A big issue

Education and career is certainly a big issue for me. I am an RN & have been for 7 years. That works out well for Dave being in med school, becuase obviously we'll be near a hospital regardless of where his career takes us & I'll be able to get a job. Unfortunately, I got burned out on doing patient care & don't want to do that anymore. Not only do I not want to do it anymore, I want to pursue a Master's degree (in Public Health) so that I'll have something else to fall back on once there isn't a nursing shortage anymore.



I started the degree in Dec. of 1999. It is a program started by KCOM that is rolling out new classes very slowly, so if I continue in my current pace, it will take me 5 years to complete. When we committed to med school, we agreed that I work work full-time throughout in order to minimize the loans we have to take. My problem is that I am finding it very difficult to balance full time work & part time grad school. I said something in one of my posts about the house never being clean. That only bothers me when it gets really bad. What bothers me is that I have a hard time finding time for my friends, and for the things that are important for me to feel grounded & functional. I get to the point that I am just irrationally emotional & cry about anything. Isn't that awful?!



I am on break right now & decided not to take the class that is offered this summer. I am actually quitting my boring job in less than 2 weeks, so I'll have some time off this summer to take a real break. I worry that I don't have it in me to finish this degree. Kris- you amaze me in your ability to finish up a thesis with 3 small children. I honestly want to know how you balance everything.



All (helpful) advice is welcome!

Wendy

Wendy,



It is a big issue for me too...and it has had some affect on my husband and I's relationship because although he initially felt that my career was equally important, he has gradually shifted away from that and has more of a desire for me to stay home and take care of him and his career....



What would you like to do with you MPH? That is a really fun degree, I hear...but it stinks if you can't get the courses that you need!!!! I am all for taking the summer off, by the way....I think that is one of the things that helped me get through this program...taking time out to breathe.



I am glad to have the coursework for this behind me and hope to defend/get it done before we move...but that hope is beginning to fade!!! I may have to come back to defend...I can't make myself quiet down though...I am already busy planning the courses that I want to take next....



Have you looked into taking a course or two via distance learning? What will happen when you guys move to the credits that you have up to this point?



Kris

My degree is actually a distance learning program- not to be confused with a correspondence course! It just happens that I am here in Kirksville now where the school is based. That will only be the case until August. It took a little adjusting at first, but now I really like it. I thought that BioStatistics would kill me, but amazingly enough it didn't! Distance learning is good because you can plan your school schedule around your work schedule instead of vice versa.



I have a couple fo different things that I'd like to explore professionally. The first is childhood injury prevention. I worked in a PICU for 4 years & saw a lot of kids that wouldn've been so much better off or would've lived had they just taken the correct safety precautions. It is one thing for adults who can choose to follow safety precautions based on their own knowledge. It is quite another to expect that of a child.

The other thing I'd like to do is work in the organ transplantation field. I think that it is utterly amazing that an organ can be taken out of one person & can be made to be functional in another person giving that person a little longer to live. I think it would be something I would find very fulfilling.



Thanks for the "OK" to take time out from the program. I really struggled with that decision. One one hand, I want to get through it. One the other hand, I am in dire need of a break. SO many things have gone undone because neither of us have the time. He can't take a break, so I am and plan to get some of the other things in our lives taken care of.



Got to go... got to teach a CPR class tonight & am not looking forward to it...



Wendy

Neat, Wendy! I took two course via distance learning at through Iowa State, and I really loved it! For me, with three little ones, it was perfect. I could download notes, listen to lectures and complete assignments/quizzes at night when they were all in bed...we took the same exams as the on-campus students, so there wasn't a difference in that way...but the flexibility was great!!!! I would really like to take more DL courses over the next couple of years before I go back to work just to keep myself going...



Saftey precautions in children....that sounds really neat. We have actually had a couple of close calls ourselves. You just have to turn your head for a second....



Organ transplantation...that sounds pretty interesting too. Would it involve a lot of patient teaching?



I am impressed that you are teaching CPR as well...you have an endless supply of energy!!!!



Kris

It certainly doesn't feel like an endless supply of energy from this end!

I really don't care a lot for teaching CPR. I realize that it is extremely important, but I've probably taught 6 or 7 classes already this year & I'm just kind of burned out.



Dave is really after me to get my resume updated & start getting them sent out to places in Jersey. I keep dragging my feet because it just feels like one more thing on my already long list of things to do. My last day at my present job in June 6. I am so bored and burned out on this job I just want to scream! I think I'll be more inclined to update my resume once my last day gets here. Or, maybe I can work on it this weekend.



I'd really rather go play!



Wendy

Wendy,



When is your last day? I can relate very much to your feeling emotional and crying about everything. I have had such a tough go of it in the lab over the last two years, and there were many times that I stood in the lab late at night after the kids were in bed and just cried as I did things....I just felt dissatisfied and overwhelmed...Good for you for moving on and starting your masters in public health......



Kris
The Medical Spouse Network