About to leave nursing school

[workinghardforit]

Hi.

I'm about to quit nursing school. It's my 2nd semester of an ADN program. I had a 4.0 on my pre-reqs, and I worked so hard first semester and got a B+. I felt so much anxiety toward the end of the semester, and when we started clinicals, I kept getting that nagging feeling of "this isn't for me." The stress and anxiety I was facing was incrfedible, and I am crying and not sleeping at night. I went with nursing because I wanted a career that was both lucrative and meaningful, but I wasn't prepared for the amount of stress and liability involved in patient care. Is it stupid to say, "this isn't what I thought it would be?"

Now i'm totally freaked out. I'm 45 years old, and I feel so sad and disappointed because I just don't want to be a nurse. I really thought that I had a direction. I stayed home with my children for 16 years (the youngest is 10), and now I feel like I haven't got anything to show for it professionally. Other women my age who stayed working while raising kids now have established careers.

I feel like a loser, and someone who doesn't even know her own mind. A real mid-life crisis, I'm afraid. My husband is not happy with my decision to leave. He was counting on the salary I would make as an RN, although I truly wonder how many facilities are hiring RNs without a BSN.

I'm looking into a COTA program at my school. I think it may afford me the ability to establish more of a relationship with patients (in nursing it seems that there is such a rush to move on to the next thing that you barely have time to relate to the patients) in a less stressful environment. Of course the pay isn't as good, but I don't think I could stand that high level of stress over, "Did I miss something, did I forget something, did I make a mistake?"

What do you all think? I guess I'm looking for validation of my decision, because I just keep going round and round and confusing myself.

[workinghardforit]

Hi again.

I went ahead and withdrew from the nursing program. You would think I would feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, but I just really felt sad and disappointed. Quitting anything just goes against my grain, but now, 2 wks later, I know I did the right thing, and I don't miss nursing school in the least.

However, it's time to figure out my next move. 2 Weeks ago, the day I withdrew, I went to the OT dept. and had a mtg. with the person in charge of their field placements. We talked about my situation, and I was still pretty emotional about the whole thing. She encouraged me to wait a year to apply (deadline for Fall 2011 was Feb. 1) to investigate whether OT was really the direction for me, yada yada yada. I told her that I wasn't new to OT as my daughter received OT from age 2-6 in early intervention, special ed. pre-school, and elementary school. I knew the application required 15 hrs of observation in 3 sites and an essay. The timeframe allowed 1 week to make these appts. and submit everything by Feb. 1.

As it turned out, I called some people I knew in the field, ( a neighbor who is an OT, my daughters pre-school, and another site), and was able to do the observations and submit them with the essay on time. Even though I have a 3.8 I think I may get rejected because of my last-minute application and the fact that this woman knows I was distraught over leaving nursing school and may think I am making a snap decision by applying so quickly (which I am). There are 24 spots for the fall. ANYWAY, I enjoyed the observations, I think being a COTA would be both interesting and rewarding without all the crazy stress I encountered in nursing. Is it what I was meant to do? Not sure about that.

However, I have the next six months to think about things and really investigate what I want to do. I may go back to my roots. I have a BA in English and I loved being a freelance reporter but it didn't pay well. I am going to spend time looking into jobs involving writing and see what turns up.

THank you all for your advice. You are a very caring and comforting group. I wish you all well.:heartbeat:heartbeat

[bree*]

Hi again.

I went ahead and withdrew from the nursing program. You would think I would feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, but I just really felt sad and disappointed. Quitting anything just goes against my grain, but now, 2 wks later, I know I did the right thing, and I don't miss nursing school in the least.

However, it's time to figure out my next move. 2 Weeks ago, the day I withdrew, I went to the OT dept. and had a mtg. with the person in charge of their field placements. We talked about my situation, and I was still pretty emotional about the whole thing. She encouraged me to wait a year to apply (deadline for Fall 2011 was Feb. 1) to investigate whether OT was really the direction for me, yada yada yada. I told her that I wasn't new to OT as my daughter received OT from age 2-6 in early intervention, special ed. pre-school, and elementary school. I knew the application required 15 hrs of observation in 3 sites and an essay. The timeframe allowed 1 week to make these appts. and submit everything by Feb. 1.

As it turned out, I called some people I knew in the field, ( a neighbor who is an OT, my daughters pre-school, and another site), and was able to do the observations and submit them with the essay on time. Even though I have a 3.8 I think I may get rejected because of my last-minute application and the fact that this woman knows I was distraught over leaving nursing school and may think I am making a snap decision by applying so quickly (which I am). There are 24 spots for the fall. ANYWAY, I enjoyed the observations, I think being a COTA would be both interesting and rewarding without all the crazy stress I encountered in nursing. Is it what I was meant to do? Not sure about that.

