Urgent help needed--cried after leaving a job site

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A need to give a little background about my self. I have a Masters in Nutrition and work as a community educator conducting nutrition classes in the commnuity for the past 7 years. My work schedule is very flexible, mostly work from 10:00-3:00 and I am salaried so hours don't matter as long as you do your work.

What is frustrating about this job is that we are expected to have at least one class per week. We recruit our own clients. We are expected to charge a fee to cover program expenses. As a result, it has been very hard recently to recruit people to participate in a class. Most of the times the class ends up being cancelled.

As a result, I have ended up taking my nutrition classes to senior centers so as to get the numbers. I feel like I am wasting my time since most of the seniors are disoriented and have virtually no interest in nutrition at this stage of their life. I was in such a site today and I ended up talking to myself for one hour and when I left there, I broke down and wondered what a waste of my dear life.I feel so depressed and sometimes and it has bondered on being suicidal. I am bitter and angry all the time this puts alot of strain on my family and my 2 kids ( 4 months and 3 years).

I was pretty smart in college with 4.0 GPA in both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I cannot change my speciality since I do not have the RD credetial that would allow me to work in a hospital or do consultation.

I have considered career change for the last 5 years to either nursing or accounting. I am a very quite and reserved person. I don't know if nursing is for me. I feel so lost. I have considered accelerated BSN and then MSN. I know I have the ability to study and pass. I do come from an international country and I am not sure if having an accent is a limitation for being a nurse. My English is very good since I have been doing classes for the last 7 years.

Any advice???? I probally need some counselling. I don't want to waste another day of my life. I can't imagine myself doing this for another 5 years.

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Any advice???? I probally need some counselling. I don't want to waste another day of my life. I can't imagine myself doing this for another 5 years.

kikuyu, you answered your own question. You MUST share your feelings with your PCP. Frankly, your job sounds okay. You have other issues. :(

You are not wasting your life. You are raising children, have completed degrees, are a smart woman who has managed to leave her home and make a new life in a new country.

See your doctor and talk to him/her about getting some help.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

you sound very frustrated. Are you a certified diabetic educator? If not, I would recommend certification so you can work in hospitals and other areas. We have one who is prn and makes $45/hr (in a part of the country where most people make about half that). She goes to various hospitals in the area on specific days of the week. People pay for diabetic education and nutrition therapy for special diets like renal, cardiac, gestational diabetes----- in fact, I just remembered there is another nutritionist who who works part-time for the bariatric surgeon. Maybe you just need a change of pace.

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Specializes in geriatrics, L&D, newborns.

Get help now! And get out of this job if you can. No job is woth this kind of despair. And you have 2 children who need you.

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if you're contemplating spending money on a career change, what would it take for you to be a credentialed RD?

leslie

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if you're contemplating spending money on a career change, what would it take for you to be a credentialed RD?

leslie

It would take 9 months of full-time internship with no pay. That is the only way I can work in other specialities like diabetes and renal.

I figure out that an acellerated BSN would take me about 2 years and the starting pay for both (RN and RD) is the same--similar to what I am making now--about $20 an hour in the mid west.

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Kikuyu,

I am so sorry that you feel so lost. I can just imagine how stressful it must be to try to recruit enough students to get paid, or how bad you must feel to have to resort to teaching elderly people who might not be "all there" and feeling that you are exploiting them in a way. I am not judging you at all because I would do it too if I had children to think about.

That being said, I do not think that that situation alone should make you feel desperate enough to the point of being suicidal. I know how easy it is to feel angry when you think about all the work you put into getting your degrees and creating a career for yourself only to find out that no matter how hard you work you can't seem to get ahead. In order to start anew in any new field you must put away this anger and get help with the feelings of depression. You can't let all this negativity fester and grow because a lifetime of felling like that is no life at all. For your sake and your children's do not feel embarassed or be too proud to get help for yourself. There is no shame in that.

I think that after you emotionally center yourelf again there is no reason why you could not succeed as a nurse. Given your academic background you should have no problem doing well in school. If your English is good enough to teach then it will be good enough to be a nurse. Plus, that is something you can always improve with practice.

