mamab3

Hi there, I am not a nurse but would love to pick the brains of nurses! I will provide a little background info first and then personal info before I get to my question. :) I am 35. I started undergrad at 17, as a pre-med major. I had some pretty crummy life events that really ruined my early undergrad experience and I dropped the pre-med. But it was my lifelong dream to be a pediatrician. (I used to read medical books for fun. Huge medical nerd!) I got my BA in psychology with the intent of becoming a PsyD. I was a case manager for 2 years for dual-diagnosis (drug addicted and mentally ill), mostly homeless clients. I burned out on it HARD and decided I'd rather work with the young and innocent. I went back to school and got my Master's in Education. I taught 3rd, kindergarten and 1st. After my first child was born (he is now about to be 6), I taught half-day kindergarten for a year before I realized that teachers get paid poorly, and the educational system is broken. I was stressed out and handing my entire paycheck to our daycare provider. I did childcare out of my home for another year until my second son was born. I was a SAHM for about a year and a half. I enjoyed the time with my children, but suffered from pretty debilitating anxiety and migraines during this time. I learned a lot about the importance of self-care. I had to see specialists for the migraines, anxiety, took some aromatherapy/essential oil classes, got to know some acupuncturists and in general became very interested in a holistic approach to health. My husband was laid off about 18 months ago and I realized that nothing in life is a sure thing, and decided that I'd like to work, at least part-time, so that we will always have my career to fall back on. I am entrepreneurial in spirit - I have a real estate business with my father, it is essentially college funds for each of our children. I got licensed as an in-home childcare facility and turned the lower level of my home into a preschool. I have been open for a year and have a waiting list. As a licensed and certified teacher, I know what I am doing planning the curriculum, and it's part-time, but it is a LOT of work to maintain a school within my home. I am now pregnant with #3 and trying to decide what I want to do with my preschool next year. I have done a lot of self-reflection and realized that I did it out of monetary necessity and not necessarily true passion. Preschool, and education in general, is not something I want to do forever. I do love to educate and advocate, but the schools just don't pay enough for me to feel like it's worth it to go back. I have always had an interest in the medical field. I love medical research. I have particular interests in midwifery/L&D, psych, educating lower SES families on healthier choices for their families, holistic and alternative health, and nutrition. I think I would LOVE educating others on how to be healthy. Family and friends have always joked that I am an "armchair physician" - I learn from medical books (pre-Internet), medical studies and articles, medical shows, etc. I have friends who come to me for advice and almost always I can tell them how to follow up and if it's serious or not. All of this being said, I am no spring chicken. (Not old, but 35 and going back to school isn't the same as 19 and starting out fresh!) I have also come to truly value life/work balance and self-care. I am blessed in that my husband makes a salary our family of 5 can live on. I am looking for something to contribute as cushion money. I would like to work 15-30 hours a week from the get-go, not work nights (it really wrecks my mental health to mess up my sleep), make $30k+. Is this a realistic goal? I am smart, I am a hard worker, but I refuse to burn myself out as I have done in the past. I have nurse and PA friends and have asked about their jobs, most seem to love it. Whenever we are in a doctor's office or hospital, I grill the poor nurses and PAs. I have researched medical model vs. nursing model and think nursing model suits me much better. I think eventually I'd like to be an NP, but don't want to just jump headlong into a career change if it's not a good fit for the life/work balance I am looking for. Thank you for taking the time to read my enormous essay! Penny for your thoughts!