HAPPY WEEKEND (well, we are a few hours away from that but that’s okay)!! Andrew will be at the hospital this weekend and the kids and I will find something to do, including celebrating Curly’s birthday. OH and that extra hour of sleep coming up… I am so looking forward to that (although, the kids probably will still wake up at the same time… here’s to hoping they sleep in:)!
Brooke was off to school (PS I didn’t realize until about 4 pm that her shirt was on backwards all day… I can’t tell you how many times I have done that on myself too).
Thank you curb for the set-up for my self-timed photo. Weird but I don’t need my belly band anymore. I forgot it the other day and didn’t realize until I got home and haven’t used it since?! I NEEDED that thing for a while but for some reason the belly doesn’t need the support like it used to. That may change soon though. 6 miles in the most perfect temperatures. My pace was 9:43 and it was such a peaceful morning.
The afternoon consisted of some time with my good friend catching up on life.
We took the kids to a play place and let them run around… rock, paper, scissors is a big deal around these parts lately.
They are always most excited to see Andrew.
Yesterday we took Brooke in to get her flu shot! Also, the doc told us she is in the 84th percentile for her height! She is going to be a tall one!
PS a little bit from Andrew today:
For some of you that have asked for an update on school, here it is!
I have absolutely LOVED my time in school. I am so stoked to finally be in this field and the opportunities to come. I have been doing my clinical hours at a hospital in Salt Lake and it has been such a good experience. I’m passed a lot of the basics of nursing school and I’m going into the more specialized part of the program. For example I start my Psych rotation next, which is going to be interesting in that I have worked in the mental health industry for over 6 years.
I have about a year left in my program and I’ll graduate with my Bachelors in Nursing. Any nurses out there with advice?? What type of job should I start with? I’m hoping to get some experience wherever I can as a new nurse and I hope to get to work in the ICU or Emergency Room. As for future… I’m planning to get my Master’s and go on to get my Doctorate of Nursing Practice or in other words a Nurse Practitioner. The awesome thing about this is that I can work all through school, while doing my Masters and Doctorate.
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For dinner we went to our family favorite:) I don’t really have many strong cravings right now but Olive Garden always sounds good/I crave it and luckily the kids agree with this craving for me.
We are trying to get out together a bunch before this baby comes because once she is here, we are going to be home a lot! RSV/flu season scares me and so I really don’t want to take her out of the house much for those first few months.
Why I love Olive Garden….
We came home and had a peanut butter cup with our lesson (for our family night). The perfect ending.
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*Three running songs I am loving—> You and Me by Marshmello. Higher Love by Seven Lions. Ready For It by Taylor Swift.
*My mom’s taco soup… this is such a fall staple for me (and so easy)! Try it!
*Another sweet gift from my baby shower (for me:)! My friend that does hair said this is her favorite shampoo to use on her clients and wow… it smells like heaven and my hair felt amazing!
*Some good headbands/ear warmers to keep you WARM this winter. My body enjoys the really cold runs 72% more when I have something on my head while I run:) Here (this one has a hole for your ponytail too:), here and here are some great ones!
*Dorothy posted this and it made me happy! Enjoy that extra hour this weekend for those of you doing the NYC Marathon (I’m pretty sure I woke up at like 4:30 for that race… I was so nervous about getting there on time)!
*Knox’s sweet school pictures. It’s crazy how much he has grown up since I first met him!
*I haven’t had hot chocolate in a few days but I did try the hot chocolate Blizzard at DQ and it is excellent. Next up—> their seasonal candy cane one.
*A quote that I love and want to live… service/helping is the key.
*The list of podcasts that Megan posted on her IG… it was like Christmas morning to see all of these awesome podcast recommendations! I’m loving them!
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LOVING your accomplishments… keep inspiring all of us! If you want to be featured, send in your accomplishment to [email protected]
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Kathy!!! “On Sun (Oct 22), I ran my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon. This was the first race that I followed a training plan for (Hanson’s Beginner Marathon Plan from Brooks). I was nervous as race day was coming. I had been training in Denver with low humidity and cooler temps and was nervous hearing about how hot and humid the east coast had been. Well I lucked out, that week, DC finally realized it was fall and the temps dropped and while it was warmer than I would prefer, I can’t really complain too much since I run cold anyways. I had no idea where I would fall in terms of pace, so I randomly decided to try to finish in 4:30, so I decided to go for 4:20. I ended up finishing at 4:19! I’m not speedy and was just happy that I kept my pace up and finished! The whole race was an awesome experience! It makes it tempting to sign up for another one, but oh boy the training takes up so much time!”
