Don't Know What To Do.. (Prospective Student)

[UmmIdontknow]

I've been a ghost on these forums for quite some time now, I've read everything from the gleaming posts of those that love their jobs to the endless negative posts by those who probably would have been better suited for a different profession.

So far I have been able to wade through the negativity while keeping my head held high enough to keep an interest in the medical field... though it's getting harder and harder. This is my story so far...

Let's throw one thing out there to give you some better perspective. I am a male and I'm 27 years old.

Growing up I never had an interest in school, I hated everything about it. As much as I was told what I did here would impact my future... I didn't listen and found it more entertaining to spend my teenage years being a teenager.

I spent a majority of my 20's being... well, what would be a continuation of being a teenager. During these years I went to college twice, both times with not much interest in what I was doing. First I went to college for Computer Programming, and then a few years later I went for Acting. I dropped out both times. Decided college was not for me, as there was nothing that interested me - though I didn't give it much thought either.

I've done a few odd jobs here and there. I've worked in Radio, Film etc and while I loved these jobs, finding secure jobs in these avenues are near impossible. In the end I interned for Radio (without pay) for an entire year and never got a job, and watched all my successful friends in Radio get fired. Film is even more fickle and ultimately is just a great way to end up as a waiter/waitress.

I've also worked as a bartender, grocery bagger, customer service representative, dating coach, entrepreneur, writer, and publisher. None of these careers have felt right to me.

I am also a rescue diver, and during my rescue and CPR/first responder courses, some of the stories peaked my interest in a medical related field. The rush of saving lives intrigued me, I've always been an adrenaline junkie.

I for quite awhile wanted to go into firefighting, and knew that you had to have your EMT license to do that... so I started researching that. While Firefighting had the rush that I was looking for most of the time, I psyched myself out, and ultimately wasn't comfortable with putting myself into a burning building.

So what about EMT-B? Well, an exciting job to be sure, but for poor wages and not much advancement. Paramedics pay increase for an additional 1 and a half years of schooling didn't seem to be worth it either.

I dropped this idea for a few months since I missed the deadline for classes anyways.

During this time I had to do some short term care.

My grandmother has dialysis, and she goes to have this done a few times a week. Usually one of her daughters takes her, but as they were out of town I took the job. I had to pick her up from her nursing home, help her get her stuff ready, help her out the door, into the car, out of the car, into the dialysis center, to where she needed to go.. and then I would have to pick her up later and do it all over again. This of course is pretty simple stuff, but I enjoyed it and it once again piqued my interest in the medical profession.

(Side note about working with the elderly - I'ts amazing how we spend most of our lives trying to act like we are strong , but in the end all we all have to show everyone just how weak we really are, I think that has to be hardest part of growing older)

So I started looking into it some more, it didn't really dawn on me before to go back to college or even that there might be jobs similar to an EMT-B in the hospitals but as I researched I found jobs that would be suited to my need for a rush and my desire to help others. All of them in the nursing field.

Coming to this idea was a shock to me, since my mother has been a nurse for a very long time and I had never considered following in her footsteps.

ER Nurse, OR Nurse, ICU Nurse etc.. All of these specialties looked amazing to me. Many with the ability to travel (my favorite thing to do!) As quickly as I got excited, my excitement was dashed away.

5-7 year waiting lists? I'm already 27!

So I researched some more... I don't like accepting defeat.

Schools that don't have waiting lists? Sure they are out there but my GPA cumulative from the few courses I took in college are at a resounding 2.33. Well, that's not good enough to get into those schools.

Military nursing programs? Sure - Always a possibility, but a sure fire way to get deployed (even if you are in the reserves, nurses get shipped out all the time - and as much as I respect the soldiers who do fight for America, I'm not about to spend 4 years on a BSN, only to get shot over seas.

Alright, Alright.. seems I am out of options. Not quite.. I researched more..

I can spend time getting my GPA up by working my prereqs? - Well I could, and I would - if I knew what prereqs to take. It seems all the no-wait schools have different prereqs that they require. I take a few and maybe I can apply to ONE school and get denied just to attempt again a year later? No, I'd rather be able to apply to multiple schools.

On top of all this.. tuition is another scary subject. I have no money, and am deeply afraid of collecting high debt (as ive never been in debt) and not being able to pay it back. How in the world am I going to be able to afford this? I'm coming to the conclusion that... I'm not going to be able to afford it.

