Is Nursing career compatible w/ Bodybuilding?

[mojolnir]

Sup guys,

I was thinkin about changing my major to nursing and I wanted to ask anybody out there who is a nurse or has some knowledge on the field, is this job compatible with being a competitive bodybuilder? Can you get your meals in? Is there time to train? etc

 

[DOHCrazy]

Unless you have the genetics and plan to make a living in bodybuilding, don't make life decisions like your career based on your hobby.

Guys have had difficult and/or time consuming jobs for years and have still been able to bodybuild. In a sport with little money, guys have to pay the bills.

If nursing is a goal of yours and you have the interest and ability to get schooling and training to become a nurse, why wouldn't you?

Sometimes in bodybuilding I think guys lose sight of reality; Dante has posted quite a few times about this.

 

[jerseystepup]

I work 3 on 3 off... 12 hour shifts at a clip... odds are if you get a job in a GOOD location, you'll end up working the night shift.. around my area its all about seniority.. I'm not working 3p-3a.. i love it... meals i do good with, its all about how busy i am.. Honestly bro... its not an easy job. physically, mentally, emotionally...

If you want to get into nursing, you have to know you want to do it 100%, not because you wanna make money.. but because you want to take care of patients and help people.. if something like bodybuilding has ANY bearing at all in your decision of patient care/nursing.. its not the field for you... maybe look into radiology or ultrasound...

my meals and workouts suffered WAY MORE in school and my clinical then they do now that I'm working...

Good luck

 

[Nemain]

I've got a buddy that lives in Pittsburgh PA, and he's a Nurse. His hrs can be demanding, however he gets all his meals in, He packs food, and eats at the cafeteria at the hospital. He gets his lifts at a gym/fitness place near by that's affiliated with the hospital/health system. He's an extraordinary athlete and uses AAS, however he's not BB'ing on a serious note, but he still has a very impressive physique with excellent symmetry.
Like an other job, you have to make adjustments, and work with what you have to accommodate your lifestyle..

 

[Creation]

I did alot of research into nursing/medical school.

With nursing there are so many different places/areas of a hospital/clinic where you can work and the hours can be almost anything as well.

i have a few friends working as nurses now and most of them work 4 days for 10-12 hours..but they choose to do OT cause shit get paid time and a half.

Its a great occupation and there will always be jobs.

And you can always work in the field for a few years then apply into a masters/PHD program and become a Nurse Practioner or Nurse Anesthesiologist(make 100k+)

But i agree with what DOHCrazy said...if you dont have the genetics to make it pro dont factor that into your career cause what if you end up hating it?

 

[mojolnir]

Some solid replies here guys thank you......I have always wanted to help people in one way or another so I figure this would be a good field for me, plus I have already taken many of the pre reqs needed to start the nursing program at my local college. It seems like this is a great career to get into and getting meals in would just be a matter of adjusting to the situation.


Jersey how long you been working as a nurse?

 

[Fitch92]

I’m about to graduate from nursing school.. I originally wanted to be a doctor but decided on nursing because I didn’t think I was smart enough for med school. Its not like 90% of the majors out there where you take the classes then you are handed a diploma/degree. It’s hard bro. Very hard. The school is very time consuming, the tests can be impossible and you have to put up with allot of bullshit. Can you pursue a bodybuilding career and go to nursing school/be a nurse? Well I was an aspiring MMA fighter and had been training for about two years including wrestling in high school. About a month after my first semester of clinical I had to stop training because of how time consuming school was. I probably slept 6 hours a night and I was either in class, in the hospital or at the library studying my nuts of the rest of the day. Like anything though, you get accustomed to it and it gets easier. Now I have one semester left. I lift weights 4 times a week, cardio 3 times a week, get 4-5 good meals in everyday, work in the ER, have a girl friend, I get to train MMA a few times a month, etc.. Sorry for rambling I just want you to be aware that if you pursue a degree like nursing there will have to be allot of sacrifice and dedication on your part. Something I wasn’t aware of. It’ll be worth it in the end though. Good job, good pay and the career opportunities with a nursing degree are unmatched if you ask me.