However, I have the next six months to think about things and really investigate what I want to do. I may go back to my roots. I have a BA in English and I loved being a freelance reporter but it didn't pay well. I am going to spend time looking into jobs involving writing and see what turns up.

THank you all for your advice. You are a very caring and comforting group. I wish you all well.:heartbeat:heartbeat

That's how it feels at first! I can totally relate to you. When I rejected my acceptance into the RN program, I REALLY questioned myself at times. We are so brainwashed into believing that nursing is the awesome profession..and it's really not. They can say it's as noble as they want ..but that's a nice way of saying "We all know your job is borderline slavery and you're treated like crap..bless you for doing it, because I was too smart to lower my standards"..

When I saw my friends start the RN program this last fall, I wondered if I would miss it and regret my decision, even though the initial decision felt awesome...and well..the time came and went and I STILL couldn't be happier. It feels GREAT knowing it was the right thing to do and you WILL look back and think..you know what..I had enough balls to make a decision that needed to be made..btw, you're not quitting, your taking your credits elsewhere. It's not like you're dropping out of college..you're making sure that you are really applying your hard work to a degree that will respect you and allow you to establish a career for yourself..I have SOOOO much respect for you! In a couple more years, you will be GLOATING over your decision. :heartbeat:yeah:Congrats on being assertive and choosing the right path for yourself.

[not for me]

I am 38 w/ 2 kids & can totally relate! I always thought I wanted to be a nurse. I worked so hard to get into the program. During the break between 1st and 2nd semester I just became filled w/ dread. I couldn't sleep and the anxiety was getting the best of me. I know I made the right decision by leaving the RN program, but when my husband brings up how comfortable our life would be & how nice it would be if we were both earning substantial incomes I can't help but feel guilty & wonder, if only for a moment, if I did the right thing....but in my heart of hearts, I know I did.

[workinghardforit]

I know what you mean. However, I am so happy with my decision and I know the right job exists for me and it's not in nursing. I found out last month that I was accepted into the COTA program and I think it will be so much better suited to my needs and temperament than nursing.

I ran into one of my nursing school buddies at school last week, and he was about to take his final for Nursing II. He asked what happened to me and why I left. When I explained, he told me, "Good for you. I wish I had left. Now I'm too far in." I could have fallen over, I was so shocked. He said he didn't like it and wasn't happy and wished he had gotten out early.

So ladies & gents, sometimes you don't know what something is like until you're in it. There's no shame in trying and learning that your path leads elsewhere.

[NPvampire, MSN, RN, APRN]

I despised my undergraduate nursing school, and I remember crying after clinicals and threatening to quit also. Once you graduate, you will probably find your "niche" and like nursing. But, then again, many days I wish I had done PT instead....much more money and I never met an unhappy PT.

[BeachsideNic]

I know it's been a while for this post, but I really related to it and wanted to comment. I hope that you ended up in a COTA program that you love, and I can assure you that it takes a strong person to leave something you worked so hard to get into. People always tell you that you are crazy for leaving, but they aren't the ones who will be stuck in a career that they don't like.. you are.

I am 43 years old, and I am leaving nursing school after one semester. I am sort of being forced out due to the University royally screwing me in finances. I won't go into boring details, but they have made it impossible to afford the summer sessions of this accelerated public university in California. With that said, it was actually good fortune that brought me to this point, because I have to say... I do not want to be a nurse. It isn't just because I don't like nursing school, because I understand that almost nobody actually likes it. After being in clinicals, I can say for sure that nursing is not for me, and I felt the same things as the OP; guilt, fear, and disappointment. However, I kept a plan B in my back pocket and will be implementing it this fall.

I was offered a spot in a Masters program in Infection and Immunobiology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland last year when I decided to go to nursing school, and I told them that I would defer entry for a year. They recently sent me a message saying they were holding a spot for me this fall if I was still interested, so I accepted and was able to get it completely funded. I submitted a "leave of absence" from the university, so I could come back in the future if I so desired, because it's always good to keep those bridges from burning.

I've always been a lab guy... I love doing experiments and researching ans I have worked in Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices. In the end, I am excited and thrilled with my new direction and my feelings of guilt and regret are gone. I don't consider any time wasted and I a looking forward to the future. don't be afraid to recognize that you need a change. Staying in a program because it was hard to get into is no reason to choose a life path.