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Courtney!!! “I raced my new favorite race on Sunday (10/29) the Houston Half Marathon. It was super cold (per Houston standards) but so fun. My training has been not great lately since my husband has been traveling out of town pretty consistently and that means runs don’t always happen when there is nobody to watch the kiddos. I kept trying to talk my friend into just going to eat breakfast instead of running but she wasn’t going for it at all. Once we got started I was glad to be around all my weird friends (even though I don’t know any of their names) that pay money to wake up super early on the weekends and run in the cold. It was not the easiest course but so much fun! I will for sure be back next year (plus the medal is almost the size of a hubcap)!
My friend (Kelley) ran the 10k and it was her first 10k to run the whole thing! I’m so excited for her and can’t wait until I can convince her that she really wants to run 13.1 miles with me!”
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Lauren!!! “Last Saturday my husband and I completed our first half marathon at the Haunted Half in Jonesborough, TN! The course was a really tough, rolling course but I’m so proud that we both finished strong. My last mile was actually my fastest of the race! My husband says it will absolutely be his one and only half… But I’m already wondering when I can try again to see if I can break 2 hours!”
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Who is in school right now? What are you studying?
Andrew’s question—> If you could go back and change your profession, what would you choose?
Would you rather question… Would you rather have more hours in the day or more days in the week?
Tell me one restaurant that ALWAYS sounds good to you!?
73 comments
Jenn
Great questions! If I could go back and change my profession, what would it be? I am actually starting on that journey now. I have my Masters in Counseling and have been a therapist. I am now moving from seeing clients clinically to writing and even submitting a book proposal. Great things about life is we have choices and can choose different directions when we feel “stuck” : )
The Hungry Runner Girl
WOW, Jenn… that is incredibly exciting. Congrats on writing your book and please keep me updated with how it is all going! I completely agree with you, it’s amazing that we get to choose exactly what direction we want to go. This makes me so happy about Andrew… he was definitely feeling ‘stuck’ in his work and chose to move in the direction he was passionate about! I am so happy for you!
Loribeth
I really love my profession, so I wouldn’t change a thing! But I studied theatre in college, maybe I would add a few more science classes in there if I could go back and change that.
Chick fil a always sounds good, and Mojo burrito (a local place).
Race tomorrow………….ah!!!!!!!!!!!
Mel_OutRunCf
noished my PhD when I was 7 months pregnant an baby was still pretty easy to take care of in there lol so I really admire Andrew for being in school and being such a great husband and dad at the same time! And you Janae for supporting him in this project. I’m sure it’s not easy but it will benefit the entire family in the end. Hope you guys have a great weekend!
Mel_OutRunCf
Yikes, the first word should be finished lol
Natalie
I don’t know if I would go back and change my profession at all. Do I love what I’m doing now? No. But if I had done something else, I probably wouldn’t have been a teacher for the seven years I was, and that’s what made me realize what I really want to do in life: blog, write books, and work with young women (and speak at their conferences and retreats). I’m not there yet, but I’m hoping to be soon!
Panera and Corner Bakery always sound good to me. I LOVE sandwiches, and they have some of the best ones. HAPPY FRIDAY!! :)
Erica
Hi Janae and Andrew! Long time reader here and I just wanted to comment on nursing! I am a nurse practitioner and I work with a Foot and Ankle surgeon. I started working on a med/surg orthopedic unit as an RN and went back to school for my NP a few years later. I love the nursing profession! You will always have a job and there is a lot of variety to choose from. Nursing school is stressful but so worth it once you’re done. Good luck with everything and keep us posted! Have a great weekend!
Andrew
Thanks for commenting Erica!! It is so nice to hear from people like you! How do you like being an NP? Definitely the reason I went to nursing, because the infinite amount of choices and job security!
Sarah
NICU RN here! I know some males shy away from maternal child health units but NICU is amazing! You get a mix of everything (OR, emergencies, ICU experience, etc) and as an NNP there are so many incredible Procedures you can perform. The best part is the babies , it’s so special to take part in these little humans fight for their lives !!!
Andrew
Thanks for commenting!!!! That is definitely something I haven’t considered yet but I have my peds rotation coming up very soon! How long have you been doing that for??
