[dave753]

I am a 27 year old male who has worked in construction ,as an electrician, for the last 7 years. In high school, I wanted to become a RN. when I went to colllege, I was young and liked to party at the time and didn't do as good in school as I should have. I got my nurse aide liscence and worked as a patient care assistant on a med/surg floor for a couple of months. I was very discouraged with school and work. At work, all I ever did was give baths and change dirty depends. With me being a male alot of female patients didn't want me to to bath them. With this discouragement I left the medical field and went to go work as an electrician. I have been doing this for about 7 years. I enjoy my job, but my body is taking a beating. Two years ago I dislocated 3 vertebre from a fall and just recently I had to have arthoscopic surjury on my knee for torn cartlidge. At this rate by time I'm 50 I'll be in a will chair. I decided it was time for a career change. I have always had a love for the medical field and nursing. My shows are all on discover health channel (the critical hour, trama; life in the ER). I know that I would love to work in the ER. But, I don't know what holding me back. I think I just need some words of encouragement. My wife is currently in her last year of nursing school. She knows I have a love for nursing but she's not giving me the encouragement I need to take the next steps. Anybody out there ever gone through this before? Any words of encouragement?

[cooley346]

Your not alone. I'm 24 and have been an auto mechanic for 6 years. I'm going into LPN school in about a month and then onto RN. I did pretty much the same thing in college. You can do it, just be aggresive. It's really hard going from fields like ours into nursing. Everyone tells me I won't be able to do it, at least they did at first now they just don't say anything. Who cares if you don't get the support you need. If it's what you really want to do then go after it. Be selfish and forget about everyone else. I have a 10 month old and if home life starts getting distracting then I told them I'm going to leave until I'm done with school. It's for their own good too. If they can't see that than that's their problem. Go after your goals. Once they are met make new ones. I had goals to reach by the time I was 35 and I completed them when I was 23. Now I get to do even more stuff. You just have to go after it with everything you got. I look at it like mowing grass with a riding mower. If you try to do it at full throttle in 5th gear than it'll get done but something might get missed. Do it at full throttle in 3rd gear and nothing gets missed. Pace yourself and think of the outcome.

[nursinghumor]

I'd hesitate to recommend nursing.

It is highly demanding physically and tough on the body. Unless you planned to go into it for the license, get a few years of experience then move to nonclinical nursing, I don't think you'd want to spend 20 years at the bedside.

Look into it very closely, back injuries are the #1 cause of disability among nurses. With your back already in poor shape, you're asking for trouble.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.nursefriendly.com

[mako2004]

There are many areas of nursing that can be practiced without stressing your back. Diabetic educators are in demand right now, ours is retiring - we are currently looking for a replacement. This job will be offered in house first but if no one is certified it will be offered to the public. Clinic nursing is a great gig Monday to Friday no weekends, holidays, evenings or nights.

[dave753]

Thanks for the info. I am acutually A type 1 diabetic and I'm very educated in this area. I think it would be a rewarding career to being able to work with people that have the same illness as me. I am currently using an insulin pump and would love to educate people on insulin pumps. Not only patients put medical personel too. Thanks again for the input.

[nursinghumor]

I can agree with Mako and the Diabetic Educators. Once you have some experience and bedside skills under your belt, there are lots of opportunities.

You can do Diabetic Education, Continuing Education, Legal Nurse Consulting, Nursing Research and a host of other possibilities that don't involve stressing your back.

You can find more than a few examples of where you can go as a nurse on http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com it is a directory of nurse owned businesses for those looking to get away from bedside nursing.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com

[Kelly Man]

[quote=dave753]I am a 27 year old male who has worked in construction ,as an electrician.

Dave, I'm a 50 year old electrcal contractor who is starting my first term towards nursing. If I can do it I'm sure you can? Go for it and don't look back!

[dave753]

Hey Kelly Man just checking back to see how the schooling is going? Are you glad you did it now?

[Ricu]

I'd like to give my congratulations to the two guys who are looking to go to or are in nursing school. Try not to let anyone discourage you from your interest. To the guy whose wife is a nursing student, does she know that you are sure you really want to do it? It would be surprising to learn that she wouldn't support you in your efforts. It sounds like you're both really motivated and have a lot to offer. There are a variety of alternative training programs in addition to the conventional way. If you have some medical background like I did, consider Excelsior College. I got my nursing degree from there when it was Regents College and was able to do it inside of two years and remain in the full time workforce all the while. We own a home and are raising a family so I had to work. If you have no medical background but have college credits especially sciences and mathematics, they will certainly transfer and shorten your education timeframe. As others have said, there are many career options in the field of nursing and there is definite need in the areas where you each are experienced. Diabetes is an epidemic and educators are in demand. Someone who has lived with diabetes will be extremely effective. Imagine how gratifying it would be to teach someone how to live better using a combination of medical knowledge and personal experience. Healthcare information systems are common. I've discovered that few programs are good, most are just adequate and many are simply poor. A nurse with program design experience might be able to write a program that operates the way that a nurse delivers care. My background is in respiratory care and I went into nursing because I was frustrated with such a limited scope of practice. I liked the life support management and critical care so currently I work in ICU. I plan to go into advanced practice and do anesthesia when I am able to go part time and sit in the classroom. I'd like to take a minute and focus on the physical aspect of nursing. The job is indeed physically challenging and it is true that back injury is common. What you haven't been told is that there is mandatory education annually on the subject of injury prevention and all necessary equipment for patient mobility is provided in the workplace. Those injuries you hear about are completely preventable. Nurses are busy people and there is a lot of short- cut taking especially when it requires taking a minute or two to get the proper equipment. I injured my back as a teenager while working in landscaping and again later in a rear-end collision. That was over twenty years ago and I have worked in healthcare all that while. I'm also the big guy that everyone gets to help move the large patients. Thankfully good rehabilitation and good education have enabled me to remain injury free. I'm stronger than I've ever been because I work out daily and even lift weights. As you can see, there are ways around your personal limitations. Go for your goals and please make it nursing. The field needs good people and you both sound like you would be great.

Another guy in the field.

[nursinghumor]

Originally Posted by mako2004

There are many areas of nursing that can be practiced without stressing your back. Diabetic educators are in demand right now, ours is retiring - we are currently looking for a replacement. This job will be offered in house first but if no one is certified it will be offered to the public. Clinic nursing is a great gig Monday to Friday no weekends, holidays, evenings or nights.

Once you've got some experience under your belt, preferably acute care hospital, you can go literally anywhere with the experience. Go work in a public health clinic, work for a home health agency, sign on with an insurance company doing case management (no patient lifting, etc).

You can also go the entrepreneur route and start your own business. Lots of possibilities out there. See: http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com

I'd think long and hard on what you want to do with nursing. Find out if it is really for you. Try reading "Nurses' Views of The Nursing Profession" http://www.nursefriendly.com/views

They give strong arguments for and against going into nursing.

Hope that is helpful to you.

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursing Associations, Degree Programs Online, Jokes, Schools, Scrubs & More
http://www.4nursing.com