Reddit reviews Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse
We found 3 Reddit comments about Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
WALL 'O TEXT TO FOLLOW
There's a shortage of nursing jobs for new grads in Portland, OR, right now. 2 years from now? No idea. Likely to be a better job climate then.
If you're thinking you don't want to be in healthcare, why in the world would you want to get an RN? I'm not trying to be a dick, and I did read your post, but an RN is a fairly specific degree. There are lots of jobs that use an RN cert, but the vast majority of them involve interacting with people. Confidence (or the ability to fake it) is pretty important. That said, the structure inherent in healthcare can be helpful for making those interactions feel more natural. As a nurse, you have a list of tasks you have to accomplish that can help guide you, if you're not sure how to interact in a given situation. If you think that is the case, it might be an awesome thing for you.
My advice, based on your post only, and never having met you, is this- continue your leave of absence until you know what you want to do. An EMT or CNA is a much faster cert to get (1 semester, with an 8-hour CPR class as the only pre-req), and will give you helpful skills in an emergency. You will find yourself answering a lot of questions from friends/family with "I don't know, but I don't think it'll kill you in the next 24 hours." If you like the work/experience/role, but don't like that answer, then go for more training. You'll have a better idea whether what you want is a Paramedic, RN, MD, NP, DO, respiratory therapist, occupational therapist, nurse practitioner, fire medic, search and rescue, or even an administrator.
Also- Do you have access to guidance counselors through school? Talk to them, or therapist/life coach/awesome friends. My job is nowhere near as badass, but I just read trauma junkie and it makes me want to be a better nurse. And a flight nurse. Start reading books about and by nurses to get an idea of what their perspective is. Call the nearest hospital, and tell them you want to do a job-shadow of a nurse for the day.
If you want more ideas/thoughts, or someone to bounce ideas off of, feel free to PM me.
TL;DR- I'd say no, but definitely keep pondering and exploring. If you feel the structure and forced interaction would help you build confidence, and you'd like the job, go for it!
>suggested that I look into RN during college
Being an RN is a degree in and of itself. After your general education, it's another two years of nursing school. If you are on track to finish your bio degree in four years, you'd be adding another two years onto that and by then you'd be applying to medical school, so it wouldn't be worth it. If I were in your shoes, I would do nursing only IF I didn't get into medical school.
What you can do, and I've seen others do it, is either be an EMT-B, emergency room technician (you need your EMT-B to do this and it will give you good exposure to the ER), or become a medical assistant (I believe the program is only six months, but others may correct me if I'm wrong).
>Last question, as an advanced healthcare provider, do you ever go on ride-alongs or help out on the ambulances at all?
I am an ER nurse and I have gone on one ride along when the patient needed to be transferred with CCT to another facility and there wasn't a CCT-RN available. At my shop, none of the doctors ride along, but that may be different at other places. CCT is usually within the scope of practice of a registered nurse.
> If so, what is your scope of practice?
During the transport I did, my job was to monitor the patient post-TPA. I can only speak as an RN, but the scope of practice while doing a transport is the same as in the hospital - assess, monitor, and give meds. The ER MD will usually give the CCT-RN a list of standing orders for different scenarios.
>If there's one book which you would suggest me reading (either textbook, educational, non-fiction, etc) to prepare me for medschool, what would it be?
It won't prepare you for medical school, and it's written by a nurse but Trauma Junkie was one I enjoyed a lot. Other than that, focus on your studies and enjoy your time before college and medical school. Read what you want to read for pleasure, not necessarily what will prepare you. During my two years of nursing school I had no time to read what I wanted because I was focused on studying. It will be much "worse" for you.
Trauama Junkie
stories from a Bay Area CALSTAR flight nurse.