CONFUSED and in need of some advice, please.

[wackyj2000]

Hello everyone, as you can see I've done many posts on here questioning about the nursing career. I started out my first year of college not knowing what i wanted to become, but knew i wanted to help people. Helping others makes me feel good about myself and is very rewarding. I've taken my A+P 1 and 11 both with A's and a B in Microbiology. I have yet to start any of my clinicals nor am i in a nursing program. I applied to Lawrence memorial regis college of nursing. So I'm waiting to hear back from them for next year. I'm so confused, i see some nurses who look like they are loathed by what they do, then there are others who LOVE IT. How am I supposed to know if I'm going to LOVE it? Im not sure if i should take a CNA course first to determine if it;s right for me before heading into school? Will being a CNA determine if i want to become a nurse? I guess im second guessing myself by what OTHERS are saying, and it's so hard for it not to let it get to me. I just started re-thinking about what i wanted to do. I don't want to be unhappy for the rest of my life. I know im a smart girl, who can go anywhere, and i just don'[t understand why im so confused with what I want to be? I want to help people though. I just turned 20 years old, i guess im afraid of becoming a failure. I wish i could just shadow a nurse for a day. Sorry for venting on here. Has anybody been second guessing themselves because of what they heard? Any advice nurses? Thanks for your time.

[S.T.A.C.E.Y, LPN]

I'd say take a CNA course if you can, and get some time working as one to just get your feet wet. If your local hospital will allow you, see about shadowing in an area that you think interests you.

For me the big decision to go to nursing school came when I was sent my supplementary application package. I wasn't even really interested in nursing, but when applying to school I had just checked off the nursing box in addition to a bunch of others. My application package asked me Why I wanted to be a nurse, what goals I had for my career, and where I see myself in ten years--or something like that. THATS when I really started to do my research. I knew Emergency & Flight nursing were my two big areas of interest, so I bought a bunch of books written by nurses in these fields. I read all the articles I could find, and was SOLD.

Theres so many books out there written about nursing, and even specific areas of nursing, pick a couple up. Read articles online, and sift through some of the specialty forums here. Is there a certain area of nursing that interests you? If so, maybe post a msg in that particular forum at allnurses and ask those nurses to give you more details about their job, and what they like/don't like about it. Personally, I dont think I could have made it through nursing school if I didn't have a career specific nursing goal in mind. It's helped to focus my studying, and pull me through the rough patches of nsg school.

Best of luck to you!

S.T.A.C.E.Y

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

hi, wackyj2000. . .nothing is ever certain. i started second guessing my decision to go to nursing school, too, before i even started classes. i think that is normal. it's because we worry about the unknown. let me tell you, however, that no education is ever wasted. nursing education, in particular, can prepare you to transition into other careers if you eventually find that nursing just wasn't what you thought it was going to be. my nursing skills in delegation, prioritizing and organizing are invaluable in other areas and not just nursing. in all my years of nursing i think what has helped the most has been maintaining a positive outlook. also, what makes good working conditions is working with nice people. the jobs i enjoyed the most were the ones where the people i worked with were terrific even though the job itself might have been difficult. the more experience i get, the more i'm convinced that the quality of interpersonal relationships are what really define the worth of a person's life.

here is an article i ran across a few weeks ago that might give you some reassurance that an education in nursing is still good to have. keep up those good grades! you are very smart to be pursuing a career like this a such a young age. don't give up.

http://nursing.about.com/od/nursingshortage/a/transferskills.htm - "nurses skills transfer to other professions". a list of 8 basic job skills that nurses are able to perform making them desirable for hire in many other professions.

[shehadi]

Hi, I applied to nursing school for next year... and am also interested in flight and emergency nursing. Could you possibly tell me some of the articles that you found that really interested you? Thanks. Are you a flight nurse or emergency nurse now?

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Here is information about flight nursing. It includes links to more description, articles, organizations, and other resources about flight nursing: Nursing Careers - Discover Nursing

And, ER nursing. It includes links to more description, articles, organizations, and other information about ER nursing: Nursing Careers - Discover Nursing

You can read about other areas in nursing by starting at this index page:

Nursing Careers - Discover Nursing

[S.T.A.C.E.Y, LPN]

Shehadi: Sorry, I can't really remember any of the particular articles I read, it was several years ago. I remember though that I was able to find quite a few online journals or interviews with nurses who worked in Flight or ER. I remember I just searched the internet for several hours. One cool book I remember reading that I really liked was "Trauma Junkie". It was written by a flight nurse about her own experiences. I'm not sure how accurate of a picture the book actually presents, but regardless, it was a really good read. Definitely check it out if you have time!

EDIT: Nope, not working as a nurse yet.....I'm in my last semester in nursing school!!!!