I have decided that my life with three small kiddos, a husband, one dog, one cat, a full time job, and a constant quest to stay active and healthy was not enough to keep me occupied. So here I go on a new journey of educational discovery.
I have gone down many different paths when it comes to education. I started college directly after high school and was incredibly unfocused. I was very good at beer pong however... I'm sure that affected my grades... I bounced around colleges and majors. Finally settling on biology/math and secondary education. Well, this was in 2007, so basically the worst time to become a teacher because education was in the toilet. So I returned to school and became a Registered Nurse! I have worked as an Emergency Nurse for quite a few years now. I love it and hate it. I love really helping people in dire circumstances. I love that I am part of a team that can very literally save someone's life, and have done so many many times. I do not run away from disaster, but toward it. The life saving stuff is all well and good, but the ER is an evil place. It will literally darken your soul. It is not for the reasons that many think. It is not the blood and the gore. It's not watching people die. What kills your spirit and shapes you into a different person is the blatant disregard some have for other human beings. I see the lowest of the low. I see the decline of society. I see abused and broken children. I see victims of heinous sexual assault. I see parents that don't care that their child is about to die from asthma and continue to smoke with them in the car. I see rude, awful people that know you are trying to save someone's life and still think it's appropriate to swear at you for taking too long to bring them discharge papers for their sinus infection. I see people misuse the ED for things because they don't want to pay a copay at their primary care office. I see people walk out of their doctor appointments and come to the ER because they had to "wait to long" at the office, then scream at staff for having to wait in the ER. I am verbally abused every single day. We see people lie about being sick so they can post on facebook that they are in the ER. Those are just a few of the things that make work difficult. Yes, the true emergencies are exhausting, but not in the same way getting constantly abused is exhausting. True emergencies and traumas don't make you bitter and lose your faith in humanity. The constant misuse and abuse from patients and families is why you lose faith. You begin to question everyone and everything. You become surprised to see a parent take good care of their child because you forget that it's actually the norm. You comment your whole shift on "that nice patient" you had out of your whole day because most of them were complete assholes.
I do absolutely love the part of my job where I am able to help people. This is why I have decided to continue on my path and become a Family Nurse Practioner. I see the absolute dire need for primary care providers. I do empathize with people that have no choice in our rural area BUT to come to the ER for minor things because no primary care provider is accepting new patients. I see the worried mom that just wants to make sure her baby is OK but her pediatrician is booked for 3 days. I do not begrudge people using the ER in those circumstances. That is why I've decided to take on the responsibility of being part of the solution. I want to care for people in a new way, to avoid the necessity of having to go to the ER for minor ailments.
Wish me luck! I am not sure how I am going to maneuver this with everything else I have on my plate. I have a stomach ache just thinking about it. This journey will consist of approximately 2.5 years of graduate education, including a year and a half of clinical rotations. It seems almost unmanageable, but I believe this will benefit our family immensely! Not only will this education provide incredibly useful information and knowledge in keeping my family healthy and safe, but financially it will be better for us as well. I am hoping to serve a less hostile client base as well. Who knows? Maybe I won't get sworn at every single day anymore? Nah... I'll probably pick up shifts in the ER. I think I would miss the crazy :).
I have gone down many different paths when it comes to education. I started college directly after high school and was incredibly unfocused. I was very good at beer pong however... I'm sure that affected my grades... I bounced around colleges and majors. Finally settling on biology/math and secondary education. Well, this was in 2007, so basically the worst time to become a teacher because education was in the toilet. So I returned to school and became a Registered Nurse! I have worked as an Emergency Nurse for quite a few years now. I love it and hate it. I love really helping people in dire circumstances. I love that I am part of a team that can very literally save someone's life, and have done so many many times. I do not run away from disaster, but toward it. The life saving stuff is all well and good, but the ER is an evil place. It will literally darken your soul. It is not for the reasons that many think. It is not the blood and the gore. It's not watching people die. What kills your spirit and shapes you into a different person is the blatant disregard some have for other human beings. I see the lowest of the low. I see the decline of society. I see abused and broken children. I see victims of heinous sexual assault. I see parents that don't care that their child is about to die from asthma and continue to smoke with them in the car. I see rude, awful people that know you are trying to save someone's life and still think it's appropriate to swear at you for taking too long to bring them discharge papers for their sinus infection. I see people misuse the ED for things because they don't want to pay a copay at their primary care office. I see people walk out of their doctor appointments and come to the ER because they had to "wait to long" at the office, then scream at staff for having to wait in the ER. I am verbally abused every single day. We see people lie about being sick so they can post on facebook that they are in the ER. Those are just a few of the things that make work difficult. Yes, the true emergencies are exhausting, but not in the same way getting constantly abused is exhausting. True emergencies and traumas don't make you bitter and lose your faith in humanity. The constant misuse and abuse from patients and families is why you lose faith. You begin to question everyone and everything. You become surprised to see a parent take good care of their child because you forget that it's actually the norm. You comment your whole shift on "that nice patient" you had out of your whole day because most of them were complete assholes.
I do absolutely love the part of my job where I am able to help people. This is why I have decided to continue on my path and become a Family Nurse Practioner. I see the absolute dire need for primary care providers. I do empathize with people that have no choice in our rural area BUT to come to the ER for minor things because no primary care provider is accepting new patients. I see the worried mom that just wants to make sure her baby is OK but her pediatrician is booked for 3 days. I do not begrudge people using the ER in those circumstances. That is why I've decided to take on the responsibility of being part of the solution. I want to care for people in a new way, to avoid the necessity of having to go to the ER for minor ailments.
Wish me luck! I am not sure how I am going to maneuver this with everything else I have on my plate. I have a stomach ache just thinking about it. This journey will consist of approximately 2.5 years of graduate education, including a year and a half of clinical rotations. It seems almost unmanageable, but I believe this will benefit our family immensely! Not only will this education provide incredibly useful information and knowledge in keeping my family healthy and safe, but financially it will be better for us as well. I am hoping to serve a less hostile client base as well. Who knows? Maybe I won't get sworn at every single day anymore? Nah... I'll probably pick up shifts in the ER. I think I would miss the crazy :).
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