WonderingWhichWay

First off, I do not plan to take out any loans. Given that it should take about 24 months I should be able to handle that financially. Second, I have been told by many people ( both in the field, and out that they are not able to find enough people to fill the positions)that there was a shortage. If not a shortage I will restate that has a surplus of positions.Perhaps this is occurring where I am located. I do not plan to make any moves although I will drive to a position if necessary. I would limit my drive time to 45 minutes- 1 hour one way. I have looked at several Job listing sites and have found many openings listed. To me that would infer that there are many openings and they are not finding enough people to fill these positions. I might add that I have looked at these Job Boards several weeks in a row. I have not spoken to any schools on the topic of shortages. Of course, they are in it to get as many students in their programs as possible and they paint a picture of severe shortage. Since they are not out in field they may lose touch with what exactly is needed. I find this to be true in most fields. If you all knew someone who wanted to enter a medical field what would you suggest? I really had my heart set on nursing and while some of you stated that you did not want to discourage it did come out that way in a sense. If there is no shortage of nurses I suppose you would also say that is no shortage of any positions in the medical fields. Would that be the case?

I work in a different profession that has the same issues. I steer clear of those who cause trouble or make fun of others. I am not rude to them. I am cordial: I say. " Hi, how are you?" and I do not go beyond that. I mind my own business and do not get caught up in the drama. I have friends that are the same as I. We are friendly to everyone but, we do not get caught up in the drama that goes on. This negativity will bring one down in a heart beat. It does not look professional to anyone to involve oneself in that type of atmosphere. While it might initially be hard to distance oneself away from this negativity but, it is the only way to go. To be frank, you do not need classroom drama to bring you down. Keep in mind that your professor might be one of the people who provides a reference for you. And of course, the number reason you are there is to learn how to be a nurse not how to get mixed up in the classroom bullying. In my field we are required by law to report bullying. Other than that we just keep it professional. Good Luck on your studies.

Hello. I am currently not in the nursing profession but, I hope to be soon. I am 55 and will be retiring from teaching. I have both a Bachelors and a Masters in my area of concentration. My brother is an oncologist and my daughter is in her 3rd year of medical school. After talking with both of them I have made my decision to go into nursing. My daughter recently told me that I should not consider a LVN program because they are being phased out by 2020. Those that are currently in that area will have to go back to school and get a BSN. I realize that the number of people this affects is quite extraordinary. To obtain either a BSN or LVN will essentially take the same amount of time for me since I have a Bachelors and will be able to use many of those hours except for the Sciences and the Mathematics ( which are older than 2 years). I spoke to a lady at the local community college and she suggested to jump into an LVN program and then, just go back to school when the need arises. I am at a cross road with this idea. It seems that I would be able to devote more time in the field itself if I were to go the BSN route. As far as prerequisites for the BSN I would start taking those during night school while I am still working as a teacher. I do not anticipate that there will be any issues with that. In addition, I have already started researching nursing schools and am looking at one that is offered by UTA online. Since I reside within driving distance of a major medical center that UTA uses for rotations, this, in my opinion, would be a fantastic experience. I sincerely believe that rotations in the medical center in Houston would be far better than the medical center in the city in which I reside. Of course, I would need to get into nursing school at UTA for that to happen. I am more mature than most students but, I have told that there are no age restrictions in the medical fields since there is a shortage. Any and all pleasant opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time in reading my note. Sincerely, WonderingWhichWay