What I've Been Up To

So, I mentioned before that this Fall has been pretty busy.  As we get closer to moving, we get closer to me starting the next phase of my nursing career (which has yet to begin, really!)...

Let's take a trip down memory lane to remind you of my story...  I attended college on an ROTC scholarship, meaning that I owed eight years to the Navy following graduation.  Four of those years had to be on Active Duty.  The remaining could be any combination of Active Duty, Selected Reserves (those who drill one weekend a month an complete two weeks of training a year, at a minimum), or Inactive Ready Reserves (basically the last line of defense before a draft, if we're ever in a World War-type situation).  Well, I completed my four years of Active Duty back in 2009 and have been in the Selected Reserves ever since.  In the meantime, I did some soul searching to decide what I wanted to do "when I grow up".

Back in 2009, we didn't have any kids, so there was no reason for me to not have a job.  Besides, I enjoyed having my own career!  My degree is in Marketing, with an emphasis on PR and Event Planning.  I looked and looked (and interviewed) for several jobs in the Norfolk area, but the only things worthwhile were in Richmond (90 miles away) or DC (three hours away).  Considering Hubs was still stationed in Virginia Beach, that didn't make sense.  We'd been separated for enough of our relationship (ummm....the entire relationship, from dating, to engagement, to the first eight months of our marriage due to dual deployments) and didn't want to sign up for even more.

So I switched gears and decided that perhaps I should look in a different field.  I didn't need benefits, since we have a great benefits package through the military.  I didn't need a huge salary, since my income would only be a supplement to Hubs'.  I did need a career that was transient, since we were not guaranteed to be in any one place for more than a couple of years at a time.  I looked into real estate, and quickly set that idea aside based on the nature of the work, inability for me to work in a particular market for very long, and necessity of putting in lots of weekend and evening hours (pretty much the only time I'd get to spend with my husband, who would already be gone a lot due to his Naval career).  My next two ideas were nursing and teaching.  Teaching was ruled out in about an hour.  The certification is only good in one state, and I'm just not a very patient person.  I get frustrated easily, and I just don't think that is a good fit for a teacher.  Nursing, on the other hand, seemed more up my alley!  I'd been pre-med my first year of college and in the back of my mind always regretted changing my major.  Nursing, while not quite the same as being a doctor, offered a pretty much national certification (and therefore the ability to move around with my husband and still have job opportunities), flexible hours for when we did start a family, in the medical field, and the ability to further my education and advance in the field!  Oh yeah, and even in our economic turmoil, nurses remained in demand!

I started looking into the requirements and immediately jumped into the pre-requisite classes I needed.  I took some classes at a local university, some others at a community college, and then enrolled in a Licensed Practical Nurse program.  This would at least get me a license to practice as an LPN while I finished my RN, since we were on the verge of a move.

As you recall, I finished that program in February 2011.  We moved out here in June, following the birth of our first child.  Since we were only in CA for 18 months, I was a new mom, and California is one of only a few states that doesn't accept the national certification, I opted to neither work nor take more classes while here.  I focused on being a mother, Navy wife, and Reservist.

But now we're on the verge of moving back to Virginia!  So back in July, when my husband received orders to his next duty station, I began researching nursing programs in what will be our new community.  I found the perfect program, super close to where we'll be living, and at an affordable price!  I only require three more classes, so I'm taking two online right now (Medical Ethics and Developmental Psych) and will take the last next semester (also online).  Once I finish these classes and am accepted and finish from the next program, I'll have a second Bachelors Degree (a BSN, to add to the BBA I already have from Notre Dame)!

Once I graduate (there's a question of whether or not the program I'm interested in will remain a 12-month program or if they'll expand it to a 2-year program), I should still have enough time at our next duty station to work for at least a year (maybe two!) and gain some experience in a hospital setting in my preferred field (labor and delivery).  After that, I intend to go on and pursue an MSN to become a Certified Nurse Midwife and join an OB-GYN practice.

Nursing is an interesting field in that you can become an RN with an associates degree or with a bachelors degree.  However, in order to move on to the fields that require an MSN (like nurse midwifery) you must have a BSN; not just any bachelors degree will do.  So, that's why I'm looking to get a BSN rather than just an associates and go to work that much sooner...

Anyway...  So that is what I've been up to the past couple of months.  That and searching for a new house on the opposite coast.  But that is a whole other post.

Which I'll get to later on!