Did I make a mistake by going into nursing?

[nrsstudent05]

Hello,

I am a second semester nursing student at a competitive university. I feel that I have made a mistake of going into this field. I have bad anxiety and what I am realizing is that this may not be the field for someone who has this. I'm a good student. My overall gpa is a 3.9. I'm not really struggling I just get extremely stressed and during lectures I feel very panicked. I'm 20 years old and I have spoken to my mom about this (nurse for 20 years) and she says that I should just tough it out. I'm starting to see that this field doesn't really respect mental health of individuals and that if the real world is anything like the schooling this is definitely not for me. I feel like such a failure though because everyone holds nursing so high from where I am from. I don't want to be a sour nurse for my career. I don't want to live in constant anxiety and depression. I primarily take care of my grandma and she is in hospice. The more time I take caring for her the more I am turned off by nursing. I don't know what to do. If anyone has anxiety issues and can relate or if someone could offer me any advice that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

[quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN]

I am a nurse with anxiety and depression. I was diagnosed before I started nursing school and was receiving treatment. First thing would be to get yourself healthy, then decide which direction you want to go. You could take General Gen Ed classes if you want to take classes. If you still want to try nursing, try going for the LPN or the ADN first. There is nothing wrong with either taking a break from school to get healthy or to change directions.

[Keith.RN]

I would encourage you to get in touch with your God-given passions and desires. What do you really enjoy doing and are willing to do so because it makes you come alive? Does caring for others make you come alive? If so, you know that you are on the right track with your decision to be a nurse.

But if it is drudgery to you now and you do not enjoy caring for your ill grandmother, then it sounds like you are going through the motions. The worst thing in the world is to live your life according to the expectations of others. There is no shame if serving and caring for others is not your passion. There are too many people just going through the motions with their life. Don't be one of them! Get in touch with your passions in life and pursue that path!

Keith Rischer, RN, MA, CEN, CCRN

[tech1000]

You aren't a failure! So many people change majors in college! If all 18 year olds knew what they wanted to do for the rest of their life, well, colleges wouldn't make nearly as much money from all of us :) There really is absolutely nothing wrong with realizing that nursing may not be for you. If you really suffer from anxiety that bad though, you definitely need to seek out some help. One of my friends had severe anxiety and had great progress with a behavioral therapist. She's like a whole new person! Although, nursing is very stressful and even I feel anxious at times (giving a new med for the first time, when patients have a bad reaction to a med, whatever) and I'm a low anxiety type of a girl. So, while your anxiety may improve with some therapy, it still may not be the best choice for you. If nursing school is causing you this much grief, I'd say it's time to explore some other options.