3rd year undergrad considering Accelerated BSN - NEED ADVICE

arciedee · Sep 20, 2005

I'm a third year undergraduate student who used to be pre-med. I decided that becoming a physician wasn't for me because I'm much more a social person than I am an analytical person. I thought I wanted to go into foreign service because I want to travel, but I've come to realize that one of my most important priorities is raising a family, and I would much rather do that in a stable home.
So I know several things about myself:
1. I want a social career.
2. I know I'm very comfortable in a hospital setting because I have very much enjoyed volunteering in such settings.
3. I want opportunities to travel, but I want to have a stable career and earn a good salary for the benefit of a family.
My question is: I'm young, I'm still finding myself - If I couldn't hack it as a premed student, how do I know I could handle an Accelerated BSN program (which is the program I'm most interested in)? I'm a French major, Sociology minor, and I have a lot of background in science courses. I'm not horrible at science, but I know that it doesn't interest me as much as the social sciences and other liberal arts. I guess it's hard to answer a question like this, but do you think nursing is a good career choice for me? Could you tell me the pros and cons?
Thanks so much!
Jenny

It doesn't sound like you couldn't "hack" being pre-med, just that you decided you wanted something different out of your career. Believe me, I speak from experience as I also went from pre-med to pre-nursing. I was surprised that when I made the decision to switch to feel as though a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders... I realized that what I wanted from my life fell more in line with nursing than with medicine. I wanted to CARE for my patients, not just diagnose disease. I know I can get into medical school and be a good doctor, but it's not what I want for myself.

It sounds like nursing could be a good choice for you. Did you meet any nurses while you were volunteering? Could you arrange to shadow a few nurses to see what exactly it is that they do? This might make you more sure of your decision. An accelerated BSN is certainly going to be an intense road (I'm planning to do the same), but if it's something that you find rewarding and really want to do it might be just right for you. Your other option may be to get an ADN after you graduate. If you are thinking of going on for your MSN at some point many schools will accept RNs who have bachelors degrees in something other than nursing, so that route might work for you.

Check out programs that interest you and what their pre-reqs are (they can vary widely, but generally A&P I&II, microbiology, intro psych, intro sociology, human growth & development) and if your current college offers those courses and you haven't already taken them try to fit them into your schedule now. Keep researching, asking questions, etc. Bonne chance!