Considering changing careers from accounting

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Hi everyone first I have really enjoyed reading the posts on this site. I have already found answers to most of my questions about nursing already. I hope to be on this forum for a while as I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions that arise along my journey.

Let me explain my situation as quickly as possible so that I can move on to the questions. I am currently working as a Senior Associate at an international public accounting firm. I graduated with my bachelors in accounting and French. I will be going into my fourth busy season "tax season" in January. Due to my current position in the firm, the responsibilities that I have for the upcoming busy season, and my respect for my manager and boss I plan on working through this upcoming busy season.

That being said, I am not satisfied with my job and have come to grips with the fact that I chose this career based on fear of not having enough money or job security later in life. I still believe it is a great career and I respect my colleagues in their endeavors, but this job does not fit my personality and I have witnessed my quality of life diminish as I work a job that I cannot see myself doing for the next 30-40 years of my life.

Quick recap - I'm an accountant who would like to pursue interests that I held before I let the market scare me into a career that I did not want. On to my questions.

I would like to begin working towards getting my RN. I believe the quickest way would be to get my ADN and pass the NCLEX-RN exam. If I graduate with an ADN degree and pass the exam and get my licensure as a RN, would hospitals take me in as a new graduate with no experience openly, then if I had a BSN in nursing? Do hospitals prefer new graduates with a BSN degree then an ADN degree and do hospitals discriminate on the type of degree you obtain?

Have you seen others who have left their current job to go back to school at the age of 27? Are they satisfied with their choice?

I found out that after 1 year of the ADN program I will be able to take the LPN exam and get the license, do you all think it would be wise to start work as a LPN and then take the RN exam and then start working as a RN, or should I just skip the LPN and go straight for the RN license?

Thank you all for your answers.

I would go straight for the RN BSN. A lot of hospitals are changing their requirements & want you to have at least a BSN (it would just make looking for a job that much easier).

Why do you want to be an RN? I'm trying to get out of this unappreciated, overworked profession. Really think about this decision and see if it's really worth it. Good luck, hope you find a job that makes you happy.

How about calling your local hospital or a LTC facility and asking if you can volunteer and see what nurses do so to speak and get some insight.

You can also shadow a nurse for a day.

Good luck to you

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

You may want to let the ACA dust settle first before making any sort of concrete moves. At this moment, hospitals all over the country are experiencing an unprecedented decrease in census.... large organizations are laying off employees, including nursing staff as they shrink their operations. This is only the beginning. We don't have any idea what the environment is going to look like in a couple of years. Many are predicting further consolidation and downsizing of acute care in most areas of the country.

Have you looked into cross-training into health care finance? It may give you a much better idea of what is happening.

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