I didn't want to put this in the student section because I thought it was a topic more relevant to people who have graduated and are actually nurses now. I am supposed to be starting an Accelerated BSN program in a couple weeks. I feel kind of like I'm making a mistake. I have never really been excited about being a nurse, it's not like something I aspired to be when I was younger. I started nursing prerequisites last year, thinking that I would work on getting into nursing school and re-evaluate as I went. Now it's time to be enrolling in my first semester classes, and I feel like I have no idea how I got here. I know what I was thinking- good job, good pay, flexibility, a job that uses your brain, and helping people. I have always been a great student, so I know nursing school will be hard, but I'm sure I can handle it. I just feel like I don't have a passion for it- I just feel fine about nursing. I know that it might turn out that I love being a nurse, but I'm also worried that I won't like it, and I'll have wasted another year and $15K.
I guess I'm just looking for some opinions- do you think you need that "nursing is my dream" feeling to be successful? Do you think the potential of the job is worth the potential for getting a second bachelor's degree I don't enjoy using?
My mom was an NICU nurse for 15 years, and she is pushing hard for me to go, because she thinks that for the year/$ investment, I will have great lifelong job security.
The other problem is that I have no idea what I really would rather do than go to nursing school, but that doesn't seem like a very good reason to go .
Nursing is an incredibly practical choice and probably the best bang for your buck investment in college you can make. My first degree cost $80K and I made $30K/yr. There are sooooooo many aspects to Nursing -Legal, Research- etc that don't involve the traditional patient care model. Maybe they will speak to you?
As any new grad or returning experienced RN will tell you, there is NO security or guarantee. Please get some Med Asst/ CNA type experience dring your studies so when you graduate, you are more valuable to an employer. Also, speaking a foreign language helps a lot.
I was going to start out this reply with saying no amount of money or job security would make this worth it if it wasn't your passion. But then I got real and honest with myself. I never had a burning desire to go to nursing school in fact that was my mum's dream for herself and I certainly wasn't going to oblige her on that. Although I had a few brief ideas of being a nurse I never actively pursued it until a month before I started LVN (trade) school when I signed up. Turns out I'm very well suited to it in many ways and now it's my passion. So maybe you won't know your passion until you try it.
My on this - First, do you have to have the "passion" to make in nursing? Nope - I'm one of those that came to the realization that nursing was a viable career path somewhat late in life. Didn't "play doctor" as a child (did a bit later on, and it's none of your business... ), never owned a toy stethoscope, Mom never bought me a lab coat, yadda, yadda, yadda. What did put me on this path was (a) my late mother's passing, and (b) the economy. The area of IT that I was working in (yep - Bachelor's in Computer Science) pretty much dried up right about the time I got the axe. And, I had something of an epiphany while taking care of my mom during her last days; that having been through the experience of losing a loved one, I was in a near-perfect position to help others who were going through these challenges by becoming a nurse. So, in a sense I have a "passion" for the profession, but I also have to admit it's not for everyone.
Probably the only issue I'd be concerned about in your case is - will you be able to face the challenges of the profession, and still be able to care about & for your patients? And, really - no amount of "passion" is going to help there. If anything, being too "passionate" about the field can get a person blind-sided by reality; worse, a patient may end up taking the brunt of a situation because of an unrealistic outlook by the nurse. It can be a rewarding and fulfilling line of work to be in - easy, it's not.
As for me - CNA, and to be honest I actually enjoy the work. Have had the odd run-in with people (both residents and co-workers) but that's part of living in the real world. And, I've read up on some of the BS to BSN programs; best figure the pre-reqs in to their time estimates before you drink their particular glass of Kool-Aid. Where I'm gunning for, even with a prior BS I'm still looking at about 3 1/2 years before I get that magic BSN, when the prerequisites are added in to the mix. And, frankly the only real advantages of doing the Accelerated BSN program there is that (a) they shave a quarter off the regular BSN curriculum, and (b) you can take the NCLEX/get your license something like 2 quarters early.
These are all really valid responses, thank you guys for sharing your advice. Maybe it would be good to start classes, and try to get a tech position at the hospital where I might be able to experience some different departments. There really are a lot of different options to explore as a nurse, and in administration too, which might be a good joint use of my business degree and a nursing. I'm pretty excited to find my passion, I hope I can find it in nursing! If not passion, I feel that like a lot of you it will be a good, respectable job where I can work hard and feel good about the work I do.
Nursing was not my dream either. It still isn't, lol, but I have made an extraordinarily successful career out of it, and I have done it my way. Stick with it and make it what you want it to be.
.
on this - First, do you have to have the "passion" to make in nursing? Nope - I'm one of those that came to the realization that nursing was a viable career path somewhat late in life. Didn't "play doctor" as a child (did a bit later on, and it's none of your business... 
), never owned a toy stethoscope, Mom never bought me a lab coat, yadda, yadda, yadda. What did put me on this path was (a) my late mother's passing, and (b) the economy. The area of IT that I was working in (yep - Bachelor's in Computer Science) pretty much dried up right about the time I got the axe. And, I had something of an epiphany while taking care of my mom during her last days; that having been through the experience of losing a loved one, I was in a near-perfect position to help others who were going through these challenges by becoming a nurse. So, in a sense I have a "passion" for the profession, but I also have to admit it's not for everyone.
RNtobeinSoCal
61 Posts
Nursing is an incredibly practical choice and probably the best bang for your buck investment in college you can make. My first degree cost $80K and I made $30K/yr. There are sooooooo many aspects to Nursing -Legal, Research- etc that don't involve the traditional patient care model. Maybe they will speak to you?
As any new grad or returning experienced RN will tell you, there is NO security or guarantee. Please get some Med Asst/ CNA type experience dring your studies so when you graduate, you are more valuable to an employer. Also, speaking a foreign language helps a lot.
GOOD LUCK!!!!