More Options? Well, I looked at Rogers State University since my best friend is moving to Oklahoma and they only look at 5 prereqs for your GPA. You ace those courses I can't imagine it would be hard to get into the program. Problem is - they are a university and are EXPENSIIIVE. If i were a resident of Oklahoma the prices wouldnt be too bad but since I'm from Michigan they jump from 100 to 300 (plus a ton of additional fees) Next.

Frustrated by my lack of options at this point, and a need to make money NOW as opposed to later. I figured I could work on my GPA while maybe getting my foot in the door.

Turns out EMT-Bs can work as an ER Tech in a hospital, awesome!! Classes start next month, well.. I'm going to sign up for those classes right now.

This might sound dumb to you but the EMT School requires that I be fully shaven, and I've only shaved twice since high school. Both times I looked like a young 10 year old virgin boy and it just brought back memories of getting relentlessly ridiculed in high school and middle school. First off, I would not be able to get any respect in any profession looking like a pre-pubescent.

Now while I understand this is a requirement to get a good seal for the N95 mask, it's not something I am willing to do. I know that many nurses, many MANY male nurses have beards (and mine IS nicely trimmed) so that is something I am still looking into, Maybe this is because there are alternatives to the N95 in hospitals that are not available in an Emergency Vehicle.

Also considered the possibility of shaving (UGHHH) for the 4 month long EMT-B class, and then grow it out as I apply for ER Tech Positions. (Still thinking about this one)

Before anyone says anything - yes, I am aware I would have to shave for any nursing program out there (and that is something i could handle knowing that I could grow it back for my career choice)

I am a very confident person, but only with my facial hair (the only thing that makes me even remotely look like I am a man )

One nurse told me I should become a CNA, to help better my chances of getting into nursing school and volunteer some hours in the field that I want to work in.

Volunteer, cool.. I can do that.

CNA? This is something I could not do. Much respect to all the CNAs here... but, wiping butts for a profession does not sound like fun. I can handle phlem, vomit, blood, you name it... but poop is not my cup of tea. Yes I know I will have to deal with that stuff in various points in my career if i went into nursing, but as opposed to it being a small part of your job, being a CNA, it's mostly your entire job.

My local community college has a 4 month Registered Medical Assistant Program for 6,000 with 5 weeks externship, so I was going to jump onto that only to find that it's impossible to find a job as a MA (according to people here and other forums), and especially impossible as a male MA (seems employers are a bit sexist when it comes to this specific profession)

Looked into LPN courses but it seems the demand for this profession is dwindling and even considering there is a long waiting list for these programs too.

So here I am, unsure of what pre-reqs to take since they all differ from college to college, what to do in the meantime (ER Tech, MA, LPN, Burger King) How to afford tuition if i DO find a program... you name it - I am have a difficulty with it.

For the record my credit score is clean and near perfect. I've never owed a bank more than 700 dollars and hate owing people or places money.

I have been for many days now waking up, looking up medical professions and options, and reading on these forums, for over 12 hours a day (Not a joke, I woke up at 2pm today, and have been here in this computer chair since.. It is now 4:05 am)

As I watch my friends make things of themselves, I'm 27 - uneducated, jobless and have no skills or talents that could prove useful in any other careers. I love to help others and I love the concept of saving lives and helping people get better. I need something secure that allows me to travel. (If humanitarian work paid, that is what I would be doing right now)

I'm becoming more depressed by the day. Wondering how much longer it will be until I throw in the towel, buy my first trailer home and get a job at McDonalds.

Someone, anyone - please, who can feel my pain who has gotten through this please offer some advice or guidance. I'm seriously stuck and not sure where to go.

Negative Nancies - your opinion is welcome here too as long as its constructive, but what I really need is some positive uplifting advice because I honestly feel like I have run into a brick wall. Perhaps I've decided to grow up a bit too late...

[resumecpr]

Try CNA first. Less money, then you'll for sure know if nursing is what you want to do. Good luck with your EMT course.

As for pre-reqs, A and P, Math, English, and other sciences.

[Jess_Missouri_RN]

Get all your general classes out of the way while you wait!

And I clean more bottoms than my techs on some nights! Good way to assess your patients and keep them dry and happy! :)

[UmmIdontknow]

Thanks for the replies.

My plan of attack would be as follows

EMT-B or MA - ADN - BSN (if i so desired) - then either NP or CRNA

I understand that feces is something I'm going to have to deal with regardless. It's not something I look forward to either (who would) but I don't want it to be the bulk of my job. Becoming a CNA would be a great way for me to get burnt out doing what would be my least favorite thing in nursing.

My main interests are in ER, OR and maybe ICU (if I want to go for a CRNA program down the road) I know ICU does not have CNAs and the RN has to the majority of the care.