I think that you need to leave your job, or try to find a different one and start investigating nursing programs. Channel all your energy into doing well in school and attaining your new goals instead of dwelling on your past. I wish you and your children the best.

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

H.D. Thoreau

Emma

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Specializes in CVICU, CCU, SICU, MICU.

Wow, it's amazing that you've accomplished so much and have overcome the hurdles of coming from another country! A 4.0 in undergrad AND grad isn't PRETTY smart, it's practically genius! I am sure that if you decided to go that route, you would be a wonderful nurse. I live in Los Angeles, and there are hardly any nurses here who DON'T have accents.

You need to figure out what YOU want from your life, and what the best path to get there is. In some regards, it wouldn't matter if you were making the same amount of money if you were happier. Plus, once you get your RN there are so many upward mobility options and other degrees/specializations that you can get.

I would shadow a nurse, or volunteer in a hospital to see if it is something that you really want to do. It sounds like your job is flexible enough that you could even find a CNA course (they're short and usually very affordable) to get some more experience.

Good luck, I hope you can find a solution that's best for you and your family.

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A need to give a little background about my self. I have a Masters in Nutrition and work as a community educator conducting nutrition classes in the commnuity for the past 7 years. My work schedule is very flexible, mostly work from 10:00-3:00 and I am salaried so hours don't matter as long as you do your work.

What is frustrating about this job is that we are expected to have at least one class per week. We recruit our own clients. We are expected to charge a fee to cover program expenses. As a result, it has been very hard recently to recruit people to participate in a class. Most of the times the class ends up being cancelled.

As a result, I have ended up taking my nutrition classes to senior centers so as to get the numbers. I feel like I am wasting my time since most of the seniors are disoriented and have virtually no interest in nutrition at this stage of their life. I was in such a site today and I ended up talking to myself for one hour and when I left there, I broke down and wondered what a waste of my dear life.I feel so depressed and sometimes and it has bondered on being suicidal. I am bitter and angry all the time this puts alot of strain on my family and my 2 kids ( 4 months and 3 years).

I was pretty smart in college with 4.0 GPA in both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I cannot change my speciality since I do not have the RD credetial that would allow me to work in a hospital or do consultation.

I have considered career change for the last 5 years to either nursing or accounting. I am a very quite and reserved person. I don't know if nursing is for me. I feel so lost. I have considered accelerated BSN and then MSN. I know I have the ability to study and pass. I do come from an international country and I am not sure if having an accent is a limitation for being a nurse. My English is very good since I have been doing classes for the last 7 years.

Any advice???? I probally need some counselling. I don't want to waste another day of my life. I can't imagine myself doing this for another 5 years.

kikuyu - please listen to your heart- it's telling you something. i don't think having an accent is an issue at all - but it really sounds like the present job is not a good fit for you. there are so many different things to consider a job counselor could help you sort it out. good luck!

diahni

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

You sound like a wonderful and caring person. As suggested, speak to and shadow nurses to see what we do. See if this is what you wish to do. There are times in nursing that we are also frustrated with the constraints that are sometimes placed on us by management and regulatory agencies. However, you seem to have a gift that needs to be shared. Get some counseling and create some career goals. Keep us posted and please, don't give up. Your children need you, and when you get some clarity in your life, you will see that you are worth investing in. I see it already.

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It would take 9 months of full-time internship with no pay. That is the only way I can work in other specialities like diabetes and renal.

I figure out that an acellerated BSN would take me about 2 years and the starting pay for both (RN and RD) is the same--similar to what I am making now--about $20 an hour in the mid west.

kikuyu - when you explore your options, you'll find you can make a lot more than that - I know you can achieve whatever you want!

diahni

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Specializes in ICU, CCU,Wound Care,LTC, Hospice, MDS.

Have you been evaluated by a physician for depression? Your post lists the classic symptoms. Perhaps an antidepressant for a short time would help you make the right decision. Your job sounds great for a young mother!

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