ACLS

I'm signed up to take the "new provider" course for ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support) in January at work.  We're required to be certified within a year of employment, and that milestone is fast approaching for me.  I'm reading the manual, using the accompanying student CD-ROM, and remembering what it feels like to study.  It's been a long time since I last took a test.  It's a bit nerve-wracking, really.

I intend to go back to school, complete my BSN, and go on to obtain my Master's degree as a Nurse Midwife/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner.  These goals are in the back of my mind, always nagging just a bit... but that driving ambition has quieted down a bit, now that I'm earning a living wage with an associate's degree, planning a wedding, and looking to buy some land.  Continuing my education has been put on the back burner, for now. 

I know that some people say that once you've taken a few years off, you'll never go back to school.  I don't believe that.  What motivates me most is boredom, or a sense of stagnancy.  Already I'm feeling a bit bored with my current job.  My new role as a preceptor has been helping with that, as I love to teach.  But how long will that last?  I'm not too eager to jump ship just yet... I do feel something of a sense of loyalty to my current employer.  I've been with them for over four years, first as a phlebotomist and then as a nurse.  At the very least I know I'll be there for a few more months, as the one year mark is sort of the magic number for a new nurse, and I want to be ACLS certified when I submit my applications at other hospitals.  But I'd be content to stay there if a position would open up somewhere else in the hospital, something that would present me with new challenges.

If not, I may go back to school sooner than expected.  If I'm to stay in a position that will soon be old hat for me, then I'll feel an absolute need to challenge myself in some other way.  But I sure do hate the idea of adding to my student loan debt!!!