Another newbie with questions...

[Caniac]

Very glad I found this board! I'm a 25 year old guy and am considering going back to school. I'm not sure what area but I'm leaning towards RN or physical therapy. After looking over the boards and getting lots of my questions answered I still have one more... I am a big family guy. Obviously school is pretty much nose to the grind stone, but how about after? Do ya'll get to have a happy home life with this career? I hope this isn't a dumb question. I just look at the lives of doctors and it seems like its work first and then family. Thanks for any help!

[AmandaWIRN]

Welcome! Home life is specifically why I changed my major from pre-med to nursing after 1 semester.... Doctors usually work longer hours, and most have to be on call quite a bit. Some nursing jobs require you to take some call, but usually not as much as physicians. If you want to work overtime, you can, but you can also stick to 36-40 hours/week if you want. I personally like working 12 hours shifts, because then I only have to work 3 days a week, unless I choose to pick up more. It gives me more days in a week to do what I want....

[OutWest]

I'm not a nurse but I'm married to one; I worked in inpatient rehab (OT)for a couple of years so I've had exposure to both professions. I think you'll find more schedule flexibility in nursing since you can work any shift, any day of the week, PT's typically must work day shift. Another thing to consider - you can become an RN with just a 2-year Associate's Degree, whereas PT's need a Master's.

They're both tough jobs that you've got to love to keep doing, so I recommend you spend some time observing a PT and an RN. The hospitals I worked at always had students around and were agreeable to this.