For several years I've toyed with the idea of going back to school for Nursing. I actually had the pieces put into place in 2006, but we soon thereafter decided to move to Maryland, I got pregnant unexpectedly with Liz, yada, yada, yada. So I abandoned the notion at that time.
Then, after living in the NICU for ten weeks and getting a bird's eye view of what real nursing is all about, I started to think about it again. Lizzy came home on a nasogastric feeding tube that I had to put in place before we left the hospital. I checked its placement daily, administered her meds through it, just like I had watched the nurses do for weeks. And while I hated doing it for my baby, I loved it. I felt confident and interested and fed that I was so needed in a way I had never been needed before...and I was good at it. Don't get me wrong...I was ridiculously psyched to pull that tube out a month after she came home and to never have to put it back in. But the learning that went on as I watched and listened and waited, both in the NICU and at home with her, was exhilarating, unlike anything I'd known in college or law school. (Which is probably why I don't teach now and am not a lawyer. They just didn't do it for me.) And obviously, while Lizzy was so little and still pretty sick, me thinking about a career was out of the question.
But here we are, cruising out of baby mode yet again, and we know that's where we are going to stay. In perpetual forward motion. And with that motion come the realities of life with three children, and those realities are beginning to hit us upside the head..just feeding this group of us requires a pretty penny. And then you think about activities, sports, parties, them getting their drivers' licenses and needing wheels (*gulp*), wanting to pursue their higher educations...and then to top it off with three weddings. It's enough to make one sick to her stomach.
Which, by the way, it just has. Again.
So it's time for me to think about where I go from here...and with my husband's encouragement, I am looking at what do I want to do, rather than just do something because it's a quick band-aid style fix. With that thought in mind, I have arrived back on the nursing doorstep. As I have begun to research, I am quickly finding myself entrenched in the world of prerequisites and applications, weighing the options of going for my Associates degree (because it's cheaper) against trying to find scholarship money and get my B.S.N. There are so many components about which I must seriously think because doing this will require a sacrifice of my family time and the peace we enjoy now. But the more I think about it, the more sure I am becoming that this is the right course of action for me.
I have felt a little lost all these years, hoping to find answers in various places. My kids and my husband have been the only medium through which I've learned anything definitive. I've learned that I am patient. (Not always, but more than I used to be.) I have a lot of love to give. I communicate well. I love to take care of people and be needed. I've dealt with NG tubes and have removed intestinal worms from my child's backside without even gaging, much less barfing. I think I could handle this.
If any of you fab readers have any thoughts, insights, resources, etc. about this topic, please share them. I need all the help I can get with this one.
Then, after living in the NICU for ten weeks and getting a bird's eye view of what real nursing is all about, I started to think about it again. Lizzy came home on a nasogastric feeding tube that I had to put in place before we left the hospital. I checked its placement daily, administered her meds through it, just like I had watched the nurses do for weeks. And while I hated doing it for my baby, I loved it. I felt confident and interested and fed that I was so needed in a way I had never been needed before...and I was good at it. Don't get me wrong...I was ridiculously psyched to pull that tube out a month after she came home and to never have to put it back in. But the learning that went on as I watched and listened and waited, both in the NICU and at home with her, was exhilarating, unlike anything I'd known in college or law school. (Which is probably why I don't teach now and am not a lawyer. They just didn't do it for me.) And obviously, while Lizzy was so little and still pretty sick, me thinking about a career was out of the question.
But here we are, cruising out of baby mode yet again, and we know that's where we are going to stay. In perpetual forward motion. And with that motion come the realities of life with three children, and those realities are beginning to hit us upside the head..just feeding this group of us requires a pretty penny. And then you think about activities, sports, parties, them getting their drivers' licenses and needing wheels (*gulp*), wanting to pursue their higher educations...and then to top it off with three weddings. It's enough to make one sick to her stomach.
Which, by the way, it just has. Again.
So it's time for me to think about where I go from here...and with my husband's encouragement, I am looking at what do I want to do, rather than just do something because it's a quick band-aid style fix. With that thought in mind, I have arrived back on the nursing doorstep. As I have begun to research, I am quickly finding myself entrenched in the world of prerequisites and applications, weighing the options of going for my Associates degree (because it's cheaper) against trying to find scholarship money and get my B.S.N. There are so many components about which I must seriously think because doing this will require a sacrifice of my family time and the peace we enjoy now. But the more I think about it, the more sure I am becoming that this is the right course of action for me.
I have felt a little lost all these years, hoping to find answers in various places. My kids and my husband have been the only medium through which I've learned anything definitive. I've learned that I am patient. (Not always, but more than I used to be.) I have a lot of love to give. I communicate well. I love to take care of people and be needed. I've dealt with NG tubes and have removed intestinal worms from my child's backside without even gaging, much less barfing. I think I could handle this.
If any of you fab readers have any thoughts, insights, resources, etc. about this topic, please share them. I need all the help I can get with this one.
Labels: back to school for mom, career talk, nursing
posted by Kate @ 11:14 AM
2 Comments:
At June 11, 2009 at 7:50 PM ,
Nicole said...
You should definitely go back to find something that fulfills YOU!! I got an MSW after college (a degree in Foreign Service!),and absolutely LOVED my jobs. I considered nursing, but wasn't sure. But Social Work was definitely my thing. I loved helping people, families, children in all stages of crises find the help they needed. I loved being a therapist, knowing that I was helping people get through some of the toughest times. I also love that i have a field where I can always find work, and can go back for any number of hours once the kids are in school. If you can take the ick-factor of nursing, I say GO FOR IT!! school won't be easy, but it will be worth is down the road when you have a job you love and your kids see that you are happy and helping others. And it really is the nurses that a patient remembers being the most helpful. anyway, hope that helps get you motivated, even though I don't have much concrete advice to offer. =)
At June 11, 2009 at 11:02 PM ,
Christine Campbell said...
Do it, do it, do it! This is a field that will enable you to use all your gifts -- a good mind and the most caring of hearts. And there is always a need for good nurses, they can make their own schedules and they get great benefits!!!! It's perfect for you. And I'll babysit. :-)
Love you and am really proud and excited for you!
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