimes... Sound like a lot? Go through a quarter of nursing school or a quarter of college to qualify - no guarantees you'll you'll make it. Pay for that yourself. No guarantees. I realize that while you're lifting pts that are kicking and fighting you, the nurse's job, walking cooley down the hall with a hand full of pills or a BP cuff may look easy by comparison, but she/he didn't get there by by simply filling out an application and taking a 6 week course. In truth, you have no idea of the responsibility that goes along with the title of 'Nurse'. I've never met one that thought they were paid commensurately with their responsibilites. Of course NA's are important and I admire those that are good at their job and want to stay there. A good aide on the shift is worth her weight in gold but, but. They aren't nurses. Walk a mile....get there first.

Micknmel; I don't know what ocr is but I do know what panic disorder is so I'll address that. I wouldn't tell anyone about either until you have started the program and gone through a few situations so that you can assess just how much, when, and how the conditions are going to affect you specifically. You may not need to say anything. If you do (nursing instructors aren't alway the most compassionate or knowledgeable creatures in the world), go armed with as much info as you can get: articles you clipped, a statement from your doctor, documentation that this is a viable disability, etc. Be prepared to be assertive about your needs. But do become a nurse if that's your dream. Nursing is just made up of a lot of people with all the quirks, conditions, disabilities, weaknesses and strengths as the rest of the population. You'd probably bring to a psych job a lot of compassion and knowledge that a person isn't going to get in school. Go for it & don't look back!