Are there any AA nontraditional students out there? Introduce yourself. Tell us where ur from!
Hello all,
I'm 35. Childless. Attached. I have nothing better to do with myself or my money but go to school. As of June, I'll be a pre-pharmacy student. My career path thus far:
RN (diploma) at 35 > LVN > CNA > Accounting student > CT Tech > Xray Tech > Army National Guard > US Air Force (e5) > Microbiology student at 17.
Right now, I'm weekend supv at a snf rehab facility. jumped into nursing because it was more challenging than radiology and I like to help people. Thing is, nursing environments are a madhouse and 'do more with less' is the goal. I am okay with working hard, but...SMH.
People wonder why there's a 'nurse shortage'. Pfft. Trust me, its more of a retention issue. Hats off to any who can run the floor for 20+ years. Stick a fork in me. I'm done. (Laugh)
So, I'm looking into Pharmacy school and I'm really excited about it! I just have to knock out my pre reqs at the cc with a min 3.4 gpa (which is doable) and take the PCAT. I'll be applying to the PharmD program at UF with USF as a backup. I hear their pharm program is top tier. I won't have a degree so I'll have to blow the PCAT and gpa out of the water to compete. Challenge ... accepted!
I know that I'll likely begin working in a store, but research definitely interests me. Working in a lab is right up my alley.
Today, I'm going to apply for a pharm tech position at Walgreens. I don't know if I need a separate cert. Hopefully, they'll just hire me.
The PA route is my backup. Why PA over NP? Well, they earn more. Also, I want to be viewed as a member of the team. I feel as though I'd be better received by my MD if I were a PA. As a PA, I'd be "one of them". In a sense.
Physicians (some) seem to think that nurses are trying to take over or directly compete with them. Nah, not really. We know that we're not medical doctors.
-- Plenty are just trying to escape the floor. There's nowhere to go but up.
-- Plenty more are just taking advantage of their options. Why not? If you can earn $150,000+ working under a physician, with more autonomy and prescriptive authority without med school debt - why in hell wouldn't you be a CRNA or NP? C'mon.... (laugh)
In healthcare, duties that can be delegated, will be. Why do you think nurses have nurse aides, orderlies and medication aides? We have too many (high acuity?) pts and don't have time to do nursing tasks, eg, pass meds, bathe people, feed people, etc....
AP nurses relieve the workload of medical doctors in the same fashion. I suppose there may be an issue with NP/PAs that don't recognize their limits. Never encountered it. If my question is beyond the NPs realm of knowledge, I'm always redirected to the actual doctor. The NP/PA can handle the easy problems. I mean, what doc besides some newb really wants to be bothered on a weekend to address nonemergent labs, falls, seizures, med orders, order clarifications, xray requests, hospital sendouts, etc...? Do you think I complain when aides toilet my residents? When med aides do my 37 pt medpass? Yeah, right. (laugh)
Let the NP handle it. That's what they're there for. Enjoy your day at the beach/church/spa, etc....