LoLo16

Thank you for your reply. I have scheduled an appointment with my provider to discuss all of this with him.

Thank you, that's a good idea.

Hi everyone. I have a question that I hope someone can give me some clarification on. I am in my first year on my Bachelor's degree and I really want to join the Air Force when I am done through the Nurse Transition Program. I have talked to a recruiter and he told me that I was too early since I still have two years before my senior year of nursing school. Therefore I did not get a chance to ask him my following question. I was on antidepressants the year before last for a brief period of time and my doctor referred me to a psychiatrist just to make sure that everything was okay because it "wasn't his area of expertise". I had just broken up with a serious boyfriend, and my best friend had just moved out of the state, needless to say I was sad. Anyway, the psychiatrist cleared me after five or so visits, one every three to five months. I only took the antidepressant for about 8 months, and then my doctor and I agreed that I didn't need it because I wasn't depressed. But it was documented in my chart that I had depressive disorder when he prescribed me the medication. I have not been on the medication for over a year and my doctor even acknowledges that I was just going through a rough time. So my question is, will all of this medically disqualify me from joining the Air Force? I just want to reiterate that I am NOT depressed, and that I was psychologically cleared by both my primary care provider and the psychiatrist.

Thanks for the reply HouTx. I have already spent a lot of time in the ICU and CCU between working, volunteering and being the family member of a patient. I am friends with a couple of ICU nurses and have talked to them extensively about their jobs, and I will be requesting acute care for my clinicals. I know that I will be a good fit for acute care, emotionally and otherwise, but I agree that it was important for me to figure that out first. Also, I added the poll so that if someone didn't want to actually write out a reply they could leave their opinion quickly; I had no intent of people 'voting' on which career I should choose, since as you said, they know nothing about me. I 100% agree, that wouldn't make any sense lol.

Working as a CNA is a great option, however caregiving is also a good option for pre-nursing students. That is what I did for my two prerequisite years and it was nice because I didn't have to go through a CNA program; I just had to be CPR certified which I already was. Of course I can't speak for every assisted living facility or long term care facility out there, but I was fortunate that the company I worked for was 100% willing to work with my school schedule. It is also nice becasue such places are staffed 24/7 so if you have school during the day you could work swing or night shifts. Another option is becoming a caregiver for someone in their home. I didn't do that but I know that the hours are much more flexible as you and the person you are working for can set your unique schedule. Caregiving is a good option if you don't want to go through a CNA program but you still want a job that will provide you with some basic nursing experience. Just make sure that the nursing school you are applying to doesn't require you to have your CNA certification, because if it does, than you might as well get your certification now and get a CNA job as the pay is better than a caregiver. I don't have kids though, so working swing and nights was different for me than for a parent. But I just thought I would put the option out there. Good luck to you!

Hello everyone, I was accepted into a BSN program (it begins in just a couple of weeks and I am super excited!) and ever since I decided on a career in nursing I have known that I want to pursue a graduate degree. I know that I either want to pursue becoming an ACNP or a CRNA, I just can't decide which one I would like to pursue; so I figured I would ask for some opinions on both jobs! :) So if you are either an ACNP or a CRNA, or you know someone who is, if you wouldn't mind filling me in on some of the pros and cons to each? Such as salary, typical work schedule, typical benefits, etc. I know this may seem premature but I like to plan ahead and make fully thought out decisions; I am very detail oriented which is one of the reasons that I feel both of these jobs would be a good fit for me. Anyways, thank you for reading this long post, and if you can provide me some advice, it will be greatly appreciated!!