Ok, as an aging baby boomer, I am beginning to think I will not be able to stand forever at the bedside doing 6-8 PICC's a day and have decided that more education is the answer...I have been doing vascular access for the past 22 years and really have a hard time visualizing myself doing anything that is not related to this field. I am looking for advice/opinions about what to pursue here...Do I go for a Masters in Education/ Leadership knowing full well that education positions are the first cut when in budget crisiis, and I would be a "leader" from the "old school", so nobody would want me for long....Do I pursue a Clinical Nurse Specialist degree in ? Vascualr Access if there is such a thing?Surely we have some people with advanced degrees on this forum and may have some advice for someone who is willing to work towards higher education.
All Comments welcome and appreciated!
My choice was a master's in education specializing in adult education. I went to the University of Georgia and learned that their program in Adult Ed is one of the top 5 in the world. It was a wonderful experience. I was doing education in my job at that time and had already obtain my certification in professional staff development. So I knew that infusion nursing was my first passion, followed closely by education. There are opportunities outside of a hospital with an education degree such as employment with a drug or device manufacturer. Of course, if patient care is where you want to stay, then you will need to get an advanced nursing degree. The options are nurse practitioner in a given specialty but there is not one, that I know of, specifically in infusion nursing or vascular access. You can obtain your NP degree and certification in adult health, then find some people that would offer you some clinical time to work with them on CVAD placement such as implanted ports, tunneled catheter, HD caths, etc. Gail Sanserverio at Albany Medical Center does this. She is a partner in the radiology group I think. There are probably other hospitals with radiology NPs that could provide the same services. The CNS role is merging with the NP role, so you will need to get the most recent information on that. A CNS specialty in adult health or oncology would allow you to work as advanced practice nurse for an infusion team, overseeing the infusion services of an entire facility. So I would encourage you to think about where you want to practice and what type of practice you want, then choose the degree that will get you there. Another option could be a degree in business or healthcare administration. I wish you great success. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
126 Main Street, PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
Hi Angela,
I am over 50 yrs old and back in school for ACNP (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner). My original plan was to become a CNS to combine vascular access and education. I was advised by several people in nursing positions of authority that the NP role would suit more to working with patients, families, physicians and other nurses in my Vascular Access role. The Acute Care NP was my choice because I do not work with pediatrics and my nursing career background was in ER, ICU and CCU.
There are quite a number of online programs now. At first I wondered how I could possibly learn online, but feel that I really do interact with the other students and the instructor. I think you get out of it what you put into it, but that includes classroom as well as the online learning environment as you may know.
Perhaps you can speak to the advisors at the schools? Some nurses at work? Nurses in the position might be able to help guide you.
I start my next semester next Tuesday (Pharmacology).
Good luck! Also, I think we "old nurses" have lots of experience, wisdom, maturity and insight to offer!! :-)