Absolutely nobody around me wants me to be a nurse. I am currently a Realtor and everyone thinks I should stick with it. I HATE REAL ESTATE! You don't know where the next check is coming from, it is SO expensive to get started and keep going, I have to work from home so I feel like I am always working, it is cut-throat, greedy and most importantly, I get no satisfaction from it.
I have wanted to be a nurse for three years now and was suppose to start LPN school last fall, but I got pregnant and the school requested me to not start b/c the baby was due in the middle of the program. That worked out b/c he ended up a preemie. But they saved my spot for this year.
I have had to do everything secretly. My financial aid, I am studying up on A&P, I even have a second job to carry me through paying off the credit I had to use for real estate so that I can use that credit for books and such.
Did anyone here ever have to go up against anyone to become a nurse? I really want this, but I don't know how to handle it. When you are doing something as tough as nursing school, you need support. No matter what I am going to school...that is one thing I am sure of.
Absolutely nobody around me wants me to be a nurse. I am currently a Realtor and everyone thinks I should stick with it. I HATE REAL ESTATE! You don't know where the next check is coming from, it is SO expensive to get started and keep going, I have to work from home so I feel like I am always working, it is cut-throat, greedy and most importantly, I get no satisfaction from it.
I have wanted to be a nurse for three years now and was suppose to start LPN school last fall, but I got pregnant and the school requested me to not start b/c the baby was due in the middle of the program. That worked out b/c he ended up a preemie. But they saved my spot for this year.
I have had to do everything secretly. My financial aid, I am studying up on A&P, I even have a second job to carry me through paying off the credit I had to use for real estate so that I can use that credit for books and such.
Did anyone here ever have to go up against anyone to become a nurse? I really want this, but I don't know how to handle it. When you are doing something as tough as nursing school, you need support. No matter what I am going to school...that is one thing I am sure of.
Thanks for listening!
They're still trying. Friends & acquaintances who are nurses and burned out after xx years of hospital nursing, family members who think I've got a great gig where I am. (I'm one of those IT people mentioned in another thread). I question myself a lot, too. I'll be in public, looking at people. Some are just unpleasant looking, and I think -- could I treat this person? Ugh. But I still end up thinking I want to do this. We'll see how classes go.
I start nursing school in the fall and I've had my share of nay sayers. I currently work as a grassroots organizer, so my co-workers are starting to pay attention to the decent (depending on your perspective) salaries of nurses compared to the work I am doing and that - coupled with the flexibility, demand and relocatability of nursing - has convinced some that I might be on to something. One of my co-workers said behind my back that I was not cut out for nursing - but she doesn't really even understand all of what nursing is about and I know in my heart that I have many skills that will make me an excellent nurse. I use other's doubts to motivate me - that works for me very well. I love it when someone tells me I can't do something. I imagine some day they will be surprised to find me the nurse who is on duty to provide care for them or a loved one and I will gently get to prove them wrong.
However, I must say I am lucky to have a few believers around me - and that is crucial. I have a few people who I respect very much who think I will be a fantastic nurse. An old mentor of mine was an RN, MSW and nursing instructor and she really encouraged me to pursue nursing when I first brought it up with her. There was one caveat to her encouragement - she said get a masters and pursue something beyond hospital shift work. "My students who go on to masters programs write their own tickets", she said. I agree with the poster who said you can make what you want out of a nursing career. People are often secretly jealous and threatened by people who have drive and determination - follow your inner fire on this one.
Thanks everyone!!!! I am defiently going ahead with nursing!!! I will keep my RE license for school though so if anything happened to fall into my lap I can take it and then have some income.
I am glad to know that there are those of you out there who did it anyway against the odds...that is so encouraging!!!!
best wishes, im sure you'll love it. but it will be very hard. get your husband on your side. you'll need his support, at least so you can have time to study.
just fyi, i too was skeptical of my wife (fiancee then) becoming a nurse. she had just recently got her BS in Biology, and i thought she wasnt giving it enough of a chance. I also thought nursing was too "blue collar", that she wouldn't like it, that it would be too "hard", too much liability... and i secretly feared it would turn her into some stern, matriarchal Nurse Ratched.
all my fears were unfounded. her becoming a nurse was the best thing that she's ever done. when my engineering job gets cut in the next round of layoffs, she'll still have a great job, and i just may become a stay-at-home dad.
anyhow, stick with it. at some point you may find that you are really frustrated and want to drop. i think this happens to everyone. certainly did with my wife. but you'll make it.
Doggie - good of you to eat a little crow after the LPN uproar and stick around with words of encouragement. Faith - I do think furthering your education beyond LPN can provide you with more opportunities, which is the jist of what Doggie was trying to say, I think. Even my most ardent supporters have said this - it is kinda like going into the military - try and go in with the highest rank you can, balanced with what makes sense for you $ wise and time wise. However, look at it this way - LPN is not a waste of money no matter what. If you don't like life as an LPN and you work somewhere where LPNs are treated poorly, you are just that much closer to becoming an RN. There are so many LPN-to-RN programs that are online, flexible, etc. if you do find you want more education in nursing. That is what I love about nursing education - you can take it in steps if you need to.
And do get your partner on board - at some point you need to say "this is what I want - I've heard your concerns, but I am not being unreasonable and it's time for you to get behind me on this." Keep ya head up!
To DoggieDaddy-I honestly think that you meant well, and were trying to encourage OP to really "Go For It"-but maybe used your "Mars" language in a primarily "Venus" kind of place.
