I fired off an email to the department for the ACCN certificate, asking when I could theoretically begin some of the coursework.

Their reply: "You would need to be in your final Year (4th year) of your Degree program to take the ACCN courses. You would be able to take some of the theory course prior to graduating."

Okay, so I have a year to consider my options. This is good. I have an ICU theory term and clinical rotation in the coming year, so I can make a more informed decision at that point.

A lady at work yesterday saw me reading my latest textbook for my correspondence class. It's dry stuff, but at the same time interesting. The current chapter is examining paradigms and methods of scientific inquiry. It is making me wonder how on earth I'll ever get to the point that I can identify a knowledge deficit and choose to research something real and relevant. This is something I'm going to have to tackle in a Master's program. I guess that's why they want me to have a year's experience in my specialty before applying. But I digress...

She asked me how much longer I had to go in my program. "2 years!" I cheerfully replied, and then we were both a little surprised at how fast the previous 2 years have gone by. A lot of the ladies at my work are very old-school (I am one of the youngest people there, by like 20 years) and they seem to have a real reverence for my being a student nurse. It's a little unnerving. No matter how much I tell them that I actually don't know anything, they want me to shed light on various medical concerns they have - my office has a LOT of medical concerns. In fact I have been clamouring for them to get an AED there specifically because I work with a lot of overweight older adults.

However I was actually able to provide some good information to a co-worker whose dad was in end-stage cancer, receiving palliative care. He lived in another province. She was pretty distressed and didn't want him to die alone in a hospital bed. I told her to inquire about home care nurses in that area.  A few months later she told me that home care allowed him to die peacefully in his own home with his own family present, and she was very pleased with the supportive environment. I was glad that I had managed to pick up SOME little tidbits from Med-Surg, lol :)

I don't know if you guys have looked. I'm SURE you have. I'm sure you're all just as concerned as I am about where the hell you're going to work once you've got that shiny degree on your wall. I'm only halfway done and I'm already panicking!

My *ideal* career path would be a year or two in Med-Surg, while building foundational skills, and then to grow into a CCU nurse. I'm not 100% sure if CCU is ultimately the kind of nurse I'd like to be (who can be that sure, anyway?) but a lot of things about it are appealing to me.

Certainly, one of the best days I've had in clinical was when one of my patients had higher acuity and I had to manage him, his family, and my interactions with the rest of the care team very diplomatically and with as much knowledge as I had. Everything that came up with his care made me ask myself questions. I spent my breaks researching. I loved every second of it, even though it was a very difficult time for him and his family. One of the weird things about nursing, I guess - some of your best days are some of your patients' worst.

My career path has always seemed pretty workable. Get a job in something basic, then specialize, while continuing my education. Ever since I realized that I liked learning, I haven't wanted to stop. Sure, some days I wish I was done school so I could have time to myself and actually have a life, but on the whole I've loved every second of it. Stop at my BScN? Hell no.

Unfortunately, with job prospects dwindling and having heard nothing back from the internship I applied for, I'm starting to actually get a little spooked. Our schools keep churning out new grads and I haven't found a SINGLE RN job posting that didn't require at 1 year experience. In fact I haven't found a single RN posting that was in anything other than a specialty.

The job market tanked in the last two years. One hopes it will float again in the next two.

However, in case it doesn't (or in case any market improvement is only temporary) I am considering pursuing this certification on a part-time basis next year as a senior student. I am hoping it will give me a leg up over the ~150 nurses also graduating with me. There are some theory components but most importantly, there is a 210-hour clinical component.

AKA networking opportunities.

Eventually I want to obtain my Critical Care Nursing certification through the CNA.

Alphabet soup? As long as it brings job security and a paycheck, I don't mind one bit :)

[photo credit]