 

[adam2433]

Wish I knew where all these jobs you guys are talking about our. Market is terrible here. The Philly area and my way are all flooded with nurses and hospitals are on freezes. I work per diem with an agency but took a full time job with the fire department for significantly more money than even hospitals were offering.

I'm gonna be the voice of dissent here. I wish I wouldn't have gone to nursing school... I enjoyed school and didn't have much trouble with it. But I have student loan debt now for a degree I barely use. Perhaps if I could get a better position I'd think otherwise.

 

[mr.e01]

I work in NJ... best thing I did was become a RN. I work in critical care almost 3 years now. I work FT and per diem shifts(4 shifts a week on avg.). Eating and training is very easy as long as you know how to plan correctly like any other job. Going to start applying for CRNA school this summer, but overall male nurses and muscular guys at that are def in need as far as nurses go. Been training and into bbing about 9 years and nursing never stopped my hobby.. Good luck.. any questions PM me

 

[relentless]

Im in a BSN program right now an manage time for bbing on the side pretty well. I lift 3 on 1 off with no problems an get 5-6 meals a day, when in clinicals the meals are LBA's, fruit, and almonds makes a fast meal. School is very time consuming and expensive! If you are a good critical thinker it makes the school much easier and i recommend it if you are:lightbulb: If you are not it makes the school much harder. After i graduate ill work for a year or so then im applying to Nurse anesthetist school, my uncle is a crna and has great hours(usually 8-5 no weekends. his seniority is partial to why he has great hours. If he does work weekends hes usually on call for $65 per hr)<this is mainly why i chose CRNA over med school. He also gets paid much better than the physicians around here do 200-300k. CRNA from what i have observed is a dream job. Alot of responsibility comes with the job also..

 

[mr.e01]

Relentless.. once you graduate...just get like 2-3 yrs of ICU experience at a high acuity hospital dealing with a lot of grave patients and drips, get your ccrn, and take your GRE. Make some connections with nurse managers and teachers at school to get your reccomendations and you will be on your way to CRNA.. it may take a little longer than you think but its worth it from what I hear as well..and save up as much as possible too, as you said, school is pricey, but u can pay it off in a year or so..keep grindin bro..im about to blanket all the north east crna schools with applications. lol

 

[Fitch92]

Relentless.. once you graduate...just get like 2-3 yrs of ICU experience at a high acuity hospital dealing with a lot of grave patients and drips, get your ccrn, and take your GRE. Make some connections with nurse managers and teachers at school to get your reccomendations and you will be on your way to CRNA.. it may take a little longer than you think but its worth it from what I hear as well..and save up as much as possible too, as you said, school is pricey, but u can pay it off in a year or so..keep grindin bro..im about to blanket all the north east crna schools with applications. lol

Good luck bro. Thats gotta feel awesome. I'm still trying to decide between NP and CRNA

 

[relentless]

Relentless.. once you graduate...just get like 2-3 yrs of ICU experience at a high acuity hospital dealing with a lot of grave patients and drips, get your ccrn, and take your GRE. Make some connections with nurse managers and teachers at school to get your reccomendations and you will be on your way to CRNA.. it may take a little longer than you think but its worth it from what I hear as well..and save up as much as possible too, as you said, school is pricey, but u can pay it off in a year or so..keep grindin bro..im about to blanket all the north east crna schools with applications. lol

Thanks for sharing bro and good luck! I wish i were already where you are! Most likely it will take me longer and be more expensive since they are turning CRNA into a DAP(doctor of anesthesia practice) program(one year longer). Hopefully i can get in before the change tho.

 

[Cito33189]

All I know is my girlfriend and I went to college to together. She got her nursing degree. I got my degree in business with a minor in Criminal Justice. She found a job very quickly and was started off at 33 an hour. I on the other hand struggled to find a job. Finally I found a terrible job but needed to take it because I needded money.

BE A NURSE!!!