Actually, I think it was more like engineer-speak.
I also thought nursing was too "blue collar",
I was married to an engineer for 17 years (operative word being WAS):chuckle and he had the same "blue collar" opinion. Now, at 47, I'm finally pursuing my dream.
I have been discouraged by a few people, especially my ex b/friend who thinks I ma too pretty to be a nurse doing all that butt wiping. Others tell me I am too bright to be a nurse. However, most of these people have only heard of nursing, they have not the full experience. My Aunt is a nurse manager and she has told me it is the best investment I could make. I beleive so. If it is even because of the fact that as long as you are able bodided, you will always havea job and the pay isnt bad either. Just thionk about it, it can never go to waste, you have or will have a new skill. I changed from Teaching to Social work and now in NS.
(1) no one HATES lpn's, don't get all mushy on me. (2) there are always exceptions to the rule. I'm sure there are some great LPNs out there, and I'm not judging you personally. (3) of course with 25 years of experience, you are topping out the payscale. and depending on the area of the country you live in, you can make any job livable. The cost of living is so low in in the middle of Kansas, for instance, you can raise a family on a Wal-Mart salary.
but the fact is, 1 year of vocational trade-school training is not a professional career.
so many of you RN's complain that you are not treated like professionals, that you get no respect from the doctors, patients, etc.
the reason is, you have very little protection on the title 'nurse', or the amount of eductation/training one has to receive before one can claim the title 'nurse'.
i mean you have 4-year BSN's, and MSN's who are 'nurses'. then you have 1-year vocational school graduates who are 'nurses'. and you even have Veterinary Techs at PetSmart who dress in surgical scrubs call themselves 'nurses'.
While every other medical profession in a hospital requires AT LEAST a four-year bachelors degree, many require a masters degree.
i dont know when/if this will ever be resolved, but there are places around the country working on this. many hospitals, including the university hospital my wife works at, WON'T HIRE LPNs. At all. And some hospitals are now requring all RN's to have a 4 year degree.
I have been reading your posts; and yes you are very strong in your statements, but you are very correct. I agree with you about everything you have said except the ADN programs, which are excellent in training of nurses.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
:yeahthat:
LOL! We must be cut from the same cloth!
Seriously, I think proving your nay-sayers wrong can go a long way towards giving you that extra push when you have to get up at 0500 AGAIN to start your millionth 18-hour school/work/homework cycle, or when you start thinking about how shooting for a 78 average wouldn't be *that* bad....
Here are some of the quotes that p*ssed me off enough to make it through nursing school:
"I don't see Rachel running around, taking orders from doctors and getting them coffee" (my ex-SIL)
"You're so smart...why don't you go to medical school? Nurses don't actually have to use their brains." (my ex-FIL, a dentist)
"Nursing isn't that hard....I mean, it's basically in the same category as being a secretary or a preschool teacher..." (my ex-husband- see the pattern?)
"Maybe you can find yourself a doctor to marry" (my mother :angryfire )
"The first time you have to touch someone's poop or vomit, you'll quit" (my best friend)
"you'll quit and go back into marketing when the economy turns around; you'll miss making a good salary" (pretty much everybody)
"you'll flunk out of school because you won't drive 100+ miles a day for 3 years" (my mother again)
"your life is too complicated right now with work, surgery, marriage issues...you should just take some time off from school and continue working here" (my unit manager in my CNA job- of COURSE she wanted me to stay there!)
I guess my point is this: having a *positive* reason for going into nursing is wonderful, and crucial. However, the drive to prove all your critics WRONG can keep you going when you really, really, REALLY want to quit.
Hey, it worked for me!
OMG another one who lives inside my head......I can't agree more. :rotfl:
Thanks everyone!!!! I am defiently going ahead with nursing!!! I will keep my RE license for school though so if anything happened to fall into my lap I can take it and then have some income.
I am glad to know that there are those of you out there who did it anyway against the odds...that is so encouraging!!!!
How exciting! I can't wait for September!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU ALL!!!! You are the best!!!
I have had a few people that are trying to talk me out of it. I am taking pre req's in order to apply to nursing school. Did u have to take pre-req's before getting in to nursing school? I am doing IS courses and the Biology course it really hard and not being in a classroom with a good professor is making it harder. I am feeling discouraged and I don't know if I should even post in here because I am not in nursing school yet. I guess I am just looking for advice or encouragement. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated if anyone sees this. THanks!
I am starting school this fall and I have had a few people tell me that I'm making a mistake. I've been told everything from nurses work hard and make no money, to you should pick something that you wont have to go to school 4 years to complete, to your not smart enough and you'll never stick with it and finish school.
To those people I say, by becoming an RN I will be making more money than YOU (a department store associate)
4 years is going to pass by anyway, why not be in school learning to become a nurse.(Duh!)
And to those who say I'll never stick with it. I will stick with it, if for no other reason then to just prove you wrong.
It's a bad idea to tell me I can't do something.
I will do this and I will do it well. It wont be easy, but what is??
Luckly though, the people who I will be needing support from are on my side. So really it doesn't matter what the others think.
rncareerchgr
5 Posts
They're still trying. Friends & acquaintances who are nurses and burned out after xx years of hospital nursing, family members who think I've got a great gig where I am. (I'm one of those IT people mentioned in another thread). I question myself a lot, too. I'll be in public, looking at people. Some are just unpleasant looking, and I think -- could I treat this person? Ugh. But I still end up thinking I want to do this. We'll see how classes go.