CDeCapua

Although I have not attempted the Np Programs, I am a casualty of one of the 1st 2 yr RN programs in the early 70's that did not offer much clinical, 2 mornings/ wk. As a result I never attempted a med surg job, and after a decade many employers knew to avoid these graduates, and would only hire experienced. At age 60,I'm now unable to do the "heavy lifting in In/Pt Psychiatry and I'm up the proverbial creek. I highly recommend and will sign any petition to help NP students get more clinical through preceptorship. C.DeCapua

Dear Westieluv, I too am ready for a change from nursing, for reasons somewhat different then yours. I've sustained a permanent moderate back injury working in psychiatric forensics and no longer am allowed to work there. Anything in direct pt care seems out of the question also d/t most facilities demanding a 50 lb. lift or drag requirement. Legal nursing sounds interesting,however d/t my age and time/money demands I cannot seriously consider. I've learned that I can only do UR in an area I've worked, and that would be psych. There are no hospitals that need psych UR nurses in my rural county. Coding is what another nurse and I decided would be my best bet. I'm learning that the schools that train at home for this, do give a cert of completion but that only gets you into the state test. Without passing the state test it is a no go. Some companys require 2 yrs of work experience before considering hiring, and none will hire you to work from home at least not initially. There are companys that need Rns to go into the homes of the elderly and do assessments for insurance companys. They pay in Calif 50.00 an assessment, and that covers your driving time, computerizing your assessment and the actual house visit. They do no gurntee any certain # of intakes per wk. As a previous owner of a Curves I would enjoy consulting with women on health wt loss, hormonal changes with menopause. I am hopeful about finding something in this genre. If you have anything to share in this regard, please do tell. [email protected]

I have been a psych nurse for approx 30 yrs, the last 5 in forensics. d/t a recent back injury, I cannot continue in psych nursing at the AA degree level which involves direct pt care, including takedowns etc. I never did acute med surg, only acute psych. I'm wondering without the acute med surg experience if I would have a difficult time being hired into any of the following: UR, case management, or MDS. D/t my age, 61, and being out of time and money (1 yr on SdI , ) I am looking for the quickest way to employment, without waiting for advanced training. I don't mind training into a job that will train you on the job or ask you to take some additional certification courses while employed. I just don't see that a long journey to a bachelors and then a masters makeing sense at this time in my life. Of the 3 choices I mentioned which would be the best to start with, and then to progress on to. I see courses for RN to MSN if you want to to case management. Is that really necessary? Bewildered and Betwixt

Re: MicroSoft Office Suite. I am a psychiatric nurse trying to return to the nursing field after getting over specilaized in Psychnursing forensics for 30 yrs,and a back injury of 1 yr ago, which prevents this type of nursing. Most if not all of the jobs I see on Craigs list and several others, Indeed, JobHunt etc require proficiencys in all programs of Microsoft Office Suite. By the way if anyone knows of a good area for me to pursue in nursing with these deficiencys, please contact me @ [email protected]. I joined this blog months ago to find training in Utilization Review and still have yet to find a training program for this. Thanks in Advance .