During my days (and far too many nights and double-shifts) working in emergency departments, I had a few moments to spend with my patients talking simply as one person to another. I'd forgo the endless assessment tools and focus on simple conversation. I believed that it might actually help relieve my patient's anxiety, and perhaps help stabilize his vital signs. Not such a wild idea, really.
So I'd stop what I was doing, look the patient in the eye and say, "This is probably no fun for you at all. Where would you rather be right now?" The answers were fairly predictable: "Anywhere but here," "Home in bed," or "On a beach." I sometimes responded jokingly, "I hope you mean a beach in Hawaii, because a beach in Antarctica might be a tad nippy." One time I agreed, saying, "Yeah, me, too: Newcomb Hollow Beach on Cape Cod." Coincidentally, the patient knew the beach well, and we were off on a conversation that kept him occupied while I went about my business.
When I arrived at AJN, the editorial staff often gathered for lunch. Since we were all fairly new to our jobs, I decided to introduce an interpersonal exercise aimed at team building. During one lunch meeting, I posed a question to the group, "What was the worst date you ever had?" Fortunately, everyone participated, and the responses were hilarious. A tradition was born. "The Question" became a regular part of our lunch meetings, and over the years we shared some of the funny, revealing, and poignant moments of our lives. More important, we spoke of our histories and aspirations, forgotten dreams and secret projects. More than just colleagues, we became friends who cheered each other's successes, enjoyed each other's histories and dreams.
For this year's Career Guide we asked several nurses to answer some questions-some probing and others whimsical-about their personal and professional lives. All the respondents were good sports; they didn't withhold, and the results are instructive, insightful, and pretty interesting. We hope that you can identify with the respondents and derive some hope and direction. Nursing is a wonderful profession, wide open for success or entrepreneurship, and populated by 2.5 million affable, diligent, creative, caring folks, just like you.
We've also included information on where to find educational and career opportunities, as well as scholarships, grants, and other funds available for educational advancement (see "Nurse Scholarship Programs," page 21). In addition, we've compiled-and made available for free online at http://www.nursingcenter.com/ajncareerguide2007-relevant articles that were previously published in AJN about nursing opportunities at home (see "Nursing Career Opportunities") and abroad (see "International Career Opportunities"). Two perennial Career Guide features, "Results of a Multistate Licensure Survey," and "How to Get a License" can also be found at the Career Guide Web site. These and all issues of AJN are free to subscribers at http://www.ajnonline.com. We hope that they might answer some of your questions about where to go next in your nursing career.