Cross Roads

k_girl153 · Jun 9, 2012

My first semester I couldnt keep track of how many relationships almost ended because of nursing school....mine included. It's a huge commitment and can easily take over all aspects of your life if you aren't careful. It's a fine balancing act. Honestly, if you are passionate about nursing, I think you will make it happen. However from your post it seems like you are more worried about your time with your significant other than with becoming a nurse. If the relationship is meant to be, it will be. The right person will wait for you and support you through the pitfalls of school. If they can't handle it, that's their problem. Only you can decide whether this person that you care about trumps all else. If it were me, though, I choose myself and my dreams. Good luck!

QUOTE="ph0618"]I am a re-admitt at my local community college in north carolina for nursing school, during my first semester my grades were excellent. Then came second semester where I got slightly off track, my average dropped below the standard and I was not able to recover it. I have been re-admitted under the direction of our director, she feels that I would make an excellent nurse but life crept in and kept me from being sucessful the 1st time. Orientation begin August 6th and I find myself wondering if this is truely where I want to go with my life, I am afraid of the impact that nursing school will have with my relationship, I really care for the person but the dedication needed for nursing school will prevent me from allocating the appropriate amount of time to my significant other. On the other hand, I have the opportunity to enlist in the navy however my preference would be to enlist with a degree. I really love patient care being that I already work in a local hospital here, and I am very passionate about being a nurse. Maybe I am just experiencing cold feet all over again. Any advice would be helpful!

celtchick68 · Jun 9, 2012

And what happens to this relationship if you join the navy? You'll be shipped off for training...alone. Spend however many months training before being sent to a duty station...alone. Then what? You've been gone and that relationship has gone without being nurtured the entire time.

Or you go to nursing school. Tend to the relationship as you can and go about your life. If the relationship is meant to be then it will survive. I agree with previous poster--it sounds like you're more interested in the relationship than investing in your future. Nothing wrong with that as long as you see it for what it is.

Stephalump · Jun 9, 2012

I am a re-admitt at my local community college in north carolina for nursing school, during my first semester my grades were excellent. Then came second semester where I got slightly off track, my average dropped below the standard and I was not able to recover it. I have been re-admitted under the direction of our director, she feels that I would make an excellent nurse but life crept in and kept me from being sucessful the 1st time. Orientation begin August 6th and I find myself wondering if this is truely where I want to go with my life, I am afraid of the impact that nursing school will have with my relationship, I really care for the person but the dedication needed for nursing school will prevent me from allocating the appropriate amount of time to my significant other. On the other hand, I have the opportunity to enlist in the navy however my preference would be to enlist with a degree. I really love patient care being that I already work in a local hospital here, and I am very passionate about being a nurse. Maybe I am just experiencing cold feet all over again. Any advice would be helpful!

Do newly enlisted members of the navy generally have a lot of "significant other time?" I was under the impression that you have to undergo basic training? Then go about getting your degree...in what? If not nursing, you'd have to choose another career path to go to school for, navy or not.

Nursing school prevents all of us from allocating the same amount of time to our partners. If your relationship is struggling and your priority is to save it, I wouldn't attempt NS right now. If it's solid but you still don't want to take the time away from your partner, then that's ok, too. I just wouldn't waste time in NS if you're going to give it the back seat. Failing out again would probably be difficult.

Personally, I gave up going to medical school because the time I have with my family is previous. It could've been done, but I just flat out realized it wasn't worth it to me. NS was a way for me to still work in the only field I've ever wanted to be in and have more time with them. But it's all relative in this case :)

ph0618 · Jun 9, 2012

I am a re-admitt at my local community college in north carolina for nursing school, during my first semester my grades were excellent. Then came second semester where I got slightly off track, my average dropped below the standard and I was not able to recover it. I have been re-admitted under the direction of our director, she feels that I would make an excellent nurse but life crept in and kept me from being sucessful the 1st time. Orientation begin August 6th and I find myself wondering if this is truely where I want to go with my life, I am afraid of the impact that nursing school will have with my relationship, I really care for the person but the dedication needed for nursing school will prevent me from allocating the appropriate amount of time to my significant other. On the other hand, I have the opportunity to enlist in the navy however my preference would be to enlist with a degree. I really love patient care being that I already work in a local hospital here, and I am very passionate about being a nurse. Maybe I am just experiencing cold feet all over again. Any advice would be helpful!

Well I don't want my priorities to be misunderstood, NS is my priority and my future I just don't know how to prepare myself for the impact it could possible have on my relationship. NS will be getting my all!

celtchick68 · Jun 9, 2012

I don't think your priorities are misunderstood. Your relationship is your priority. It's clear. If nursing school were your priority then this post wouldn't exist.

If your question is how to balance nursing school and your relationship then there's no set answer. If the person loves you and is supportive/encouraging then it will work out and you'll find that balance once you enter the program.

rubato, ASN, RN · Jun 9, 2012

It's really hard to give you advice because each person is different. I'm going to nursing school at 42. Why? Because when I was 19, I enlisted in the Navy but met the man of my dreams the night after enlisting. I had a 6 month wait before basic training and in that time, I realized my relationship was so much more important that the Navy. I talked my recruiter out of my enlistment (God only knows how I managed that), married this man of my dreams and we've been together for over 22 years. But, I had to choose. You may not have to. I am finally doing something that I've dreamt about for a long time. Now, 22 years later, I am at a good place in my life, my marriage and my motherhood to tackle the beast of NS. It takes a lot from what I've heard. If your relationship isn't stable enough, this could end it. But, it doesn't have to. Only you can figure that out.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2012

the navy will take you as a nurse if you have a bsn. it's a great career and will give you a reliable pension that you won't get from anyone else. take that into consideration.

♑ Capricorn ♑ · Jun 9, 2012

I would prepare yourself, as much as you would your significant other. I would do this before school starts. You already know what nursing school is like, you have that experience and you know whats coming. So, you're not totally blind to the fact of how it is or what it is like. So, share this info with your partner. Not in a way to scare him/her, but to just inform him/her of the realities of what you will be going through. Your partner will need to know, so they can understand and maybe relate to what you are going to be going through in school. If your partner is truly supportive, they will understand this. Best wishes to you both.

Altra, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2012

I am afraid of the impact that nursing school will have with my relationship, I really care for the person but the dedication needed for nursing school will prevent me from allocating the appropriate amount of time to my significant other.

Your definition of the "appropriate" amount of time devoted to your significant other ... your significant other's definition of "appropriate amount" ... and your joint abilities to negotiate and compromise both temporarily and in the long term ... are the keys to the answer to your question.