Am I crazy?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

i saw you liked a post by our rubyvee. what she said is really true........here are parts of that post

"do you want to be a nurse?

there's more to it than a calling. here are some questions to consider.

i've been a nurse for a long time -- probably longer than most of you reading this have been alive. had i known what i was getting into, i probably would not have gotten into it. fortunately, i had no idea. i say fortunately, because nursing has been an interesting and flexible career that has afforded me a nice lifestyle and kept me from being bored. i wouldn't go back and change my mind about going into nursing if i could..

oh, and i met my husband at work. another bonus!

if you're considering a career in nursing, make sure you're clear on why you're considering it. i'm not here to cast aspersions on anyone's motives for wanting to be a nurse. after all, mine weren't all that altruistic. i wanted a degree that would enable me to be a sought-after employee rather than me having to face rejection after rejection while hunting for a job. i know that doesn't apply now, but it did then. and my mother, who had always wanted to be an lpn, told me that i should go to school to become an rn because “all they do is sit at the desk and drink coffee and flirt with the doctors while someone else does all the work.” it should be noted that my mother’s closest proximity to hospital nursing were her two stays in the maternity ward, as they called it then. the fact that she didn't know what she was talking about has never stopped her from having a strong opinion, however.

some people go into nursing as a "calling." they figure that all they need is a compassion or a desire to help people or a willingness to put the patient first at all times and pour heart and soul into their care. those things are nice, but a calling alone is not enough. you need to be a good enough student to graduate from a very difficult course of study and then a good enough test taker to pass the licensing exam. you need to be able to memorize drugs and their standard doses, uses and side effects, read and understand written english and be able to make yourself understood both orally and in writing. you need to be able to prioritize, to multitask and to run your buns off for twelve hours straight with only the briefest of breaks. compassion is nice, but i'll take the nurse who has mastered critical thinking . . . i've worked with both and been under the care of both. in the best of all worlds, a nurse has both compassion and critical thinking skills, but compassion can be faked. critical thinking cannot."

she went on to say......

"still interested in a career in nursing? understand that hospitals are open for business 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. working nights, weekends and holidays is a given. i don't understand how so many people manage to make it all the way through nursing school without it dawning on them that they, too, will really have to work an overnight shift, but there are some every year. and there are those who are convinced that they are so special they shouldn't ever have to work those undesirable shifts. honey, if you're that special, don't take a job in the hospital. (but that's where the money is, you say? make up your mind. if you want to work in the hospital setting, you take the bad with the good)

if you live in the snow belt, you will be expected to work when it snows. even if it snows a lot. every year, there are posts from new nurses who don't feel they should have to drive to work in a blizzard. they have small children or their car isn't good in snow or they've never learned how to drive in the winter. none of those are good excuses, and you will be expected to work. if there's a hurricane, bring four days worth of clean underwear and prescription medication, because you'll be at work for the duration. or you won't have a job. have a plan for your dog, your children and your elderly parents because part of working in a hospital is coming to work when everyone else stays home. and while i’m touching on that topic, you will be coming to work when the neighbors are hosting the neighborhood block party, when your husband is out of town on business and when your kids are sick. have a plan in place for those times.

if you've read all this and you still think you'd like to be a nurse, good for you. in the 34 years i've been a nurse, i've been spit at, slapped, kicked, punched, cursed and threatened. i've also been the recipient of grateful smiles, wonderful thank you notes and boxes of chocolate. i've had horrible days where i couldn't do anything right and felt behind the whole day, and i've had wonderful days when i know i really made a difference to someone. i've worked night shifts, days and evenings and i've worked all of them in the same week. i've worked christmases and thanksgivings and mothers days and easter. but i've had my birthday and my wedding anniversary off every year, and not many office workers can say that! when my car's engine needed to be replaced and i had no money, i worked overtime. lots of it. can't do that in the office. when i needed to be home with an elderly parent, i arranged my schedule so that either dh or i would be home at all times. can't do that in an office, either. i worked every weekend when i was in graduate school, going to school full time and working full time. when my then-boyfriend moved out on christmas eve, i traded shifts with a nurse whose boyfriend unexpectedly flew back from the gulf war for christmas, and when my father knew he wasn't going to make it through the winter, someone traded shifts with me so i could drive 1000 miles to cook him thanksgiving dinner. not only would that not be an option in office work, office workers probably would not even think about it as valuable.

i've learned to laugh at things that would make me cry if i didn't, and i've learned to appreciate what i have because plenty of people have less. i cannot imagine what my life would have been if i hadn't been a nurse, and if i had to do it all over again, i would.

https://allnurses.com/nursing-articles/those-considering-career-653061.html

nursing will be hard, you will have to study, you will have to make sacrifices......but every bit of it is worth it.

now go out there and kick some butt!

threebrats46 · Mar 25, 2012

Totally doable! It's hard but worth it! I used to read my daughter my textbooks as bedtime stories :)

We had a student who was preg. and gave birth during spring break (perfect timing isnt that) and she used to pump in her car during lunch.

inchRistIcaN · Mar 25, 2012

YOU CAN DO IT! I had people with lots of kids, all kinds of kids, sick (lived in the hospital sick) kids, newborns, etc, in my class. Oddly those were the people with A's! It's not easy and can be really hard at times, but it's possible! You just have to get in the habit of studying, unless nursing come natural to you. lol. Which I don't believe it does for anybody. People with experience get through it really easy! Good luck!

mursetudent25 · Mar 25, 2012

of course you are crazy, all nurses/nursing students are 'crazy' by default ..a psychiatric disorder though.....?

