Nursing...or something else...what to do with my life

FTell001 · Oct 23, 2002

have you thought about Speech Therapist? I wish I had "gone there"!

renerian, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2002

Maybe OT. I have a friend who works with children in home health. I also have a sister in law who is a speech therapist that works in the school system. Social work is always an option too...

renerian

nolenurse · Oct 24, 2002

do you know what kind of social work i could get into? are there, in fact, specialties in social work?

MICU RN · Nov 21, 2002

Talk to as many people in the fields you are interested in. Try to shadow different nurses, nursing can be very hard work where most of it is comprised of following orders and being squeezed for maximum production. Some people really enjoy it, however many don't and stay because they feel stuck.

Dr. Kate, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2002

You might want to go to the career office at your college. They can help you sort out what you might be good at, are interested in, curious about. They don't do the work for you but they sure can help. They will also be pleased that you chose to come earlier rather than later in your academic career.

You might also want to see if you or they can find you a email pal who is a nurse. I correspond with a young woman who is currently finishing a degree in biology adn applying to nursing programs. It has been a positive experience for both of us.

Good Luck

nolenurse · Nov 21, 2002

Thanks for everyone's input. I have recently decided to go into Communicative Disorders. This would lead me to become a Speech-Language Pathologist. I am really excited. I have always wanted to take sign language...and finally taking it next semester. I have realized that nursing was not for me...I am not comfortable being responsible for someone's life. I am looking forward to a MS in Communicative Disorders.

Thanks for the help!

NicoleJ · Jan 22, 2003

I think that this website is very helpful in learning the different routes of Nursing. On the other hand, it is very negative- to someone that's trying to make a career change to nursing. I am a undergrad student focusing on becoming a RN. However, reading the different post, I am changing my major to another medical profession!!!!

2banurse · Jan 22, 2003

NicoleJ, I can understand your frustration at times with this BB. For a while this board scared me off too...but I found that my desire to become a nurse is stronger. Now, I try to stay away from the negative posts. If you really want to be a nurse, you'll be back, you will just be more choosy to what you read. I believe that the majority of nurses on this board are not sorry about their decision, and if it may sound a trifle negative, they are probably just venting about issues taking them away from doing what they want to do...nurse. The real negative ones usually stick around for a short time and then they are gone. I'm not saying that nursing is going to be easy...far from it, but it all depends on what you put into it. Although there are areas in nursing that prevents you to have as much time with your patients, there are areas that do allow you to. This BB is full of different areas in nursing. No one is saying that you have to work LTC, med/surg, or any other area that is not of interest to you.

I'm not telling you to go for nursing if that is not what you want to do. By all means, don't take a spot from someone who is really serious about being a nurse. But don't be too quick to judge when you hear some venting.

Good luck in whatever your endeavors!

Kris

katscan · Jan 22, 2003

If you really want to be a nurse, but not a floor nurse in a hospital, why not try school nursing? I LOVE it and would be lost without my profession. It took me awhile to "land here", as I was really turned off of the hospital, and wanted more respect for my education. I got tired of no breaks, surgeons throwing bloody sponges at a fellow nurse(before all the precautions-yes, this actually did happen!), the cussing and disrespect, the pettiness of some co-workers etc. Sure, some of my co-workers are nothing to write home about, but my kids are great, and so is the administration and the parents. I feel respected and utilized as the professional I am. Speech pathology is also great-you may even land in a school as I did. Good luck!