My article is about how much I want to be an RN. However, now because I am married with a little one, I don't know if I can go to nursing school. My husband is the only one working but his job in the oil field has cut back hours & we don't have the funds or family support for me to go back to school. I also touch on how it has been living & working with epilepsy.
I can't pin point what exactly drew me to nursing. I never had a moment where I said "This is it!". It was more my parents telling me nursing is a good, stable career. So I went along with what they said. I first went to school at a 4 year university, I didn't do well there & eventually moved to a different city.
Before I moved I wasn't sure if nursing was for me. So I looked up different majors at the 4 year university & community college in that town. Eventually I settled on going to the community college & becoming an LVN. I took the TEAS test, got into the program in 2008 & a year later in 2009 I was an LVN.
After the program I went straight to finish my pre-reqs, I wanted to be the first in my class to get my RN. I was so determined to become an RN. But then after I passed my NCLEX in 2010 I started working & just put off nursing school. I figured I would go to school in a year or two, that school would always be there. I was single, what would happen?
Well when I started applying in 2012 it wasn't as easy as I thought to get in. I applied but didn't get in on my first round of applications. I was upset but I was determined. So I kept applying.
Then I met my husband & in 2014 I got pregnant. It was very unexpected but exciting. Of course in the last trimester & last month of my pregnancy I was admitted to a great nursing program. I accepted it but then had to turn it down. I didn't want to but my health wasn't great during my pregnancy & was put on bed rest in the end of my pregnancy. Now my son is 1 year old & I see all these posts about people taking pre-reqs or getting accepted into nursing school. I wish I could do it. But because of my situation I have realized that becoming an RN will only be a dream.
My husband works in the oil field, his hours have been cut drastically & he is gone for 2 weeks & home for 1 week. I have no back up babysitter for my son. Any other family lives an hour away & they all work. We live with my mom but she works & is insanely busy even when she doesn't work. We can't afford a baby sitter or daycare. He went from making $3-4,000 to $1,000 a month. My husband loves what he does, he doesn't do it to be away from us. He misses us every day. He works in very dangerous conditions; in the heat, rain, hail. You name it he is working in it.
I think it also hurts because I have two ex-friends who I don't believe deserve to be RNs, now RNs. It hurts when people you know don't deserve something get something you want so bad. Plus three out of four of my sciences are already expired. I don't have the motivation to retake them. I just want to be in nursing school or have my RN.
I have to add, I was diagnosed with epilepsy as a freshman in high school. I had always tried to fit in and be "normal" despite that. I can't count how many times I ended up in the ER because I drank myself to a seizure when I was in college. Well fast forward to me working as an LVN. I'm working at a county jail PRN, every shift, any shift; 8 hour & 12 hour shifts. This particular night I was working 12 hour shifts & I was suppose to stay over 4 hours in the morning. I feel something is just "off". As an epileptic when you feel something is off, you know something is going to happen. You don't know when or where, but it will happen. So I called my boss & told him I wouldn't be able to work the extra 4 hours in the morning. He begged me, he pleaded with me. I told him I would see how I felt. Well a few hours later I was with my coworker in the nurses station after we passed our meds, the next thing I knew I woke up in the back of an ambulance. So it makes things really difficult looking for jobs knowing I can't apply for certain jobs because I can't work at night.
I want to support my family but I also don't want to leave my son. I want to watch him grow up. It's a very tough decision. Especially when my husband is home only one week a month. It's hard decision to make, going back to school or work. I love my family. I'm not embarrassed living with my mother, I love her & she helps out immensely. I don't know what I would do without her. I do have a great support system but just not the kind I can go to school with right now. I hope one day I can go back to school when my son is older, possibly in school. If not, then maybe I can go back to work. Whatever happens I want to put my family first.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I know things can seem grim when you're right in the thick of it but you can still be a RN. I'm 36 with 3 smalller children just entering a nursing program. Your age is what you make it! I'm so joyful & outgoing most people think that I'm just turning 30!! Maybe you can find a job with tuition reimbursement or a program where they pay for you to return to school with a contract agreeing to work for them for a length of time. I've found several programs like that at hospitals in my area but they were not advertised!! Had to dig and ask a lot of questions to find out about them. I hope things get better for your family soon! Also don't forget to enjoy your baby they grow up sooo fast! You'll be in my prayers.
Thank you! I really am lucky that I got to be with my son while he was an infant. Now that he is getting bigger I am ready to go back to school. :) I can't wait either!!!
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I'm so excited & have great news! I got my son into daycare!!! He'll be part time & my MIL will be helping with the cost. So I will be able to study during the day for my two classes & he will be all set up & ready to go when I get into the nursing program!
Well, if we put plans on hold for what "might happen" we wouldn't do anything now would we? All my life I was either thwarted from pursuing becoming a nurse, or the timing was bad, or there was no school near me. Then we moved to were we are now. I got cancer, so that was yet another stumbling block. Then, at the same time my youngest was deploying to Irag, I decided to go to school and get my RN. Well that got thwarted in several ways. I decided to just go ahead and get the LPN. I am now looking back into getting the RN..
Also, the OP original thought her dream was gone, but with the encouragement of people on her, realized it wasn't gone, only delayed. Things get delayed, but with persistence and such, it can happen, just not when we think it will happen.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Well, if we put plans on hold for what "might happen" we wouldn't do anything now would we? All my life I was either thwarted from pursuing becoming a nurse, or the timing was bad, or there was no school near me. Then we moved to were we are now. I got cancer, so that was yet another stumbling block. Then, at the same time my youngest was deploying to Irag, I decided to go to school and get my RN. Well that got thwarted in several ways. I decided to just go ahead and get the LPN. I am now looking back into getting the RN..
Also, the OP original thought her dream was gone, but with the encouragement of people on her, realized it wasn't gone, only delayed. Things get delayed, but with persistence and such, it can happen, just not when we think it will happen.
I look up to people like you.
I know before I thought it was totally over. I have a lot going against me now & I need to wait until things calm down or if I even want to. With my mental health I may decide not to go back to school. Who knows. All I know right now I need to focus on what's best for my family.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
MODERATOR NOTE:
This thread has been heavily edited. As per the TOS personal attacks will NOT be tolerated
you are free to disagree with anyone on any type of subject matter as long as your criticism is constructive and polite. Additionally, please refrain from name-calling. This is divisive, rude, and derails the thread.
Our first priority is to the members that have come here because of the flame-free atmosphere we provide. There is a zero-tolerance policy here against personal attacks. We will not tolerate anyone insulting other's opinion nor name calling.
Our call is to be supportive, not divisive.
Further post WILL be deleted and further points assigned.
OrganizedChaos, LVN
1 Article; 6,883 Posts
Thank you! I really am lucky that I got to be with my son while he was an infant. Now that he is getting bigger I am ready to go back to school. :) I can't wait either!!!