Nicole @ bento momentos
Ooh I’m always down to try a new shampoo/conditioner. I graduated with my BSN in 2014 and went straight to the OR. After two years, I went to cardiac telemetry to refresh my basic nursing skills. However, after six months, I realize that it’s not for me and I’m transitioning back to the OR. I would recommend starting off as a bedside nurse to really solidify skills and knowledge base, then work your way up to a specialty area.
I’m also currently in DNP school and it’s been rough if you don’t have any floor experience – that’s why I tried telemetry. The first couple years was doable but when clinicals rolled around, I felt so behind because I was exposed to hospital flow. I ended up dropping my clinical course and will be retaking it this upcoming spring. Hoping to graduate December 2018!
If he likes psych, does he want to be a psych NP? That field is pretty high demand and pays well. :) happy Friday!
Nicole @ bento momentos
*wasn’t exposed to hospital flow
Andrew
Nicole! Thanks for commenting. My brothers have been telling me that it would better to get a job on the med-surg floor to get some experience then to go to ICU,ER, PACU etc.. I think you are spot on with experience an DNP or so I hear. I’m sorry to hear you had to drop the clinical, that had to be super hard. What was the hardest part for you? Psych would definitely be interesting but I wouldn’t last long, I was in that field for 6 years, don’t think I could go back. Thanks so much for commenting!!
Rhiannon
I am thinking about going back to school to get my MBA but I’m not quite there yet. My company would pay for a good chunk of it but I would like to have enough money saved to pay for the rest of it without loans, so that’s a big thing to take into consideration!
I really like what I do and where I work – there’s a lot of challenges but work is rarely ever boring! However… my best friend and I have been half-jokingly half-seriously talking about opening a bakery in our town and I think if I were to do it all over again, I might have considered a culinary career. I absolutely love to cook and bake, but sometimes I think I only like it because it’s a break from all the other things in life, so maybe I wouldn’t like it if it were my career?
Tough question – I’d rather have more days in the week only if that meant I got to have a longer weekend! Otherwise, more hours in the day would be okay too, but not if that meant more hours at work.
Jessica
I would strongly recommend your first nursing jobs are in the area that you want to practice as a NP. I have been in nursing for 15 years and the difference in NPs who have practiced in the area as nurses and those who haven’t is a huge predictor of their success. For example, the NP who goes to work in a family practice clinic but as a nurse only worked on an inpatient heart unit, struggled for YEARS. A ER NP who worked in the NP as a nurse, much shorter learning curve. So don’t settle on your first nursing job for the hours, pay, etc. Make sure it aligns with where you will work as a NP. It will also help your job search. I now am the manager of a family practice clinic and know a new grad with no family practice experience would be way les appealing to me than a new grad who has worked in a clinic previously.
Andrew
Do you feel like hospitals are willing to hire new RNs in various areas? For example I think I would like to be in the ER or ICU but I feel like I couldn’t get a job there until I have the experience. I still don’t know what speciality I want to go into yet but I hope to find out soon!
Lisa
Hey Andrew,
It can be difficult to get into a specialty area right out of school but it’s not impossible! When you’re in clinical rotations get to know the people who work there. A lot of getting into a specialty area is about knowing the right people. I’ve worked in the ER for most of my years in nursing and I’m currently in graduate school working on my NP. Good luck!
Amanda W.
I would rather have an extra weekend day! Saturdays get so filled up, and Sunday’s church and family and honoring the sabbath…….I need a weekend day where I can get stuff done and they can’t schedule anything for church or my kids! LOL.
Have a good weekend:)
Tara H.
I just finished nursing school about a year ago and I love being a nurse! I wouldn’t change my profession at this point because actually nursing school was my second career anyway. I have a degree in athletic training as well, but it’s not something I could see myself doing long term. I started on a cardiac telemetry unit that also takes neuro/stroke patients. My hospital just started an open heart surgery program this week and I’m hoping to eventually take care of those patients once I get a little more experience. I worked as a tech on the floor that I am now a nurse while I was in school and I think that definitely helped me to understand the work flow of the department and made the transition super easy. I am still deciding whether to go back to school for my BSN since I already have a bachelors in another field I don’t really feel that I need 2 bachelors degrees, so I may go straight to MSN at some point. Right now I’m just focusing on learning as much as I can with my job now and hopefully starting a family very soon. School will always be there!
Andrew
Congrats on being done with nursing. Yeah tell me about two BSN degrees, I get it! This is going to be my third! I’m crazy I know. That open heart surgery program sounds very interesting!!! Best of luck to you!