 

[Vaxene]

i've been an ICU nurse for 6 years now. i work in a cardiac ICU in new orleans and love it. my wife and i now have a 6 month old and i'm in school, so between 48 hour work weeks, full-time school load, and a baby, it's hard to make it to the gym as i wish i could. before the baby came along, i got plenty of time to work out as i wanted/needed to.

i thought about CRNA school. yeah, the money is good, but i'm a people person. i like interacting with people. i like diagnosing and treating. i didn't want to spend hours sitting at the head of a bed in the operating putting people to sleep and then reversing the anesthetics. i got waitlisted at Duke for their CRNA program last summer and then changed my mind. i'm now going to do the nurse practitioner gig and become an ACNP (acute care nurse practitioner). i'll be able to intubate, insert chest tubes, central line insertions, diagnose, prescribe, etc. i love what i do. you have to have a passion for nursing and i do. i had applied to medical school before nursing and withdrew from it. i'm where i want to be now and couldn't be happier.

ps nursing school wasn't that tough....for me anyway. you just have to be willing to put in the time and have good work ethic.

 

[relentless]

i've been an ICU nurse for 6 years now. i work in a cardiac ICU in new orleans and love it. my wife and i now have a 6 month old and i'm in school, so between 48 hour work weeks, full-time school load, and a baby, it's hard to make it to the gym as i wish i could. before the baby came along, i got plenty of time to work out as i wanted/needed to.

i thought about CRNA school. yeah, the money is good, but i'm a people person. i like interacting with people. i like diagnosing and treating. i didn't want to spend hours sitting at the head of a bed in the operating putting people to sleep and then reversing the anesthetics. i got waitlisted at Duke for their CRNA program last summer and then changed my mind. i'm now going to do the nurse practitioner gig and become an ACNP (acute care nurse practitioner). i'll be able to intubate, insert chest tubes, central line insertions, diagnose, prescribe, etc. i love what i do. you have to have a passion for nursing and i do. i had applied to medical school before nursing and withdrew from it. i'm where i want to be now and couldn't be happier.

ps nursing school wasn't that tough....for me anyway. you just have to be willing to put in the time and have good work ethic.

I have also contemplated NP school. Diagnosing, prescribing ect.. would definitely make for a more interesting job. The only thing is hours, they have as bad of hours as physicians do right? Is your school mainly online?

Nursing school so far has been fairly easy for me aswell.

 

[csuperman]

Relentless.. once you graduate...just get like 2-3 yrs of ICU experience at a high acuity hospital dealing with a lot of grave patients and drips, get your ccrn, and take your GRE. Make some connections with nurse managers and teachers at school to get your reccomendations and you will be on your way to CRNA.. it may take a little longer than you think but its worth it from what I hear as well..and save up as much as possible too, as you said, school is pricey, but u can pay it off in a year or so..keep grindin bro..im about to blanket all the north east crna schools with applications. lol

My other half is a RN about to have BSN, and she hates it and plans to do the above.

 

[supertrucker212]

Best way I can sum it up is focus on what pays the bills. I'm getting all my meals in, but haven't been able to get to the gym in a month because of the hours I've been working, but having a nice physique doesn't pay my bills

 

[bigoso]

some great responses here...you can definitely make it work. I am an RN in the ER, work an average of 48 hrs a week, still train....actually competed twice this year. Also competed my 2nd semester of nursing school.....it wasn't easy though. I still manage to train 4 days a week....although now with a small child it is more difficult to make the time. As far as job availability it really depends where you are. I worked in new orleans and they are dying for nurses out there and offer all kind of incentives. Here in ATL there are plenty of nurses and new grads really have a hard time finding a job...if you have experience it isn't as much of a problem. There are things I love about nursing and things I hate about it...but that's with any job right. I pack my meals, 1 shake during my shift is a must, and you learn to eat FAST! If you want to get into nursing to let recreational bbing be the thing that stops you

 

[powerlifterforlife]

any job will work with bodybuilding/powerlifting its just what u chose to do i work 10 hour days and still get to gym and eat all my meals u just got sack up and do it