Hello, this is the first day I've stumbled upon this site and I've been on it for literally 10-ish hours reading different posts. I have a few (or a lot...) of questions about nursing that I would LOVE to be answered. Seriously, I will be so appreciative of anyone who tries to help; I've been driving myself crazy today with some of this. Here goes, might be long...
Currently, I am in school and have another semester of CORE classes until I enter dental hygiene. I don't REALLY want to be a hygienist, or a nurse, or anything... the problem is I don't really know what I want to do. There is so much in life that interests me that I can't imagine just doing one thing my whole life. There are a few things I KNOW I want to do, at least in my spare time - photography, ceramics, design/sew some clothing of my own. While I've always been drawn to these things, I don't like the idea of not having job stability or any guarantee that I won't be starving on the streets (I have absolutely no outside support financially). Which is where the health professions come in.
I've always kind of thrown the idea of hygiene and/or nursing around, mostly for something to do so that I can pay my bills while pursuing the things I really want. Please, no one be offended; I have VAST amounts of respect for what you all do. My mom is a nurse and a damn good one at that and one of the best people I know. It's just that I don't feel like it's my "calling." (I honestly don't feel like anything is my "calling", haha) I do know that I could be a good nurse... I really care about people, I can relate and connect easily, and I really enjoy trying to cheer people up, etc. But I don't want to wipe anyone's ass or clean up their crap.
The reason I'm doubting dental hygiene at this point is because, mainly, I hear it gets ridiculously repetitive; and even though I don't want to do one thing the rest of my life, that idea just kind of creeps me out. Also, it is becoming very hard to find a job in the field, contrary to what you might have read or heard. I do, however, enjoy cleaning my own teeth and teeth don't gross me out, and the part-time aspect is soooooooooooooooo incredible to me as I want to do it while going back to school for art or sociology or something. And they make good money. But I'm really afraid I won't find a job. The place I want to attend school for the art or whatever is near LA, and that's pretty much my only option. So if I can't find a hygiene job there, I'm back to waiting tables (AKA wanting to kill myself).
Now nursing seems much more promising when it comes to finding a job. I'll just get to some of the questions I have right now, thanks for anyone who took the time to read this.
1. I really don't want to wipe butts. Will I absolutely have to wipe butts? I don't mind cleaning up puke every now or then; I don't mind blood. But poop... not so much.
2. I see there are tons of specialties in nursing. For all I know, the specialty that one chooses can make it just as hard to find a job as a nurse as it is to find one as a hygienist... so, does it REALLY matter what you specialize in? Or is it more like, when you're starting out, you just kind of do whatever you can take?
3. The pay for a hygienist out in LA is usually around $38-50/hour. That is perfect because I will be going to school while working; so does a nurse's pay allow for only part-time hours to be worked, and still make enough to make rent, pay for school, food, etc? Remember, I have no one else to count on for financial support except for possible financial aid.
4. Can I even BE a part-time nurse? I know I COULD, but how likely is it that I might get hired, fresh from school, part-time? This is a HUGE factor for me; I need the part-time and flexibility.
5. I currently live in NYC and would be finishing nursing school here should I choose to switch, but I really would like to move to LA ASAP after finishing school. I'm thinking I'd have to become registered in CA as soon as I move, but would that affect my ability to find a job at all?
So the main things are, will I get hired part-time with a decent starting salary in CA?
I know there are more questions but after writing this novel some of them have escaped me. I'll add more when I think of them. Thank you SO so so so SO MUCH.