Becky
These questions are so fitting for this stage of my life!
Change my profession:
I’m currently a Graphic Designer, but I knew even before I graduated that it wasn’t going to be my for-life career. I just needed to finish and get away from the stress of school to figure out what I really wanted to do! Luckily it only took me 4.5 years to figure that out ;)
I’m researching grad programs for Kinesiology/Exercise Psychology right now. I hope to get at least my Masters, but likely my PhD and become a Sport Psychologist to help people be the best they can be in the sport/business world!
Would you rather:
DEFINITELY another day in the week, preferably another weekend day :)
Restaurant:
Any place that has Poke!
Have a great weekend!
Hilary knecht
I have been tossing around the idea of going back to school. I’ve stayed at home with my kids for 6 years and am READY to go back to work. I like my former field (food science) and would be happy to get back to it but if I went back to it I’d get my masters to be an RD.
I’m not sure there’s one restaurant I’d want to go to all the time. Maybe Qdoba- it’s kind of like chipotle .
I’d ragher have more hours in the day. It would be great to spend the time with the fam, get plenty of sleep, prepare healthy meals and workout without feeling rushed!
The Hungry Runner Girl
I say GO FOR IT Hilary!! That would be awesome, keep me updated on your decision!
Alyssa
Speaking of school, I found out this week I got into the MBA program! So I’ll be back in school again in January.
I was always going the medical route and now I’ve ended up in business, which I love. But I always wonder how I would have done as a PA or a PT.
I think I would choose more hours in a day. Unless that extra day was a 3 day weekend, always.
I always crave some sort of fast food Mexican restaurant: Cafe Rio, Costa Vida, Chipotle, Barabcoa…even Taco Bell! I could eat at any of them, any time and be happy.
The Hungry Runner Girl
AHHHH THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!! Congrats Alyssa!! You are going to do amazing!!!
Erinn
I wish I were still in school. I’m not sure if I’ll be a teacher forever but I don’t think I regret my career decision…
I think I’d rather have more hours in a day! And I wish we had a longer weekend ;)
It’s been way too long since we’ve been to an Olive Garden – I could destroy a bowl of pasta right now!
Hope you enjoy your weekend!
jessey
I like my job alright – I am a systems analyst, so kind of a techy role, not not completely. The pay is good. I would love to be a Middle School Math teacher or a photographer (or a photography teacher!). But I am not going to change my profession – like I said, the pay is good.
But it does kind of tie into your other question about hours in the day or days in a week. An extra day – definitely! I kind of shut down mentally after dinner so as much as I would like to be able to stay up until 11 every night and have more time after the kids go to bed, that wouldn’t accomplish anything. I’ve been contemplating seeing if I can reduce my hours at work, but I like/need the paycheck (especially if we want to continue to go on cool vacations that we can now do now that the kids are older). I go back and forth about whether I’d rather be done at 3 every day or have Fridays off. A day to myself would be heavenly! But since i already work from home on Fridays, being done at 3 every day would be better for my family. But a 3 day weekend every week sounds SOOO good!
Kelsey Butler
Hi Janae,
I wrote a blog post about my feelings of being injured and having to sit out the NYC Marathon. This is definitely a good time to get back to writing regular posts as an outlet! Will cheer on the runners this weekend!
http://therandomrunnergirl.blogspot.com/2017/11/hard-is-good.html
R Kay
Ooo, you got a new reader! It is somewhat cathartic, isn’t it?…
Jen W
I would love to have some kind of career in the arts/fashion/photography/design. Or, I would work some how in the fitness/nutrition field. There are things I love about my current career (teaching), but in some ways I’ve changed over the years and I’m not sure that it’s the ideal job for me any more. Those summers off tho………………(even if they’re well-earned over the other 9 1/2 months! lol)
More hours in the day!!!!!!! Definitely!
Restaurants–the one that I always like is Bertucci’s–Italian/brick oven pizza! Not sure if they’re on the west coast :)
AmandaM
Hilarious – I went to the bathroom at work for about the 5th time yesterday afternoon and noticed for the FIRST time that day that my cardigan was inside out – seems and tag and all showing . I guess I usually just wash my hands and get out of the bathroom. Maybe I should look at my outfit/self occasionally to make sure there isn’t anything more embarrassing out of place! :)
The Hungry Runner Girl
BAHAHAH I have totally done that too:) I love it… thanks for sharing Amanda! I hope you are having a wonderful day!
