Am I doing the right thing?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I have been a CMA for 5 years and decided to try nursing (still working as a CMA part time while in school). Ive been working on my pre-reqs for the last 2 semesters. After this semester I will only have 3 classes left. these last 8 months have been hell. Between working and school I have no time for anything else. Its making me seriously rethink my decision. I wanted to do nursing for the fact I would have more opportunities and different options later (different floors, different hours, different titles). I dont know if I'm just overreacting to the amount of work now or if I am truly not suppose to do this. I dont know if 3-4 years of "do i really want to do this?" is worth the degree and possible options in the end?

Any insite is appreciated :)

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Specializes in Psych/Substance Abuse, Ambulatory Care.

You may be feeling like this because you're working AND going to school. When you say "CMA" -you mean medical assistant, right? Is it a busy work day?? Even though you're working part-time, medical jobs are stressful and medical training is too... so when you add school into the mix there's no doubt you're going to feel overwhelmed... I think you should stick with it! When you're done with school and can focus on work as a nurse and not juggle a part-time job and school, you may feel differently.

I worked as a clerk in the radiology dept. at my local hospital while I was in school and even that was enough to make me question myself, but I stuck with nursing and I'm glad I did :)

Good luck!

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Yes I am a certified medical assistant working a busy OB/GYN practice right now. I dropped a day at work so i'd only work 3 days a week but I'm still drowning a bit. It definitely makes me question everything. I really appreciate your thoughts though and i'm happy to know someone else has felt like me.

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Maybe you can drop another day or even two?

The reward is finishing school and I think it would be worth the sacrifice.

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Specializes in none.

You doing the right thing. You will have only one job. Hang in there.

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Specializes in Psych/Substance Abuse, Ambulatory Care.
yes i am a certified medical assistant working a busy ob/gyn practice right now. i dropped a day at work so i'd only work 3 days a week but i'm still drowning a bit. it definitely makes me question everything. i really appreciate your thoughts though and i'm happy to know someone else has felt like me.

my first nursing job out of school was in a busy pediatric office located in just one part of a big building with a ton of specialty doc's as well as general practice. the only doctors busier than ours (and by busy i'm only referring to # of patients they saw in a session) were the ob/gyn docs... even at 3 days a week you are probably running around like a crazy person setting up for paps, giving depo shots, getting urines and vitals, answering the phones and dealing with the schedule, and doing about a hundred other things at the same time. i can't even imagine doing that while i was in school full-time. congrats for making it this far in school! definitely something to be proud of... sounds to me like you are just over-loaded. if nursing is what you want to do then don't let the stress stop you. you're doing the right thing!

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.

Can you afford to not work? Or take out student loans? I ask because the suggestions are to drop but from a financial standpoint I imagine if you could you would. I know student loans are daunting but I took out $20,000 to do my ASN at my local CC so I don't have to work, or at least not immediately.

As far as nursing school goes, I'd say stick with it. I graduated with my BS two years ago in Anthropology. I tried to switch to nursing halfway thru but between work and school I never completed the pre-reqs. Biggest mistake ever! I couldn't get that nursing itch to go away and now I'm just starting my ASN.

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I have been a CMA for 5 years and decided to try nursing (still working as a CMA part time while in school). Ive been working on my pre-reqs for the last 2 semesters. After this semester I will only have 3 classes left. these last 8 months have been hell. Between working and school I have no time for anything else. Its making me seriously rethink my decision. I wanted to do nursing for the fact I would have more opportunities and different options later (different floors, different hours, different titles). I dont know if I'm just overreacting to the amount of work now or if I am truly not suppose to do this. I dont know if 3-4 years of "do i really want to do this?" is worth the degree and possible options in the end? Any insite is appreciated :)
I am asking myself the same question! I am about to start my own journey like you. I am not sure how I will do it but some way I will. Do you have any kids? I have a 4 year old and a 3 month old. I realized after how quickly time went by since my daughters birth that schooling too will fly by! Don't let it discourage you it will be here and gone before you know it! Focus on the goal! I am nervous that I won't do well since my memory is bogged down with full time work and kids but I won't know unless I try!
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The time really does fly by.

I was concerned about going back to school in my late 30's and as a mom and full-time worker. But I've actually been a much better student this time around. It's not just me making sacrifices to attend school, my husband and son are too. The least I can do for them is get an A and work hard to get a better job.

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Here was my point of view: During my 1st semester of nursing school, I felt like I was completely overwhelmed. I was putting in 18 hour days everyday of the week between school, homework, studying, and my job, and then I was expected to study on my precious weekends. I have a family and a boyfriend, and I felt like I had no time for any of them. My boyfriend also works retail and goes to school, so there was no time day, night, or weekend for me to see him. I ended up getting A's and B's in all of my classes, but from about the 5th week of school, all I could think about was changing my major. I figured I'd just stick with it, but then during my holiday break, I really got to thinking. Is this really much different than what a career in nursing will be? I know there are jobs in doctor's offices, but they are just as demanding. They won't always offer 9-5 jobs either. Plus, the only nursing I had ever been interested in was nursing in a hospital, most likely meaning 12 hour night shifts on my feet, running around like crazy, in a wing that will probably be understaffed. Sure, four days off a week, but I would be spending most of them just resting from a 12 hour shift or getting ready for the next shift. I did end up taking this semester off (which is like such a breath of fresh air), and I am switching majors. I still want to be in the medical field, but I know that I can find something else that I am successful at and that won't be as stressful as nursing.

Don't get me wrong, there are people that are definitely made for nursing. They realize that there are downfalls, but they love it all the same. I'm just not that person! I just wanted to give you my two cents. I'm not trying to tell you not to go to nursing school, but I figured you'd like to hear a true account of a nursing student who decided it wasn't her thing!

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