What else can you do with a nursing degree - besides nursing

[sunmaidliz]

I think I'm going to quit nursing. I'm not good at it. I make a lot of mistakes and I can't seem to get the rhythm down. It's just not working for me. I've only had three jobs and got fired at 90 days by each of them, except when one job extended my 90 day probation to 180 days and fired me at the end of that. Sure I have some very personal and legitimate reasons why I have trouble but in this profession, you either have it or you don't and try not to take it personally. I have a BA in psychology as well. I'm book smart and am a good student, but we all know that doesn't translate to a good floor nurse. I just don't have the brain that clicks for the "common sense" of nursing. Maybe with time and more experience I'll get there and be a fine nurse, but I'm having problems finding a job that will give me the time and experience. Even when one company did I still managed to screw up big enough that they felt it was best to terminate me.

I fully accept that it's me. I just can't do the job. It doesn't mean that I am not smart or that I am a failure at life. It just means I chose the wrong career. Consider it like a marriage that doesn't work out. I'm seriously considering a divorce from nursing. Nursing doesn't like me and honestly, I don't like it. I thought it was what I wanted because everyone said what a good field it was and I have many family members who are RNs. And in my circle, going into health care is what people do. But I got into it and early on realized it wasn't for me. I tried to make it work. Toughed out nursing school and put myself out there to work. But it's not working. I need to cut my losses and leave, accept my mistake, accept my failure at this endeavor, and learn from it so I can grow as a person and be a contributing member of society.

I don't know where to go from here. Going back to school is out of the question. My debt load is high from school and I've defaulted on them because I haven't been able to hold a nursing position for more than three months in the three years I've been licensed. Not quite sure what my options are given my education.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I admire your perspective & congratulate you on your insight. As a nurse educator, I wish that there was some sort of objective assessment that could determine whether nursing is the right career choice.

Side note - recent neuro-biological research has provided very clear evidence that the ability to multi-task is highly variable. If you are a natural multi-tasker, it's not hard to master the mythical "time management" skills - the key to thriving in most patient care settings. If this is not part of your chromo-net, the job will be much more stressful and difficult. This has nothing to do with intelligence. Some of the most brilliant folks cannot concentrate in the midst of chaos & need to focus on one thing at a time; it's just how their brains are hardwired.

Unfortunately, Nursing education (like other 'technical' degrees such as medicine, architecture, etc) is very focused on the end game - passing NCLEX. But the good news is that we're the liberal arts of health care because Nursing curriculum does include a much wider variety of content than other clinical degrees. Have you thought about moving into a tangential, more data-driven health care role via certification in Case Management, Informatics or Quality/Safety? What about Occupational Health?

Best of luck to you!