So where do you see yourself in 10 years? This question leaves me to ponder.....

ICRN2008, BSN, RN · Aug 23, 2007

In ten years I hope to be working part-time as an NP and spending more time with my family. I also hope to travel and do volunteer work.

I used to think that a career was the be all and end all of life. However, as I get older I am beginning to appreciate that my family and friends fulfill me more than any job ever could.

Joe NightingMale, MSN, RN · Aug 23, 2007

I was asked this question by my supervisor last night. 5 years ago I'd have said heck yeah I'm going back to school so I can advance myself in this profession. Well I tried that. I tried taking pre-masters courses and failed stats (a prerequisite to any masters of nursing program) because I was trying to work full time shiftwork at the same time. So that discouraged me more than a little.
Now in my search for balance in life I've made that decision that my homelife is the thing that I should be about what I am and this is what I will nurture instead of my career. Being all about my work is just no at all good for my sanity because there is just so little in it that I have control over.
So is this just giving up or is ths growing up and facing up to reality. Is that what self-preservation is?
So I'm getting married and want a lot of things -- only few of which I can realistically accomplish. First and formost I want children. I want to pounce on the opportunity being given to me to go to europe in 2009. I want to own a house. I want to find a better area of nursing -- and take extra training to do this if needed.
Well that's my life right now at 30.

I don't think it's giving up. I suspect that as we age and gain experience, our goals change in light of new information. As long as we're open to learning new things about ourselves, I believe our lives can grow and become more meaningful, even if it's not in the direction we thought.

Who knows what will happen to me when NS starts....I'm not ready to predict what will happen in 1 year, much less 10...

fultzymom · Aug 23, 2007

In 10 years I will be pulling my hair out because I will have THREE teenage girls in the house!! :lol2:

No, really I think that it will be a time for me to enjoy my life because my kids will be getting older and life at home will less hectic than it is now. I am not sure if I will be in the same job or not. Right now I am fine with it but you never know.......so.......I do want to go back and persue my Bachelor's Degree and then who knows what else. But that will have to wait until the kiddies are a little older.

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Aug 23, 2007

I'll be a year from retirement from my community health job.

OP, don't beat yourself up about graduate school. At my school, we were told if we didn't each pursue our MSN we were letting down nursing. I was a career changer and the prospect of another degree program weighed heavy on my mind. Now, 20+years later, I find I've had an amazing career, doing whatever I want, hampered not one bit by my lack of an MSN. I also found I had zero desire to plunk down a lot of cash for something that didn't meet my needs.

It depends on what you want to do. Maybe I've wrestled every possible opportunity from my BSN, I don't know. If there is something that you really want to do that requires an MSN, go for it. Just don't beat yourself up. Enjoy your family.

HealthyRN · Aug 23, 2007

Great question! On a professional level, in 10 years, I would like to be back in school working on my PhD (my ultimate goal). As far as my personal life is concerned, I hope to have children by then.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Aug 23, 2007

You are way ahead of me when I was your age. I think you are right where you need to be now. The next time you should respond to "where do you want to be in 10 years" with "still being the best nurse I can be".

You might consider getting a certification (if you do't have one already), being a preceptor or participating (not just joining) a committee in your facility. Working to make things better makes you better too.

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Aug 24, 2007

10 years from now, I will have my PhD, and will be doing research at MUSC in Charleston, SC (hopefully). DH and I love Charleston, so we plan to move there in 5 years.

leslie :-D · Aug 24, 2007

in 10 yrs, i plan on having my msn and being a palliative care np.

i also want to buy a home on the ocean, in maine.

leslie

allnurses Guide · Aug 24, 2007

My last kid will be graduating from college (at least she'd better be!). My last mortagage payments will be going in. My masters will be long completed. I'll be a black belt (it'll likely take that long, lol).

I'll be free to go back to India (there's a hospital I want to work in), travel where ever, maybe get a motorcycle and just bum around the roads of the US for awhile.

I'm hoping my knees will last until that, in the ER. :lol2:

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Aug 24, 2007

In 10 years I hope to still be working in outpatient radiology,

I will be 62 years old. As soon as I'm eligible for Medicare it's

retirement for me baby!!

psalm, RN · Aug 24, 2007

In 10 years I will have been a nurse for 15 years and hopefully be going on short term missions helping wherever needed...a grandmother (please, Lord!)...grayer...smarter...and wiser, but not a wise-guy!