R Kay
Why marathon training is like math… http://www.columbia.edu/~rtk2116/blog/Marathon-Training-is-Math-and-Updates/
:)
Nina
I did go back to school and became a holistic health coach. I’d also like to become a personal trainer to round things out. I get asked a lot about exercise since I workout so often so I’d like to be able to offer real recommendations.
My cousin is getting her Masters in nursing this spring. She’s the director for the VNA in NYC and my husband’s cousin is an ER nurse, she loves it. Several friends are nurses and they all have different specialties. I think it takes a lot to be a good nurse. :)
Could you get to decide where the extra hours would be in the week? I’d like more time in my days off…
Susie
Teachers are always in school :-P
If I could go back and change my profession, I would choose Actuarial Science — I’d love to play with numbers all day, unencumbered by meetings/students/grading/lesson planning, etc…
I would rather have more hours in a day — or another day added to the weekend only!
This local restaurant — 195 — ALWAYS sounds good!
Jenny | Running On Life
An extra weekend day would be nice.
Right now Chinese food always sounds good. But Olive Garden always does too. Or Mexican food…I’m hungry. Lol
Maureen @ Maureen Gets Real
Andrew – good luck with everything! You’ll do amazing things :) A have multiple friends who are in their first job as a nurse and absolutely love it.
I think DQ will have to happen for that hot chocolate blizzard or maybe I’ll hold off until the candy cane one since that sounds delicious too.
If the extra day in the week was a weekend day then I would be all for it. If I had to work on the extra day then it’s a hard no from me and I’ll take extra hours.
Andrew
Thanks Maureen!!! I appreciate it!!!!
Shannon
I just graduated with my BSN this May and started my new grad residency last month! As a student I worked on an inpatient oncology unit, children’s ER and two big academic hospital adult ERs. These experiences really helped me decide where I wanted to start out as a new grad RN, so if you are at all interested in any specialty areas, get any experience you can there! But with all that said and all my ER experience, I still ended up starting out in a medical ICU and convincing the manager that I was prepared for critical care from the ER. We’ll see how this goes.. but I at least have the basics of dealing with families, doctors, and acting calm during codes down. Good luck with the rest of school, it’s the hardest part but also the best!
As a new nurse, I can’t really see myself in any other profession unless I could be a full time baker. I’ve always wanted to “intern” at a bakery!
Andrew
That is awesome. I think I really want to be in critical care Sounds like you had quite the experience at your hospital. How is the ICU?? Do you feel like you are on a steep learning curve??
Shannon B
Very steep learning curve, but the support from the staff is incredible. All of the ICU new grads have additional classes and online modules on top of the 6 months of orientation so it doesn’t feel like i’ve left nursing school yet. But my first day I was already draining a chest tube and watching a bedside tracheostomy, so if critical care is what you’re interested in, the extra hours are worth it. The other new grads i’m starting with, only had ICU experience for their senior practicum/focus (roughly 140 hours) so it is possible to get a start in ICU (or ED) with only a small amount of experience. It all depends on the manager/hospital unit!
Sorry for the long reply but I hope I answered some of your questions about starting out ICU. Half my floor and my managers started out ICU so it’s definitely possible :)
Chrissy
I spent 22 days with my baby in the pediatric ICU last winter after he got RSV and I can’t say enough about the PICU nurses (both RNs and NPs). Andrew seems so good with kids so he should totally think about the PICU. I’m an attorney but I find myself constantly thinking about the work that the PICU staff does daily and how they help so many very sick kids. I’m sure it’s emotionally exhausting, but it must be so rewarding in so many ways.
We got to know one male nurse in the PICU who was actually also training to be a flight nurse, where he’d be able to work with the aerial transport team. One bonus of that: they get to wear flight suits and look AMAZINGLY tough and cool in them.
Andrew
I would LOVE being a flight nurse, but I think Janae would die of of heart attack if I did that. PICU would be very amazing, I can’t imagine the things you would see there. I sure love kids, so definitely another speciality to look at!
Michelle
Good luck, Andrew! It seems like there are so many good opportunities in the field of healthcare. I would consider it, but I start to feel nauseous thinking about certain medical procedures and am not so sure I could overcome that.
I would love to see a future post on your thoughts about weight-training using the Bigger Leaner Stronger program. I’ve read his book for women and started a couple weeks ago.
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona
One type of restaurant that always sounds good to me is Vietnamese! I’m pretty sure I could eat it a couple times per week and not get sick of it. It’s just so delicious!
