What would you be in another life?

[NurseYoshi]

Hey all,

So I'm sure there are probably some old threads about this, but what would you do if you hadn't gotten into nursing school, passed NCLEX, or not gotten that first job in the nursing field? What would your backup plan have been? Or what did you do before nursing? If you left nursing, why and what do you do now?

I'm just being curious, but I suppose I can start. If I hadn't gotten into nursing school, I would have become either a math teacher or gone into law and done family type stuff.

Can't wait to read what all you have to say!

[Kitiger, RN]

If I were independently wealthy, with my nursing background, I would build a nursing facility that's filled with all the amenities of home, like the freedom to stroll around the grounds, keep pets, get up and go to bed when the *resident* chooses rather than the staff's convenience. It would be fully staffed and all rooms would be private, with private baths. No being hauled in a Hoyer lift to a cold shower room down the hall. The food would be cooked to resident tastes and served attractively. The halls would be decorated with beautiful plants and art. Residents with dementia would have a safe enclosed area to wander around without being chased indoors by harried CNAs. I'd have separate hospice rooms staffed by nurses specially trained to handle end-of-life issues. There would be several activity directors, some of whom would work nights which is when some residents are wide awake and need interaction. And of course, there would always be enough staff to be able to take time to actually listen to the residents and comfort them as needed, because even in a beautiful facility, it's still not *home* and people get lonely.

I can dream, can't I?

What a WONDERFUL dream. I'm with you!

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

I would have been a rock star of course!

I spent many years playing in bands and touring all over the United States, Great Britain and Canada, playing in some incredible places and opening for a lot of very famous bands and it was a blast, but unfortunately it doesn't pay the rent. It's a tough road to travel when the music world is so fickle. I decided to pursue my nursing career simultaneously while many of the people who I played with did not have a similar alternative, and these days they tend to struggle a bit. I'm grateful to have had the foresight to have planned for the future. It was a heck of a lot of fun while it lasted though. I've recorded 6 albums and am currently working on the 7th at the moment. I never gave it up...I just shifted my focus. I'm getting too old for this shizzle.

[PrettyNerd, CNA, LPN, LVN]

If I were independently wealthy, with my nursing background, I would build a nursing facility that's filled with all the amenities of home, like the freedom to stroll around the grounds, keep pets, get up and go to bed when the *resident* chooses rather than the staff's convenience. It would be fully staffed and all rooms would be private, with private baths. No being hauled in a Hoyer lift to a cold shower room down the hall. The food would be cooked to resident tastes and served attractively. The halls would be decorated with beautiful plants and art. Residents with dementia would have a safe enclosed area to wander around without being chased indoors by harried CNAs. I'd have separate hospice rooms staffed by nurses specially trained to handle end-of-life issues. There would be several activity directors, some of whom would work nights which is when some residents are wide awake and need interaction. And of course, there would always be enough staff to be able to take time to actually listen to the residents and comfort them as needed, because even in a beautiful facility, it's still not *home* and people get lonely.

I can dream, can't I?

Wow! Please make that happen, that sounds amazing! I can see it as an assisted living.

[PrettyNerd, CNA, LPN, LVN]

I would be a personal fitness trainer/own a business.