Any Mechanical Engineers or Nurses in here?

One of the things that seems great about the profession, tons of opportunity after experience for growth, flexibility and change of setting and even job location.

 

Critical care is another nice one. Lots of action/get to show off your smarts but not the craziness you get in the ER.

 

That can be a slice of life in any nursing scenario you might work in, but it's usually a daily thing in the E.R., which is the entry point for the dregs of civilization into medical care. I tried it, didn't care for it, although the true life-threatening stuff like GSW's, knifings, head injuries, were a great challenge to your skills.

I just retired after 36 years as an R.N. I started out in a maximum security prison hospital, combination ICU/Surgical Recovery. All I can say is, thank God there wasn't an OB section (male prison). I moved from that to the neurosurgical postop floor of a level 1 trauma center, and from there to the O.R., where I stayed for the next 34 years, with a few breaks as a USAF Reserve Flight Nurse for 8 years, service in Panama and Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I was Neurosurgical Coordinator in the O.R., took care of the prima donna neurosurgeons and their caseloads. Also did a couple of years on the Open Heart Surgery team. The last ten years or so were split between neurosurgery and orthopedics.

It was a wild ride, and I enjoyed the hell out of it, but I'd cut my own throat if I knew I had to do it all over again. In my next life, I want to be an engineer.

 

I guess I can relate in some ways. I’ve seen some pretty gnarly things, things that most people will honestly never encounter and even then it was nothing compared to what you’ve seen and done. I think I’ll always be grateful of the experience I’ve gained working in emergency medicine, but I can live without it.. and will be happy as shit when I finally quit. If I could go back to when I was 18, I’d tell my self to stay far away. It’s gotten to a point where I hate my job so much that it’s affecting my home life. We recently had to restrain someone because they attacked a nurse, patient had HIV and now she’s on meds. She’ll most likely be fine, but that’s just the ER. Never know what’s gonna happen to you for helping people that don’t ever want to be helped..

Anyways. Lol.
I got back in school to do engineering but the math is really kicking my butt. Math doesn’t come easy to me so we will see. I’ve also considered doing trades, at this point I’m not too sure what to do other than quitting my job.

 

Nursing, as a profession, isn't all that bad in itself, but what took it downhill for me was the continuous government intrusion over the years with new regulations supposedly designed to improve care, but in actuality made it more difficult to accomplish without stepping on your own dick. It became a daily routine of following the legal and policy-driven path that sometimes was at direct odds with providing proper and timely care. Break a rule or policy, and whether there was harm to a patient or not, your career was at risk. I started out in 1983, paper notes that you could do while actually taking care of the patient; now the medical records is all on computer, which directs your attention to something other than the patient; we now spend more time on the computer, and less time performing skilled care. In order to accomplish that, you had to direct and supervise less- technically trained people to do tasks, but were still responsible for the outcome. Screw that. There were some really great technical advances during the 36 years I practiced, though, but knowing what I do now, I would not choose Nursing as a career path.

The biggest change I'd have made during my career would have been to go into Nurse anesthesia (CRNA). It's an independent practice, with some supervision from anesthesiologists or in smaller centers, any MD. It has been more difficult to get into in the last few years, though, most schools have made it a doctoral program (PhD), so more time in school and more expensive to get there. However, salaries are fantastic. Our CRNA's were making $110K at entry level, with potential to pass $150K in 5-10 years.

 

OP! How are we feeling ?

I am glad to have found this thread because it puts some of my career options and thoughts into perspective. Nice to hear from everyone and their experiences. Have been weighing healthcare VS engineering.

I was hell bent on going to medical school, had a rough time despite nearly being accepted and am now weighing my options. Application process and build up was very stressful, I essentially gave up on my cycle, then was offered an interview, was really excited and affirmed in my decision and then my best friend died. Still
managed to interview well imo but all in all I didn’t land the acceptance. Lots of variables but not a shock given the number of applicants compared to acceptances.
I work in clinical research at this time, but I don’t enjoy being at a desk nearly all the time, despite having flexibility and autonomy. Also, pharmaceutical companies scare me lol. I may start my own thread to lay it all out because I am definitely in need of help. How did the nursing program and career turn out so far ?