Amanda
I love that picture of you from your morning run–so cute! I start a BSN program in January and I’m super excited. I work as the admin assistant on an ICU right now and we hire brand new RN grads all the time, so Andrew definitely doesn’t need to shy away from applying to a critical care unit (if that’s where he’d like to start). Also, I know a lot of NP programs require/strongly recommend ICU experience before applying.
Andrew
That give me a lot of hope!!! I want to go into critical care so bad but everyone tells me not to and that the hospitals won’t hire without experience!!
Missy
Good afternoon! First of all, two more podcasts you should listen to are For The Love by Jen Hatmaker, she is ah-mazing! Secondly, High Performance Mindset by Dr. Cindra Kamphoff, a sports psychologist that is a speedy runner and an incredible, motivating speaker!
I did change my career to nursing. I work in the emergency department (ED) and love it! I started at a small rural hospital, and learned a tiny bit of everything. I started travel nursing in the ED and I have loved every minute of it. So, I’m sure you already know this, but nursing school is TOUGH! It becomes a (temporary) priority in life, and it’s hard on you and your family. However, it is hands down the best decision I’ve ever made. After graduating, I would suggest that Andrew find a med/surg job for the first few months to a year, and then find a department he loves. The first year (or 2!) is THE hardest part of the nursing career. On a med/surg floor he would get a bit of every type of patient, learn a ton about nursing, disease processes, and how to prioritize. The ED and ICU would be great places to work if he wants to continue on for his NP! Way to go, Andrew!!!
Andrew
Thanks so much Missy! That is what my brothers have been telling me, that I should start on a med-surge floor or even a float pool. I really want to go to the ER, I think I would really like the environment and critical care. Thanks for chiming in, I appreciate it!
Missy
I love ER! I love everything about Nursing and what I do, and where I work! I eventually want to try working in a bigger ICU (however, I hear it can be difficult for some ER nurses to switch to ICU) because I want to do more critical care so I can be a flight nurse at some point! So glad school is going well for you!
Dawn
good for andrew, i like that he has a plan for what comes next! i have a phd and 2 masters degrees and i enjoyed every bit of school. i suppose i am a student at heart – i just love learning! the type of food that ALWAYS sounds good to me is THAI FOOD!!! I am always down for thai. i could eat it every day forever!
jade
Andrew, your love and enthusiasm for what you are learning and doing absolutely jumps off the screen, I am so happy for you! I bet the Psych rotation will be really interesting as you have experience in that area. I wouldn’t change my profession, (I am in the pet industry), and look forward to going to work every single day. Many times I’ve caught myself thinking.. I can’t believe I get paid to do this.
‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’ :)
Marissa @ Run Riss Run
I love school :) I finished my masters in education about 3 years ago and I would eventually like to go back and get my masters in school counseling. I honestly don’t think I would change my degree if I had the chance.
I would definitely go with more hours in the day!
I love Freebirds, which is basically like Chipotle or Cafe Rio and it always sounds yummy!
~R
If I were to change careers (aka go back to school and get another career that is not as a mom), it would either be a Master’s in Biomechanical/Biomedical Engineering or a NP degree (I wouldn’t want to do hospital nursing and NP is a good way to increase options outside of the hospital). The engineering option is more likely and would take less time.
Kelly
Andrew-specialty clinicals are so fun! I swear I kept changing my mind about which area I wanted each time I started a new clinical. Psych, community health, etc. However, I went to nursing school solely to be a maternity nurse so in the end, that’s what I did right out of school. The most family friendly area is Short Stay, though (an unknown tip) That was my favorite schedule, especially after 10 years of maternity nursing!
I’ve always been interested in Infectious Disease so if I were to change my career I’d probably specialize in that and work at the CDC. Or, a travel writer. That would be interesting and a great balance in being solo and with bunch of people….
More hours in the week if it meant a weekday off from work! Otherwise, more hours in the day for you know, running more.
We rarely ever eat out but I think I could do pho or ramen anytime. That’s easy for me to think though because it’s not readily available where I live!
Kelly
ps-my son dressed as Marshmellow for halloween…..
Ashley
I’m so excited for Andrew! I am a RN and I worked in the ICU at our local hospital for about 4 years before I quit to stay home with my girls. But I really did love it!! The constant learning and being able to really make a difference when people really need it is just amazing.
