Hello! I am twenty years old and still trying to figure out what to do with life. I know I want to be in the medical field, and have just recently stumbled on the idea of becoming a nurse. I am absolutley terrified to make a move though, because of all the horror stories i have heard! I have heard that the people you have to work with are just aweful, and you get rediculously burnt out after a while. is this the norm? what can i expect if i face my fears and do it? i am also very concerned about having enough time to be with my family. what kind of schedules are normal in this field?

Before you step into something that may not be right for you, consider taking assessments, such as the career occupational preference system, that with give you a picture of your values, skills, and abilities to help you determine what medical field may work for you. You can visit your local community college counseling center for this. You may be able to go online to accomplish this. You will also need to determine what your goals are as far as working in the medical field.

Nursing has one of the most flexible schedules of all professions. Typically, if you work with patients, you may be able to work as little as 4 hours or as many as 12 hours or more in a day. Yes, you will have to deal with difficult people, but I have found that is true most anywhere you work. Unfortunately, in the hospital, it is true that the understaffing of complex patients has led to burnout. If you discover nursing is the field for you, you will have to definitely need to build a strong spine for more than one reason. Best wishes.

Read this: https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/what-i-love-about-nursing-206199.html

and this:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f87/nursing-career-you-266908.html?nojs=1#goto_threadtools

It's not a profession to enter in without thoughful consideration. I've been a nurse for 16 years and haven't burned out yet and I like my coworkers.