Patsy Said:

Heavily leaning toward a RN career but..?

We Answered:

I finished a nursing program, as this is where my passion lays. However, I encourage everyone to look into a better field. Nursing has no shortage and there are literally NO jobs. I am in NYC and know BSN nurses who have been out of work for almost a year. When you DO find a job, 9 times out of 10, it will be abusive. Nurses have to deal with an incredible amount of stress, harassment, bullying, and degradation.

This is coming straight from the nurses mouth. If you have any level of self-respect, you will absolutely regret your decision to go into nursing. The suffering is tremendous and most nurses have conditioned themselves to accept the abuse. They are in flat out denial and will viciously defend their career. I am humble enough to say that I LOVE helping my patients, don't mind the dirty work, but I actually have a self esteem and realize that, in this field, human beings are treated well below their worth and it's not natural, nor healthy.

Here are a few fields that I have personally researched and very few people are aware of them. They are currently stable and will BOOM incredibly in the next few years as we have about 60,000,000 baby boomers retiring:

- Occupational Therapy Assistant...go for your COTA (Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant)- average salary $50,000-$65,000/year to start.

-Physical Therapy Assistant- average salary $40,000-55,000/year...but they are needed a little more than COTAs because most people do not want to go to school for PTA. It's a little more difficult of a program and you usually don't go back for your Bachelors. You would make this your career. It has a HIGH rate of job satisfaction, though.

-Health Information Technologies- $50,000-$100,000/year (depending on how large your facility is and what state it's in). Ask yourself, HOW many people do you know that specialize in this? That's right, probably NONE. Why? It's a newer major that was created as health care expands/grows and systems are being updated. Being a computer major will not be enough. Hospitals and Health Care institutions have elaborate billing/coding/medical systems that are updated CONSTANTLY and they need someone who has the specific knowledge to handle them.

-Health Care Administration- $40,000-$85,000/year. This is the person that RUNS the show, per se. They have a vast knowledge of codes, laws, policies, and some payroll and human resource experience. They are the go-to people when there are questions to be asked...they are the jack of all trades. Desk job= LESS harassment, stress, bullying. But don't be fooled, you will have to put in effort and actually know your stuff...very rewarding once you do.

-Diagnostic Sonographer- $35,000-$75,000 This person is trained to look for cancerous masses, cysts, etc. Very rewarding career, works alongside doctor and saves that doctor a DRASTIC amount of money.

I'm just saying..keep your options open.You don't have to go into Health Care..you can do whatever you want! :) Have a great day and feel free to message me if you would like!

Linda Said:

Can a ...?

We Answered:

Of course! There are some scholarships targetted especially for women who have been in the workforce. Look at three or four nursing schools your friend is interested in and go to the scholarships section of their web pages.

This loan repayment program might work for her, too:
Nurse Education Loan Repayment Program. This ANA-supported program pays back up to 85% of outstanding student loans for people who become RNs and agree to work full-time in a facility deemed to have a critical shortage of nurses (nursing homes, disproportionate share hospitals, community health centers, rural health clinics and others).
Contact: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/loanrepay.h…

Bobby Said:

How should I got about my nursing career, please read, thanks in advance for any advise.?

We Answered:

Go to university!!! I am community college and there is a waiting list to get into the RN program of 3-4 years!!! If i had the money or assistance and not 2 children and husband I would go get my BSN rather than associates. Most community colleges do have wait lists, you can take prereq's but not nrsg. courses until formerly in program. By that time you will be done and have your BSN!
Best wishes.
ps I work in a hospital as an aide and they have tuition reimbursement for my classes. Maybe try to do same.
Will help you with your nursing classes to have some experience in health care and observation of the RN jobs and responsibilities, also helps you learn medical terminology prior to classes!

Tanya Said:

Air Force Reserves, Nursing, scholarships, and college loans?

We Answered:

Nurses don't 'enlist' they are brought in as officers, due to their education. (It also gets them a bigger paycheck.) Hence, they don't go through Basic, they go through Officer Indoctrination School.

Note: I see that there is a $20,000 bonus for Navy Nurses who complete OIS and sign a 4 year contract.

They usually don't 'take care of' student loans, however, your student loan bank may defer payments on the loan during any active service. There may be agreements within your state that may eliminate student loan debt upon completion of x number of years active service.

Talk to an Officer Recruiter about options and education opportunities. They may have several alternatives that would meet your needs.

Edit ->Sorry, I was incorrect. It is not OCS, it is "oyster school" that you would go to, Officer Indoctrination Course (OIC) which is designed for non-line officers. It is a 5 week course. They teach the basics of military drill, how to wear the uniform and military rrotocol.

The 12 week OCS course is designed for line officers to give them knowledge of the Navy (afloat and ashore), to prepare to assume the responsibilities of a Naval officer.

Larry Said:

Adding more classes to nursing school?

We Answered:

Have more confidence. You are part of the group that completed all of the prerequisites prior to the first day of school. That puts you ahead of the others.
Take the classes, get the money, study and you will do well./