Also, I had a baby last November and I was the same way… super germaphobe! I was terrified of RSV so we didn’t go to the indoor play places and I was a hand washing freak. ? But it worked! No RSV here!
Sherry
I actually am in school right now. I graduate with my Masters of Science in Nursing in December…I can’t wait! My track is the nurse educator track. My suggestion to Andrew’s question is to go with the specialty that speaks to you, and it sounds like that’s critical care (ICU or ED). I found my niche during nursing school (adult critical care) and that’s been my passion ever since. Now I help teach new critical care nurses coming to our hospital. The great thing about nursing is the possibilities and opportunities to grow and change are endless. If you plan to go on to get either a FNP or acute care NP, make sure to have a solid base of bedside nursing experience before starting school. Your time in grad school will be easier since you will have a lot of experience to pull from and your future patients will benefit as well. Good luck!
Andrew
Thanks for commenting!! Yes, I am planning on getting some experience but I also feel late in the game and I want to get schooling done so I can get to where I want to be. But its a journey not a finish line! Congrats on school, sounds like you are very passionate about it!
Ashley
I’m a podcast junkie and really into the podcast heavyweights right now. They just started season two. Enjoy your weekend with the kiddos!
Jeannie Sullivan
Happy Friday!! I live that you do family night with lessons. I would love to do something like that, but I’m not sure where to start. My kids are 14.5 (girl), 13 (boy) and 9 (boy) & since we haven’t been doing it since they were little, I wonder if it would be hard to get them engaged now& especially since they are so spread out. Any tips?! You guys are amazing parents!!!
Allyssa
Hi Andrew! I’m an ER nurse and my first career was as a Paramedic. I actually say that you should GO FOR IT with the ER jobs. I live in a very different region from you and I know that can make a difference, but hospitals here do sometimes hire new grads for critical care positions if they have enough preceptors available to train them. So if that’s what you want, then don’t be afraid to try. Worst that can happen is they say no and you have to spend a little time working med/surg first. I actually did work on a cardiac (but often med/surg) unit my first year as a nurse but I can’t honestly say it makes you a better nurse when it comes to being in critical care. As long as you are able to learn in a fast paced environment where you have to multitask as you learn you’ll be just fine. Choosing between ICU/long term critical care and ER is easy: It all comes down to personality types. Pretty much all critical care nurses are Type A, OCD, and control freaks. But ER nurses like to fix things, see fast results, and then get bored and move on to the next thing (the next patient). ICU nurses are in for the long haul and have patience! ER is a good place for a nurse wanting to be an NP though. Because you see a little bit of everything! If you want to go ER and are nervous about being a new grad start studying materials for the CEN (certified emergency nurse exam). It’ll expose you to the knowledge base you need even if you can’t remember everything you read. Also, get into a trauma center if you can. Being a trauma nurse is my favorite part!
Emily
Hey! Fellow nursing student here. I graduate in May. I feel the pain of the craziness of school! What I hear, is if you know what you want to do out of school, try and land a job in it. So many people were telling me as a new grad you have to work on a medsurg unit to get experience before anywhere else will hire you, but those are just the die hards that think you have to serve your time on that unit. So many other nurses have said they hire new grads in all units. Here in Alaska, they will hire new grads in just about any unit. I’m hoping to get into pediatrics or NICU because I loved my rotations in those and love kids! I vote shoot for what you know you like. The beauty of nursing is that you can always switch and learn something new later. :)
Teresa
For Andrew. There is not one answer for where to start since all RN’s have digferent strengths and aspirations.
What I will say is to actively start pursuing your area of interest at the local hospitals now while in school.
I did that and was hired straight into the cardiac ICU as a new Grad. I think I got a two week break before starting my orientation. I do not regret this decision. You will get advice to start on lower acuity floors to get experience. This is wrong advice as those floors are not “beginner” units just a different type of nursing that takes skill of another kind.
Critical care nursing is a wonderful place to learn about critical thinking and a great understanding of the human system. No matter where you end up working uounwill learn as much as younpursue. My best advice is to use the Physicians as your think tanks asking questions about your patients conditions. You will be amazed at how much they want to teach and how much you will learn.
It will be fun to hear about your path.
To answer your question I want more days in the week, I’m pretty tired at the end of our 24 hour days. In would love an extra day of running.
