[hsieh]

so how'd it go wildhorse? do you want the job?

[wildhorse]

No, I would need ACLS, and right now, I can't afford it. Also after finding out more about the work... might have ended up another stressful area. As it is, I have applied and got a private duty nurse job. My only worry, is it is $1000 less than I make now. But, the stress level and anxiety potential is not there. So, for now, I will do this. Hopefully I can pay my bills.

[hsieh]

maybe you can recapture that 1000 by doing a few days of agency work. glad you found something you like. i feel sorry for people who work a job they hate. life is to short for that. i'm surpirsed they don't train you in ACLS if it's required. my work give us first aid, cpr, tb certifications for free. we even get paid to go to class.

[Grandsunset]

Madigan is having a hiring freeze. My husband just found out yesterday. It must have just went into effect. He works on 2S at Madigan too. This is soooo disapointing. He just rec'd his RN license and put in his application. Now we are not sure what to do. His license is out of state because he did Excelsiors program. I wonder how long it will last. We were going to call the VA tomorrow. What about correctional facilities? Who would we contact? He's part time military and we are working on trying to get him a direct comission. Any and all advice is welcome. We are praying for open doors.

[MagRedC5]

Originally Posted by Grandsunset

Madigan is having a hiring freeze. My husband just found out yesterday. It must have just went into effect. He works on 2S at Madigan too. This is soooo disapointing. He just rec'd his RN license and put in his application. Now we are not sure what to do. His license is out of state because he did Excelsiors program. I wonder how long it will last. We were going to call the VA tomorrow. What about correctional facilities? Who would we contact? He's part time military and we are working on trying to get him a direct comission. Any and all advice is welcome. We are praying for open doors.

Hiring freeze for RN's at MAMC... oh really? If this is true it must have just went into effect. BTW, my wife has both a TX & WA RN license. All he has to do his apply for a Washington state RN license via internet. He can ask Susan how to apply for WA RN license if they see each other on 2S [MAMC], or send me a PM if you like for the info.

Part-time military? LOL, do you mean USAR? Has he contacted the US Army Health Care Recruiting Station in Seattle? They can help with the application packet for direct commission into the Army Nurse Corps. If not, I can give you contact info for CPT Shavers, AHC Recruiter.

How do you like all the freak'n wind we are getting?

[tatnurse]

I am an RN who graduated in 2000. I worked 11 months, switched jobs and found out through routine blood work that I was ill. I worked 3 moths before I had to take a year off for chemo treatments. Got back to work, worked seven months, and my back went out. I have spent the last 3 1/2 years in severe chronic pain. Had an anterior approach spinal fusion and ended up with a complete dehiscence, and then got infected with MRSA and almost died. When the wound finally healed, the scarring was so bad, and so painful I had to go back and have surgery for that. During that surgery they found I had a huge herniation under the scar. By the time I healed from all that, I found out my back was messed up at another level! I considered suicide many times throughout this process. I mean, I had worked my ass off to become a nurse, accrued a lot of debt, and just when things were finally looking up I was unable to work. I was putting my family through hell, and had virtually no quality of life. I spent years on massive doses of pain meds just to be able to live. Thank God that in May of this year I went back for one more spinal surgery, this time they went posterior, and everything went fine. I just got released to return to work from my neurosurgeon on Tuesday, and I have been working with pain management to get weaned off of all the drugs. I am doing fantastic with that. I have also lost fifty pounds (twenty more to go) and am looking pretty good for an old lady. Today is my forty-first birthday, and I feel like a kid again. No kidding, I feel reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The reason I bring up the whole health thing is because that because of it I had to make some tough choices about my future. I am a fairly new nurse, and I know that with my back problems I won't last long on a med/surg floor. Also, I'm not sure that the stress of going back into a hospital setting after being gone so long would be a good thing. The last thing I want is to set myself up for failure. I wake up every day now excited to be alive, eager to start my day, and ready to face any challenge.

Because I feel so great right now, so alive, I decided to do it up right. First, I've enrolled in an online program in forensic nursing. I'll be starting that next month. It is a 12 month program, self paced, and extremely affordable. I don't know about working in a prison, but I do know that I will have a lot more options when I finish the program. Second, I have been weighing my job options carefully. I need something that will pay enough to help get us out of all the debt we've accumulated since I've been unable to work. But at the same time I don't want to take a job based solely on the paycheck, that's not why I became a nurse. Let me tell you that facing death changes your perspective completely. My priorities have changed dramatically, and I now know what is truly important to me. I don't need a big, fancy house, an expensive car, tons of clothes and diamond rings. I don't want to spend the next twenty years going to a job that I hate just because the pay is good. I want to work at a job that I love, and I want to make a difference. I want to make the time that I have with my husband as special as possible. I'd rather spend my money going out and making memories than buying things. We plan on spending more time traveling now, and more time just enjoying life. We are going to sell our house (it's too big), and downsize our lives. I have been going through all of my things and getting rid of a bunch of stuff, which is extremely cathartic. With every box that I pack up to get rid of I feel lighter and more free.

I recently interviewed for a job at a call center in St Louis. It is a lot of patient teaching, and it pays 24.00 an hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 29.00 an hour from 4 to 10 at night. Saturdays are 29.00 all day. It is only four days a week. Three weeks vacation a year, excellent benefits, etc.. This is a job I can do even if I end up in a wheelchair (which is a distinct possibility for me). The hours are set, because it is not a clinical setting. No more staying over for two or three hours to finish charting after a crazy night. No more having twelve patients at a time, or dealing with arrogant doctors whose sole purpose in life seems to be to demean nurses! When I finish my forensic program I can decide if I want to pursue that full time or just do it on the side. This is the beauty of nursing, it is such a diverse field that almost anyone can find their niche. I know a lot of nurses who have been in the trenches for years and they are just plain burnt out. But, for whatever reason, whether it be fear of change, apathy, or that they're making good money, they just stay put in a job they despise. I can't do it. I won't do it. I will spend the rest of my career looking for the job that gives me the most satisfaction. I became a nurse because I wanted a career, not a job. If I don't take advantage of all that nursing has to offer, than I might as well have skipped school and went to work at McDonald's or Wal-Mart.

Keep looking. You might be surprised to find out just how many different jobs that there really are in the field of nursing. I would never recommend that anyone stay in a job that is unsafe. And after my own health scare and the way that it changed my perspective, I wouldn't recommend spending another minute in a job that you hate. Life is so very short, and so very precious, that it is a sin to waste it being unhappy. Don't get me wrong, money is important, but it's not the most important thing in your life. Ask yourself if making 5.00 or 6.00 an hour more is worth being miserable over. Before you start looking for a new job ask yourself what it is that you really want out of your career. How many hours do you want to work, what population do you want to work with, how much stress are you able to withstand on a daily basis? Then, do the math, rearrange your budget, and see what you can live without. Once you know the minimum amount of money that you'd need to earn to be financially stable (and satisfied), start your job search with that number in mind. Don't be dazzled by high salaries if it means you're going to end up working somewhere else that you're unhappy. I'd give up any single material thing in my life if it meant that I would be at peace and feel fulfilled by my work. Sorry for such a loooong post, but I feel adamant about this suject.

Good luck and God Bless

T.J.