BSN did I make the right choice?

[MKG2018]

I am currently enrolled in an accelerated BSN post-bac program... essentially a BSN in 12 months. I am in my second term and I catch myself questioning if this was the right thing. I would not consider myself to be extremely empathetic, not touchy-feely at all, and I don't really enjoy (nor am I good at) small talking to patients. I thought maybe nurse anesthetist would be good, but I completed my clinical rotation in surgery and was bored out of my mind. I just keep having these waves of "should I have gone to PA school". I can tell regardless of what our instructors have told us regarding the "hierarchy" and that NP and PAs are the same thing and have a very similar scope of practice.... the NPs seem to be treated like a really great nurse, not a primary care provider (maybe it's just the hospital we are at). I enjoy emergency medicine, trauma, etc. I love being challenged learning new things, how things work, how to fix things (I worked in pharmaceutical research before I started this program), and I always have to be moving. I have heard its hard to break into those more "medicine based" areas as an NP and that family medicine is an easier place to get a job as an NP. I know things are changing so much in medicine in the past few years. Has anyone felt this way and went down the PA or the NP/DNP or maybe a completely different route? Or any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[MotoMonkey, BSN, RN]

RN, NP, PA, MD all have to small talk patients, they all need to be empathetic and have the ability to be "touchy-feely" when necessary. That is just part of caring for people. I think that without empathy and compassion it would be really difficult to find any job satisfaction in healthcare.

Have you looked at areas of healthcare where you are not directly caring for patients?

[jalilly]

First, accelerated BSN programs are extremely challenging and they smash a ton of information into a very short period of time. It's normal to feel drained and confused. My advice is this: just because you don't like a rotation in nursing school does not mean you should rule it out completely. You might hate med-surg during clinical because you have one patient and you have to get to know them over your clinical. You probably have to talk to them a lot to get your clinical paperwork done, which I'm sure is extensive. When you work as a nurse you won't have to do all this clinical paperwork so you won't have to small talk with patients for that extended period of time.

Have you thought about ED or ICU? These are more fast paced and there's more critical thinking involved.

All healthcare providers, whether thats RNs/NPs/PAs/MDs all have to be empathetic and good at small talk. This is because it is our job to make patients feel comfortable when they are vulnerable. Don't choose to go the NP or PA route to escape the RN role- these jobs build on the RN knowledge and skills you are learning.

If staying in nursing school doesn't sound right to you, I would talk to your professors and ask for their advice.