Leigh
I graduated nursing school in 2010 and have worked in surgical ever since which I absolutely LOVE! I would love to go to ER or ICU but right now with a 1 and 3 year old it’s not practical as I’d only be doing it part time and not enough hours to really gain experience and confidence. I would highly recommend doing maybe a year general surgical and a year general medical before specialising because those first two years are super hard anyway and you don’t know what you don’t know. Also having two years experience makes you much more hireable (if that’s a word) but just having that backing you up helps your stress levels immensely. I had two friends who I graduated with who went straight to ICU and both of them ended up burnt out within two months because the pressure on them was so immense, they ended up transferring, one to paediatrics and one to orthopaedics. But if it’s what you want to do then go for it and you will cope. But it might be slightly easier on you to get a couple years general experience first. It really won’t be a wasted two years. The knowledge you gain will truly help and grow your base knowledge and confidence greatly. But again it’s totally up to you and Janae. Everyone’s coping levels are different and you seem like a pretty laid back guy so you’d probably be just fine. Just my experiences. :)
Tracy @ The Fitness Sprinkle
Oh my gosh, that DQ blizzard look SO ridiculously good!! I think I’d rather have more hours in a day, but as long as I would get extra sleep every night, I wouldn’t mind either! :)
marti @fitwithheart
Congrats to Andrew – on pursuing the greatest career..NURSING! I’ve been an RN over six years and love it. I started out for a bit over 2 years in Cardiac ICU and I got INCREDIBLE experience – it was a lot to take on as a new grad, but i really loved it. 12 hour stretches are hard – its a different type of stress and as a nurse its exhausting mentally, emotionally and physically. run run run some days without lunch or as much as a break to pee! I always HATED when people said “but you only work three days a week right?…” omg. the worst. ha! – And switching back and forth from nights to days is tough.
i now feel like i’m the most spoiled nurse with my hours and job! I’ve been working for over four years in the PACU (post anesthesia care unit) and I’m also crosstrained to work in day surgery admitting patient for surgery and the outpatient surgery discharge unit. i work 8 hour shifts four days a week and do take call – every 10th weekend and then some during the weeknights. I get a variety of patients – from 6 weeks old, to healthy adults, to minor surgeries to ICU patients etc – it’s a lot but it really is awesome.
I can’t wait to see what you decide to do first as a nurse. the opportunities really are endless – so much more than bedside nursing out there too – Congrats!
Marti
Mmmm…Dairy Queen. My college freshman daughter has worked at DQ for 2.5 years now and she always keeps us in the loop with the newest and best DQ creations. It’s good to have an inside contact! ;)
Ariana
I am in school, I took this quarter off because I would have missed the first 1.5 weeks due to a big vacation but I start back mid-January. Anatomy and Physiology here I come!
Andrew- I just did this! I got a bachelors in business management, went out and worked for 3 years and hated it!!! Now I am going for my nursing degree. Just an RN to start with, doing all the prerequisites now.
More days in the week as long as they were days off.
In N out always sounds good to me……probably because the nearest one is currently 6 hours away!!!! So I only get it like twice a year when I visit home.
Jessica C
Being in the nursing profession is awesome! I received my BSN in 2011 and my first job was in a cardiac/medical ICU where I worked for 4 years. It was HARD but so very rewarding and the knowledge is serving me well in my current master’s program to become an acute care NP (only 2 semesters left!!! whoohoo!). I’ve also worked in lung transplant, ICU float pool, and taught nursing students (<—favorite!). I think you could definitely start in an ICU and like others have said, looking for a new grad residency or special program is something I would highly recommend. Your psych experience will serve you well wherever you go — we saw so.many.psych dx/issues in the ICU (and with families of our patients too :) haha). Wishing you all the best!!
Michelle
RN since 2010, most of my career has been in the ICU. I started there as a new grad. Look for a hospital willing to teach and nurture you as a new RN. I think a new grad can succeed in the ICU with good support! I’m finishing my FNP in May 2018, and can’t wait for some new challenges when I start working as an NP. Good luck Andrew!
Cassy
i am currently working my way INTO nursing school! Need to get those pre-reqs first.. turns out when you go back to school after 12 years off, pretty much all previous classes expire :(
I cannot not wait to get into the nursing program, these pre-req classes are killllling me! Work full time + almost full time student at night is killer.
anyone have any thoughts on me doing the phlebotomy program, so i can do phlebotomy and attend school more often?? figured phlebotomy might give me some good experience too!
love the updates cause its where i hope my life if is in a few years!
E
Awww, Courtney, your post makes me saddd! I was signed up to run Houston but had to bail due to life stuff. How was the course hard? I definitely want to do it next year!