how many of us here are from the medical profession?
 

i have to ask as i have noticed that in alot of posts several refer to knowledge gained by being in the medical field ... my father is a retired doctor and my mother is a retired nurse ... my brother is a parametic and my step sister is a pharmacist ... myself ... i was 3 semesters away from a ba in psychology ... my real sister is the only one who choose not to go medical ... still she is is a "healping" career ... she's an elementary teacher ... 2nd grade .... anyway ... i am just curious ...

Not me personally, but between hubby and myself - lots of docs, nurses, and techs in family.

RN for almost 30 years

I was an RN for 40 years until I retired last year. DIL's mother is an RN as well, and her father is a doctor.

i was an RN for 35 yrs before i had to retire due to MS.
my specialty was neonatal nursing.

Respiratory therapist for 10 years but I'm no longer doing that. Moved "upward" in my career path. ;)

Lpn here. Now I'm just a not so good patient.

Raising hand. Although I was just a few classes shy of my nursing degree, I worked for many years in the hospital doing stats, trends, quality reviews/management, etc. all because JCAHO wanted it. LOL You all know what I am talking about.

I was in the medical field for over 13 years as a lab tech. Jim having ms increased my knowledge. I left the medical field to pursue my degree in graphic arts but I am not a practicing artist anymore since Jim needed me at home. I dabble at the arts but not for money anymore.

I knew I should have went to nursing school. Jim's doctor tells everyone I am a nurse when he's admitted or whatever. He says I am a nurse without papers. Kind of like a purebred without papers. Haha!

Sandy,

Like money, it's just a piece of paper and ink.I took a different route. Some of my students were NI (Neuroliogically Impaired.) Now I am. I use stuff I once used with them.

Me.

Right after being diagnosed I had a panic attack because as someone self-employed I knew I was SOL if something happened to DH's health benefits so I went back to school to become a nurse.

Nursing offers me a flexible career, good money/benefits and I love it. Hopefully I will be able to continue for many years.

5 years as a volunteer EMT..... hey it counts!

I sure wished I knew some of the things about what happens in the medical field on the other side when I was working. I think it might have made me a better nurse.

Believe it or not I was a disability specialist for social security for 15 years. Was hard to be on the other end when I had to apply.

I don't know if this counts, but I worked at a radiologist's office for six years, in the business office, and my DH is a pharmacist.

there are so many of us who are in the medical field .... iwonder if its a blessing or a curse knowing as much as we do????

i feel like it's a blessing because i like to help people and to educate.
the knowledge i have helps me be a good advocate for myself and has helped me build a good team of medical professionals.

however, i'm not immune from bad experiences. sometimes i'm not successful at getting what i want/need medically. it's frustrating dealing with docs sometimes.

Me too!

I was the medical transcriptionist in radiology for 4 years back in the 90's. My daughter just graduated from Nursing School yesterday!!! Woohoo!!!

It sure helped me give myself my Avonex!

I'm still sorta training to be a medical transcriptionist. I've taken the last two years off to figure out what to do with the MS crap. I'm planning on going back to school this spring.

My dad is a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) and his late brother was also a CRNA. His brother's widow is a Nurse Practitioner. One of dad's sisters was an x-ray tech till about a year ago (she retired because she's got RA). That aunt has a son who's a paramedic that is currently training to be a...argh...darn brainfroggies...respiratory therapist!! (he's also a volunteer firefighter) Dad's other sister works in the cafeteria of the hospital he works at (ok, she doesnt quite count, but she was going to be a nutritionist or something, but never got her degree or whatever she needed for that)

My uncle's youngest daughter is a nurse...I think she works in maternity. I cant remember if she was going to go back to school to be a CRNA like my dad and her dad.

and my grandfather (dad's dad) was an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) and was also an orderly. He got his LPN license because he learned over the years how to start IV's and other things that nurses do. To keep things legal, he got the nursing license. (he died in 61, so he was a nurse/orderly in the 40s and 50s) He was the guy that some of the doctors always called in when they were having certain types of problems with patients. He could always get the IV's started on the first try, and was considered one of the best nurses in the hospital that he worked at.

Grandpa actually made more money working as an orderly (he had more seniority as an orderly, he didnt become a nurse right away) So he kept the orderly title, but since he had the nursing license, he was allowed to do whatever the nurses could do.

Oh yeah, he also worked as a gandy dancer on the railroad before he met and married my grandmother. That's how he got to Omaha. He worked his way up here from Texas in the 30s laying railroad tracks.

I never got to meet my grandpa, but from the stories my dad tells me about him, I think he would have been one of the coolest people in the world. I feel cheated that he died before I was born. I wish I'd gotten to grow up with him around. (he'd be 101yrs old now...his birthday was Christmas day...amazing that my grandfather was born a century ago!)

I worked for an Anesthesiologist when my kid's were younger and boy, did I learn alot from her. That was a long time ago at a small hosp. and private office, where you didn't have to wear name badges, etc. and no one questioned who you were. I could go with her practically anywhere and I remember the pt's always being so afraid of the anesthesia. *heck, we still are* But, I need to say "I never went into the OR".

Nurse here.
 

I have been an RN since dinosaurs roamed the earth!! [1974]
Found out I had passed my nursing boards the day before my 21st birthday and yes I did celebrate!!
Met my DH in Nursing School and worked while he went to Anesthesia School to become a CRNA [Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, like Erin's dad]
My oldest DS is a certified EMT-firefighter and now a policeman.
DD is a special education teacher
Youngest DS is a pre-med [Biology] major in collegdr with plans to go to medical school & become an Anesthesiologist.

No one else in my family, except for an Aunt, were in the medical field but for some reason becoming a nurse was all I ever wanted to be.

Sometime a little knowledge is dangerous. I just love when a medical professional is talking 'down' to me like I should be in my DD's class and then I let them know I am an RN.