Any Insight Appreciated!

[WonderingWannabe]

i appreciate all of your candor and putting up with those of us who are considering the nursing field. the threads may seem redundant, but i too, as someone else mentioned, feel my situation is slightly different from other threads i have read. i know ideals about the nursing field are often misled, and i appreciate honest opinions as my decision will affect my family. i have a bs in psychology with a business minor-human resources emphasis. i began majoring in pre-veterinary medicine, changed majors to engineering, and graduated with the psych bs in order to graduate early...i still had no idea what i wanted to do. i began working as an admissions clerk in a local hospital on 7-7 rotating shifts, three days a week. i left the job for a better paying secretarial job and soon moved on to social work, again for better pay and benefits. five months into my social work position, i had to undergo an emergency cesarean with my first daughter at 32 weeks. i realize now how much my ignorance was bliss being a first time mother. after spending day and night in the nicu for two weeks, i did not know how i could return to work and leave her. i immediately sought teaching to try to stay with her as much as possible. (she was born in april and this bought me three more months!) she is now four and my second daughter two. i do greatly enjoy time with my girls and my husband. the summers and the holidays are great, but that is the only perk for me in teaching. i did not feel the "calling" or want to do this since i was a little girl. nor am i from a family of teachers. i feel as though my job is never done. i always try to remember what it was like to not bring work home or to go to the grocery store without having to talk about school issues and student performance. the time off is onslaught with grading papers, lessons...even if you do not understand, everyone has heard the stories from anyone who is a teacher. i often hear my older daughter shushing everyone because mommy is working. she will gather papers, flit around the house, and insist everyone leave her alone, she is working on her work. it really makes me take a second look at how all that time off is spent together. i contemplate daily how different our lives might be if i had stuck to the medical field. i am currently a secondary science teacher certified in biology. i teach biology, chemistry, human anatomy and physiology, and zoology in my rural hometown. i also coach varsity and junior high volleyball for extra pay which carries through the summer. i bring home 24,000/year to my family. my husband works five to six days a week, ten hour shifts. he says he does not mind, but i know the overtime becomes a lot for him. he says i need to do whatever makes me happy. yes, he's wonderful. he has picked up a lot of slack with our girls since i started coaching also.

nursing appeals to me for a variety of reasons. i truly feel a sense of empowerment accompanies such a position. nurses are intelligent, strong women. my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are both nurses. i truly feel my mother would have went into nursing had her opportunities been different. she has a terminal lung disease, sarcoid, and is on oxygen therapy. i spend much of my time watching out for her so-to-speak and i cannot say my experiences with her do not influence my leaning toward nursing as well. i also have considered pediatric care after my experience in nicu. i want to make a difference in the lives of others, common to teaching and nursing. i am well aware of the lack of appreciation that comes from both fields as well and multi tasking is second nature to me. i have great attention to detail and my mother often tells me she does not know how i keep going with all i do. i am generally good at hiding the fact i leave school emotionally exhausted to the point of physical exhaustion. there is always work to bring home and i am never able to catch up. i think it would give me greater satisfaction in nursing though. there is so much wasted intelligence in today's youth it is devastating. i often feel i am wasting my own though too. as is apparent through my background, i know i can accomplish anything i set my mind to achieve. although i do not really see myself in a critical/er setting, i understand from these threads there are a lot of options. my options are limited though in how to get into nursing. as mentioned, i have two young children, and my being unemployed is not a possibility for my family. there is a nearby as degree program (one hour commute) that offers an evening cohort that i am currently looking into, but having a bs all ready, i am not certain if this is the best route from me. i can obtain a ms in education in two years and move over 1,400.00 on our pay scale or obtain a two year as in nursing and experience a 10k increase in pay. (i live in missouri.) i know money does not buy happiness, but i'd be lying to say that does not play in my decision. i would love to pull my weight more in the earnings for our family and allow my husband to work a straight 40 hour week without worrying about bills being paid. i also worry about my daughters too though. i tell myself mothers who are not educators are good mothers too! i just worry about missing school parties, holidays, events that are special to them. and, what about snow days, early outs, and summers? other parents figure it out, surely i can too. i have a great family support system, but will my daughters resent me for not being there? or will they resent me more for using them as crutch? am i really in a teaching position for the sake of being available to my children? or am i teaching to be close to them for myself? i am afraid the discontent i feel can spread to other parts of my life as well. i often snap at the girls after a long day of dealing with teenage drama and have hardly any adult relationships in my life! i am 27 with five years into teaching. i will not have any other options when i am 37 with fifteen years of teaching under my belt. i am afraid i will be sacrificing my motherhood by becoming a nurse, but cannot deny the benefits nursing can provide to my family; in my emotional well being, their physical care, and our financial state. i really do not know what to do. i would appreciate any professional and personal insight. i know only i can make the decision, but it weighs so heavy on my mind. thank you for reading!

[montinurse, BSN]

It sounds as if you've already made up your mind :) Nursing is extremely satisfying for me. I went to LPN school with a 2 1/2 yr old and 6 month old and a very supportive husband. Then back for my RN with 3 kids (yes, another baby, and my supportive husband). It's possible!

The road to get there is a tough one, but it seems like you've been down bumpy roads a time or two in your recent past. You're still very young, and so is your family. They will adjust to whatever makes their Mommy happy. Good luck to you. Have you thought about getting your ASN and then BSN later, after you've worked for awhile. I think that's what I'll do after the kids are a little older, and I can do it online at my leisure..whatever that is

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

You've already engaged in waaaay more introspection than most people do when trying to decide on a career path. It seems like you already understand a lot about the impact that nursing (hours/schedule) has on family life. Having a hub who is a hands-on 'real' parent rather than a 'visitor' will really help.

Just keep in mind that as a nurse, there are a few more unpleasant things you will need to prepare for. You'll work holidays, especially as a new nurse. As a staff nurse, you will not be able to take more than a week off for family vacations. You will undoubtedly have to work nights or 'off shifts' during the beginning years of your career - this can have a significant effect on both your family relationships and your health. The emotional toll will be greater than teaching - dealing with death versus dealing with teenage angst. You will be exposed to deadly pathogens on a regular basis - and run the risk of bringing them home to your family. The work can be physically exhausting, particularly with 12 hour shifts; you may not have the energy to do much for the first day you're off.

That being said - I wouldn't trade it (nursing) for the world. I worked nights (11p-7a) when my kids were small & they didn't even realize that I worked. I found out later that they just thought I liked to sleep late - LOL. Best of luck to you and your family as you move forward.

[Jules A, MSN]

It does sound like you will be successful with anything you try and my only reservation is that it also sounds like you have tried a lot of different paths and are still looking for something else. Being a nurse will most likely require very different hours than what you are used to as a teacher and imo benefits to your children's "physical care" are probably not as plentiful as you might think. My Mom was a nurse and unless we were hucking up a lung we got no sympathy at all. Good luck with whatever you decide.