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2012

breastfed both my kids and used cloth diapers too-- since when is this called "attachment parenting"? all kids attach to their parents, absent some real pathology.

a two-year-old is perfectly able to get adequate food and fluids without breastfeeding. i'm not saying cut him off abruptly, but gradually. by that age he will be old enough to do parallel play with his peers, share snack and take a nap at day care. it is normal for a child to separate from the breast because as he gets older there are more things to occupy his attention.

he may want to nurse at wake-up in the morning and bedtime, but the rest of the time it's appropriate to realize that at that age the request to nurse may be a result of boredom as much as anything. as the parent you get to observe your child and head this off with activity or a walk or something.

you are also able to help him learn to put into words what he wants. if he asks to nurse in the middle of the day, say, "are you thirsty? do you want some milk/water/juice?" and dollars to doughnuts that will be fine, and soon he will learn ""thirsty."

if he needs a cuddle for comfort, that doesn't mean it has to involve breastfeeding. a kiss and a bandaid (even if there is no actual blood) works amazingly well at this age. the cost of a box of bandaids is well-worth it.

before you know it he'll be skipping one or the other-- my daughter skipped bedtime nurse first, as i discovered she was perfectly happy to have a good cuddle and story and then go right to the mattress; my son skipped wake-up nurse first, since he was eager to get to the cheerios. when my daughter forgot to ask for morning nurse one day, i let it pass without comment. a week later, it was 2 days, then a week later, three, then a few days after that, four. when she got to seven days without asking for morning nurse and she asked for it, i said, "we don't do that anymore. want some cheerios?" and she was in a huge hurry to get to the kitchen, and that was that.

LOjesjdatVE · Mar 25, 2012

You CAN do it, but it won't be easy (just being honest). I also practice attachment parenting and was still breastfeeding my then-13 month-old when I went to LVN school a few years back. It was very hard to leave my baby for 8 hours a day, but thankfully it was always with family, so I could call and check in on my breaks. I remember having to pump the first few weeks during my lunch break to prevent engorgement (because I was still nursing multiple times a day at that point), but my supply decreased on it's own pretty quickly. I would nurse my baby in the morning before leaving, and on-demand whenever I was at home. I didn't want my baby to feel forced into weaning before he was ready, and he didn't -- I was still nursing him at the age of 4 when he finally decided he was done.
The hard thing is finding time to study without being tired. What worked for me was taking a nap with my baby when I got home in the afternoons and putting him to bed super early (6 pm or so). That would give me quiet time to study until about midnight or so. I did everything I could to make his routine as normal as possible, which meant a lot of sacrificed sleep for me. You get used to the sleep deprivation after a while, though (I do, anyways).
You really just have to find the right balance between school and family time and figure out what works for you. You might have to let a few things that are important to you now (e.g., cloth diapering) slide once you're in school and pressed for time (I don't know if you're anything like me, but I let laundry pile up when I'm stressed). You will also need lots of help from your husband and family, so prepare them ahead of time for what to expect.
It will be hard, but you definitely CAN do it. I'm now in an LVN-RN program and close to half of my female classmates are wives and mothers, and many of us work on top of that. We complain all the time to each other about how hard it is, of course, but we're making it through! :)

Thanks for this! I don't feel alone about still breastfeeding my son and going to school. I will have to change his schedule to accommodate mine for sure.

Annachu512, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2012

I really don't mean for whoever that reads this to answer that but, I am a bit worried about nursing school.
I am 20 and I start nursing school this Fall. I have a 20 month old son so by then he will be 2yo. I am just so overwhelmed with what everyone says about nursing school that I have started to second guess myself on if I can REALLY do this?!?
I must say I am pretty slack on studying. I HATE IT! I'd rather be doing other things and enjoying my sons entertainment.
Is nursing really doable with a 2 year old? I feel crazy for it. Not to mention I am a attachment parent...meaning I still breastfeed, I still wear him, I cloth diaper and blah blah.
I guess I just need some words of encouragement and advice to be able to succeed
(quotes would be great)! I KNOW I CAN do this, if I truthfully put my mind to it.
TIA!

It can be done but there is some big point you are going to have to realize and quick. You having a little one is not the main issue that's going to hold you back. It's the fact that you might slack on studying. That is just not going to work in nursing school. There are a lot of people in my nursing class that studied until they dropped and still failed. You have to study hard and study right.

I have a 15 month old and just about to pass my first semester (fingers crossed!!). It can be done! Good luck :)

Katie71275 · Mar 27, 2012

It is definitely doable! Not easy though and you will need to develop some study habits.

I am nearing 30, have 4 kids, age 2, 5, 7, 9 and manage to be a B student. It's hard, but my kids follow a good schedule that allows me to have adequate study time and time with the kids.

maccheese · Mar 27, 2012

I wouldn't be able to do it if my daughter was not in daycare. Having as much flexibility as I can during the day for class, practice, and a little bit of studying is essential for me. I then study after she goes to sleep or before she wakes up. My husband will sometimes grab her and give me a couple hours of study time.

CrazziiRN913, ADN, BSN · Mar 27, 2012

you can do it my daughter just turned three this past jan. I am in a 2 year adn program, graduate in May... so she was about the same age when i started NS as you son will be...o and i worked full time the whole first year of NS school. So it is definitely possible! Just be ready to miss him some days!

grpman · Mar 28, 2012

I can't relate to everything you will be going through, so I won't give any words of wisdom there. I do however, relate to not wanting to study. I don't think that there are many people that enjoy studying, just people that do it. I never studied before nursing school and that includes classes from calculus to A and P II (maybe a little), but everything has changed. I'm now the one who studies when I awake, on the cell phone apps when waiting in lines, during commercials while watching my favorite tv show, and before bedtime. Nursing school changed me for the better. My wife can't believe it either. Ha...I've changed and I'm organized. You should have seen me before, I was a mess. Trust me, if I can do it then anyone can.