What is your dream job?

[MHDNURSE]

Let me start by saying I LOVE my current gig. The hours are perfect, I work with great staff, I have a 15 minutes commute...

BUT, if I were to describe a job where I could be doing anything, I would love to be working out in the community doing home visits for moms with newborns. When I worked as a Nurse Practitioner, I specialized in newborns and all the new babies would come to me for their first pediatrician visit after being discharged from the hospital. I loved all of the teaching, reassuring the worried parents, catching issues before they became a problem, and of course, getting to snuggle with all those sweet babies.

Ideally I would love to find a program where I could use my Spanish and visit at-risk families with new babies. I haven't been able to find anything like this in my community. Like I said, I love what I am doing right now, but I would consider a change if something as I described was an option.

What about everyone else?

[chacha82, ADN, BSN]

A 20 bed unit where we all have 1:4 ratio. We have a charge nurse, a unit secretary, and 3 CNAs. Admits are simple: We ask, "Do you want to be treated in our hospital?" If they say yes, they stay. Discharges are simple: The doctors attest the patient is medically clear, and they are discharged. Visiting hours 2-4 and again 6 - 8. Overnight tests only in extreme emergency. Meds are scanned and assessments done, otherwise minimal charting.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Post-partum

[LovelyLocs, ASN, BSN, RN]

I really enjoy med-surg, LTC, psych and public health :).

[Neats, BSN]

Hehehe... you got me I forgot what this was....had to look it up...duh!. Yeah...I could drink all day and get paid...count me in!

[bluescrubs, ADN, ASN, RN]

An O.R nurse or an astronaut. When I was a kid I was obsessed with the planet Pluto (still am and no one is going to tell me its not a planet. NO ONE!!!) lol.

[NurseBeans, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Nursing? Probably flight nurse. 1 patient at a time, high intensity, GET TO FLY ALL THE TIME...but with my school nurse hours. HAHAHA.

Non-nursing? Costumer for off-Broadway productions. Maybe make-up too. Abstract, but what I have wanted to do since I was 11.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Exotic Dancer

2nd Place: Cam Model

Nursing: Private duty peds/ vent, nights, eight hours

[moreoreo]

I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Love working with little ones. But in my area, it is very hard to find teaching jobs. So that is when nursing came to be. My whole reason for going into nursing school was to someday work in women's health. I absolutely love pregnancy, birth, postpartum, etc. That would be my dream job! If I didn't have a boatload of kids at home and felt I was capable, I would love to be a midwife. Maybe someday. I don't know.

I always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher but my parents discouraged it as they felt it was a low-paying and low-skill job. If I had pursued that, I would have made more of my undergraduate studies (I switched majors my junior year and had no idea what I would do with myself until then)--I think I would have loved studying elementary ed. I would have finished school sooner and would even be making more money than I do now. But who knows if I would really love it.

As a nurse, if my school could just have fewer students (most elementary schools in my state have 300-500 students, not the near 900 mine does--and we are adding two pre-k classes next year) and be closer to where I live, it would be close enough to my dream job. I adore the students, am greatly appreciated by most of the staff, and get to use my Spanish daily. I think I would like to work in L&D but after I experience my own pregnancy. I miss the bustle and quickness of working in the hospital but I feel like hospital nursing is not in the best place right now and is going to get a lot worse before it gets better so I am glad not to be in it right now.

As for non-nursing I wish I could work as a therapist or socializer for high-need dogs in animal shelters. I LOVE dogs. Alternatively, I would love to work in a bakery or chocolate shop!

[greenerpastures]

Baseball scout.

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

Dog rescue on a lot of green acres!

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

dream job- nursing - probably pretty happy where i'm at. Though i did like corrections in my short stint there. Maybe telephone triage if i can do it from some beach.

non-nursing -taste tester at the Edy's ice cream factory. or something where i can just sit and be creative all day - work on my half written novels and get paid boatloads of money. Lottery winner!

[kidzcare]

My dog walker and her husband are the coolest people ever. They were living in the city in a tiny apartment with two big dogs, no kids, and decided to make dog/pet sitting their full time jobs. They quit their jobs and moved to my town which is pretty affluent, North of Boston, LOTS of dog people. They bought a house with a huge back yard, got licensed and insured and started a full-time business. They make a LOT of money and love what they do. They run doggie playgroups twice a day out of their home. They pick up and drop off the dogs (my dog goes Friday mornings). They also do overnights, walks, house sitting, etc. They work year-round and rarely take any time off, but she swears she wouldn't change a thing. She says they make a lot more now than they did in "office jobs" and they are super happy. Might be worth thinking about, depending on your situation.

The problem with this is that you have to have the start up capital. A friend of mine had a friend who started a dog walking business and my friend couldn't be a full partner because she did not have the funds to invest in it. She had to leave after a year and a half of not making enough to live but her friend could continue it since her partner makes a 250K yearly.