It's official I am crossing over...

BTW, is there a particular field of nursing you are considering entering? Just curious.

I'd like start at ICU and work into ER.

In my area, we have a Level 1 trauma hospital (15 miles away) and also a Level 2 (about 50 miles away).

That's where I want to end up..working in a Trauma Center.

I was a firefighter/EMT during the Gulf War for the military; I enjoyed it.

Kel

ER...ya. It just as intense as you imagine. ICU nursing is a whole other ball game, very intense and slow. ICU nursing requires an insane amount of patience. I work in a PACU at the moment which is a little bit of a middle ground. Takes a special person to career in the ED. Best of luck to you man, hope all works out. Good luck!

...and Good Luck w/yours.

K

The time I spent as an LEO taught me that I was on the bad side of everybody. The perps didn't want me around... the judges never thought I did my job well enough... everything to the defense lawyers was "done wrong"... and on and on...

Remember that law enforcement is a "procedure" job, just like nursing. Follow the protocols, follow the rules, and follow the steps... and then document, document, document... and learn to listen ten times more than you talk. You'll be asked about details you never imagined.

I enjoyed my time in law enforcement, but was glad to go back to engineering, where life makes sense. It takes a certain "demeanor" and "mindset" to be a cop, and it will affect your personality if you're not careful. Find a way to relax, and use it. It's high stress, high demand... all the time, job. You're never "off" and you're always "on duty"... so be careful what you wish for.

I wish you well, and remember that not everybody is a crook... but a lot of LEO's "look the other way" when things go on that are on the inside of their department... so try not to get caught up in anything like that. A badge carries with it a lot of responsibility beyond the workplace, so learn to live with what you have to become.

Try not to get too jaded. It is not just a job... you undoubtably will take it home with you to some degree, but you do have some control over how much.

... most important though, share things with your better half. Remember that at home you are still a husband and a dad and those people don't care what you do for a living. Also, maintain some friends and activities outside of the job. You will appreciate that come retirement time.

Wristtwister and Fletch1 are both right about the job.

I use to train or workout 3-5 times a week. I did it when I was younger to stay in shape and look good (I was single). I am now married and I do it to keep the effects of stress and rotating shifts under control, plus, my wife likes me to look good too .

Years ago, a captain in my academy told me about a study that was conducted that showed how LEOs died around 10 years after retirement and it was due to the rotating shifts and stress they were subject to.

I make sure to keep friends outside of my LEO and I also make sure to keep in contact with other LEOs from other agencies.

I am the only LEO at my church and it's nice because for the most part there is no LEO shoptalk that LEOs are prone to do. With 14 years in I get all the shop talk I need at work and unless a close personal friend of mine needs help, I don't won't to do it at home. That is the time I use to unwind and relax.

I share everything with my wife and we discuss many things. If you do make it to a full time LEO job, the first couple of years you will change and if you don't share those feelings and emotions that you experience with your wife you will change in a manner she will not understand and that could make things tough for keeping the marriage sound.

And as far as what Wristtwister is saying. The "job" does affect some more than others. Some can just go off duty and never think about it again (until they go back to work), while others never learn to let it go and it wears them out as the years go by.

Go read a book or 2 by Joseph Wambaugh (former LAPD Detective Sgt):

"Choirboys", "New Centurions", "Blue Knight"

they are a few decades old, but the LEO issues are still relevant.

"The Onion Field" is a non-fiction work by Joseph Wambaugh. It is a tough read if your a cop though...lot to do with what Wristtwister seems to have discovered during his time as a police officer.

K

I appreciate all the advice guys. If the application process is any indicator police enforcement is a stresser like none other. I am happy to report though that after two sets of essay questions, the actual application, the written test, background check, polygraph, physical, agility test, physchological exams, the ORAL BOARD (talk about stress), and finally a sit-down interview with the chief. I was officially extended an offer for employment this morning. Me and the Mrs. are quite thrilled. I will keep all of your excellenet advice in mind and hunterkill I am dropping by the library today to pick up those books you mentioned. My wife is my cousnelour and sounding board, no worries on me letting the stress run me up the wall. Hopefully if I can handle an elementary school bus-crash, a fire, and a ski-school accident all at once I am somewhat prepared for the stress of polcie work. Thanks again guys and I'll let you know when I start my first shift with my FTO. Thanks again!

Aeras,
don't think that everything and every experience I had as an LEO was totally negative, just the general situation. I didn't develop those attitudes from specific encounters, but from the general tenor of life around law enforcement. I was "high profile" as an LEO... head of the sheriff's association, working in a corrupt environment, and trying to combine all that with being a father and family man.

Personal habits can go in the toilet very easily, and I saw lots of people in the job lose their families, get into situations where they ended up on the wrong side of the bars, and the opportunity to screw up is all over the place. You almost have to be a saint to get it all to work, depending on the actual environment you find yourself in.

My situation became dangerous for my family, who are also under threat from outsiders when you're a cop. The "bad guys" always know that your family can be a target as well as you, and that can cause you problems you never envisioned.

I entered the job for all the right reasons... I left the job the same way... but under a lot of stress and threat from the social structure I had to work in. The bigger the city, the bigger the cesspool... so I hope you're working in a relatively benign area where you don't have a lot of crime. It doesn't make you immune, but it's a hell of a lot better to not worry about going to work and then worry about what's happening to your family when you're there.

I wish you well in this, and trust me, I admire and respect the job that LEO's do for the community. They have to put up with more than anyone knows, see things that no one should have to see, and live under constant threat. It takes a special person to do all those things and stay sane.

Best of luck.

A,

The one thing I discovered when dealing with people (whether victims or suspects):

always be professional. I have worked in nearly all aspects of LEO and dealt with many different types of people. During the last 17.5 years of public service I had very little trouble with people I dealt with on the street or with subjects I found it necesarry to arrest.

The reason was that I was professional to everyone I came in contact with. I never displayed my personal feelings (and more importantly my personal judgements on others).

K

hunterkell,
That is great advice, and it is taken to heart. Thank you.

I would really like to be in law enforcement, however, I have this thing about getting shot; I'm scared to death about it. I wonder how often FBI special agents get shot at? I am considering applying for the job.

T9,

What exactly would you like to do in law enforcement that you think you might/might not get shot at?

FBI is like other LEAs, they have different investigative areas: CSI, accounting (tax evasion), white collar crime, internal affairs, civil rights violation, and more.

So realisticly, you could work in a LE related support area without getting, "shot at".

K

PS-You'll have to try harder than that