Community Chat

[Goodie2shoes]

If so, what is your profession ?  MD, Nurse, other medical specialist ? how many years? are you still working or retired? Do you like or did you like the area you chose to work in?  I have been a nurse for 44 years, worked in a Hospital  newborn nursery for 14 years but since 1989 I've worked in a office setting working for insurance companies. I turned 65 in 2015 and plan to retire in the next few months. I've enjoyed my career what about you and would you choose the same career again ? 

[skuggles]

There  are some here who are in the field by virtue of having used it or having known someone who is. 

[Stormygirl]

I was a Registered Respiratory Therapist for 22 years and taught same in college. Spent 10 years Army first as a Combat Medic, Operating Room Specialist and Respiratory in Anesthesia. I am now disabled and wheelchair bound unfortunately. I enjoyed my years as an RRT.  At the time I loved my career but I dont know that I would serve in the military again ever. I think at the time I enjoyed serving in the military though.

[chrystaltree]

Raising my hand!  I have degree in Health Information Technology and early in my career, I worked as medical coder for a hospital. That career worked perfectly for me because while I love a clinical setting and I love medicine; I was never interested in any of the clinical fields.  I took some time off to raise my family but I was able to go back to college and re-enter the field when they were off to school.  Eventually, I found coding to be too "solitary" and I wanted to earn more money and advance in the field.  I obtained a bachelor's degree and went to work for an insurance company where I audited hospitals and physicians offices.  I was good at the work, I recouped a lot of money for the company but I never felt right or good about it.  Many, if not most, of the deficiencies were errors and not fraud.  So, eventually I was offered a position in a hospital, where I am today.  In the beginning, I responded to insurance company denials and I trained non-clinical staff in Icd9 dx and Cpt coding.  Coding is "the language" of medicine.  Through that, I med many physicians at the hospital and developed relationships and ended up working in a unit that obtains authorizations from insurers from insurers for hospital admissions, surgeries etc.  That unit has grown over the years and I am now a department manager with 40 people reporting to me.  But I can still do the work..lol   Medical coding is my first love and I have become an expert in the new Icd10 code set.  Along the way, I managed to get a masters in healthcare administration.  Oh, yes.  I went where my interests led me but if I had to choose all over again, I would not change a thing.  I found the profession that is perfect for me and because I am a realist and a hard worker; I was able to advance professionally and economically.  I'm 52, so retirement is now where near.  But I suspect that I'll be one of those people who works through their 60's.  I expect to live a healthy, full life into my 80's; I think retirement at 65 might be a little early for me.  But who knows how I will feel in 10 years...lol    Hubby and I are longterm planners, we we are already discussing such tbings.  Actually, my husband is an RN.  He's a UR case manager now but  he works for a temp agency and manages to work a Sat or Sun a couple of times a month at one of the local hospitals.  He likes patient care, he just doesn't want to do it fulltime.

[151949]

I'm an RN,BSN ,critical care nurse.(CCRN) I retired on disability 8 years ago after a fall at work..I worked at the bedside my entire career.Never had any desire to advance into any administration type position. However,if I had it to do all over again I would have become something like a speech therapist,occupational therapist or physical therapist or dietitian because bedside nursing is very hard on your personal life, and not Many nurses stay healthy long enough to work til normal retirement age,backs,hips ,knees etc just can't take the wear and tear.

[GeorgiaJack]

Worked for over 25 years as an RN in various departments. Missed out on life every other weekend and holidays. Relationships are too tough because 12 -14 hrs is exhausting. It's an extremely unhealthy profession when you don't get breaks, time to eat and push around people triple your weight because there's no help. You barely get a bathroom break. Never would do it again if I had a chance. The signs of wear and tear have caught up and at middle age I am not healthy.

[151949]

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@GeorgiaJack wrote:
Worked for over 25 years as an RN in various departments. Missed out on life every other weekend and holidays. Relationships are too tough because 12 -14 hrs is exhausting. It's an extremely unhealthy profession when you don't get breaks, time to eat and push around people triple your weight because there's no help. You barely get a bathroom break. Never would do it again if I had a chance. The signs of wear and tear have caught up and at middle age I am not healthy.

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I agree, if I had a child expressing interest in nursing I would discourage it and advise them to chose a different medical field. 

[gmkb]

As an RN, I worked in the hospital setting, an alcohol and drug rehab facility, and eventually in an office setting for physicians. Each position had its rewards and drawbacks.  

The hospital is rewarding because of the immediate care you bring and the joy of seeing a patient make a good recovery.  It is very hard and demanding work.

The reward of alcohol and drug rehab is the possibility of a better life for the patient.  To see them go from devastation to hope for the future is rewarding.  It is a sad event to see that same person return two years later in need of help.

As I grew older, I chose the less physically demanding work of office nursing.

People with rheumatological disease have many challenges every day.  Because of their chronic disease, they were seen often and became a part of your life.  

When I retired at age 60, I told each of the patients personally when they came for their appointment.  

I will always remember one elderly lady who had been coming for a long time and spoke no English except 'thank you' and 'nice girl.'  We spoke thru her granddaughter.  When I told her, she started sobbing, grabbed me and said 'no, nice girl' repeatedly. 

Nursing had many rewards and some sad times, but I would do it all again.

[conlt]

I am an RN with a MSN, and I worked 1 year in the hospital setting then 35 years in home health. I like home health because I am able to help people rehabilitate at home for the best life possible. It may be helping a patient stay home to die. A lot of people think that home health is easy, but it is very difficult because as an RN in the field, you are out there alone. The nurse manages the case and communicates his/her best medical judgments to the physician. Very challenging and rewarding. For 10 years now I have been an administrator bringing up the next generation of great home health nurses, or so I like to think.

[reiki604]

I retired from Nursing last June after 34 years as an RN. I have an AS, BS, BSN, and a MSN as well as certifications in 3 areas. there are a lot of initials after my professional name. During my career I have worked in many and diverse areas including Critical care, hemodialysis, Cath Lab, non-invasive cardiology, home care, etc, etc. 

i left the the bedside about 15 years ago to open and run multiple community health centers for the hospital I worked for. I left that to try my hand at home care quality management and direct supervision and that's where I retired from. Middle management while not physically demanding had intense levels of stress and frustration that caused many of my coworkers to develop health issues as well.

Nursing has provided me with the ability to support me and DH when times were lean. In return I gave up my weekends, holidays and multiple family events and celebrations. Fortunately DH also works in a field with non traditional hours so it didn't impact our time together too much.

Nursing takes a tremendous toll on a person physically, personally and emotionally. We see people rarely at their best and often at their worst. Would I do it again? Probably not. I would work in other areas of healthcare but go where there was more normal hours and workload as well as higher pay.