Though I hear that males as CNA's move up through the ranks like no ones business. Nurse here said I could be running a place in under 2 years. Again though, CNA - not for me.

As far as general classes, that's one of the things I am having issues with. What are the general classes? Different colleges seem to have different prereqs.. which confuses me way more than I should be at this point.

[DixieRedHead, ASN, RN]

Sir, at 27 you still have a lot of things to learn. So you are "not willing to shave" to be a CNA, but you would do it to get into nursing school? And you can't do poop as a CNA but you would be willing to "deal with it" as a nurse?

And you want your advice positive and uplifting?

You certainly have a lot of rules.

Well here goes. I am positive that should you get into nursing school they will not let you make your own rules. Don't you know that nursing schools are dictator ships, and they don't let the students dictate the rules?

I am positive that you want to spend more time on the computer than working.

May I uplift to you that in my nursing career, I have pushed adenocard enough to make a patient have a flat line this long: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(or longer) but many, many more times than that I have mopped poop.

Oh, and you need something that let's you help others and travel? Airline host?

The world is sexist, need for LPNs is dwindling, and the list of endless excuses.

Here is my uplifting advice. Get a job. You can think about your choices, options, and needs while you are working? And stop looking down your nose at people who have service jobs. If you had started working at Burger King when you were 17 years old, stuck with it, and applied yourself, you could own a franchise by now.

Do I feel your pain? I don't. I am on my way to work to watch people who work for a living, some have 2-3 jobs and would give anything to have had the opportunities you have had.

i.e college twice.

Do you think they like mopping poop? They do not. Does it "feel right"? I don't think so; it never has for me, but I still do it.

Seriously, I do not think you are cut out for nursing.

[Always_Learning, BSN, RN]

Though I hear that males as CNA's move up through the ranks like no ones business. Nurse here said I could be running a place in under 2 years. Again though, CNA - not for me.

Also considered the possibility of shaving (UGHHH) for the 4 month long EMT-B class, and then grow it out as I apply for ER Tech Positions. (Still thinking about this one)

Before anyone says anything - yes, I am aware I would have to shave for any nursing program out there (and that is something i could handle knowing that I could grow it back for my career choice)

I am a very confident person, but only with my facial hair (the only thing that makes me even remotely look like I am a man )

?????!!??

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

OMG. You may be 27 but you still have a lot of growing up to do. If you're not willing to part with facial hair, forget nursing. You'll have to part with a lot of other things.....like that ego that's getting in the way. Just go and start general courses and maybe while you're doing those two years, a lightbulb will appear.

[leenak]

Here is my uplifting advice. Get a job. You can think about your choices, options, and needs while you are working? And stop looking down your nose at people who have service jobs. If you had started working at Burger King when you were 17 years old, stuck with it, and applied yourself, you could own a franchise by now.

I agree with this. I know someone who started working at a mall store while in college, worked her way up and by the time she finished college, she made more money working in retail than the college degree job. She now is a regional store manager for a large toy corporation.

I would recommend you going for the emt first as I think that'd be fairly quick and then you could examine your options.

[crittytn]

You're putting way too many rules and conditions on all of this. Your post is a mile long list of demands and demands that must be met right now as opposed to a few years from now, yet I fail to see anything that gives you the right to make all those demands. It's all about you, you, you and you having your cake and eating it too.

I'm sorry to be critical, but you are just one big excuse. You won't be able to make it through nursing with all those excuses. You need to get up and go do...something, anything. Just accomplish one thing fully, without putting restrictions or negatives on it, and then move on from there.

I think your last statement of "Perhaps I've decided to grow up a bit too late" hits the nail right on the head. Look around at all your buddies and instead of being envious, think about how they got to where they are and do those things too. There are some basic tactics to being successful in life and having a career or a job to be successful at. Figure those out and start living them. You are clearly an intelligent, well-articulated person. Hell, I'd probably think you would be fun to hang out with. But, honestly, I wouldn't hire you right now or accept you into a program. So start working on those traits that make you attractive to employers and to school programs.

It's never too late to get going. You have the power within you to get up and go and you have the ability to be successful. But it doesn't just drop into your lap; you have to actually work for it...and probably have to get over the beard thing and all your 100 other rules and prohibitions and excuses.

I do wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose to do in life. Go get 'em, tiger!

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Become a writer.

[Always_Learning, BSN, RN]

Become a writer.

Options. Options are good. :)

[mazy]

It sounds like you have a lot of issues going on with this. You don't like all the negativity on this site, but your post is full of all the negatives you percieve about nursing: poop, shaving, your age, the finanaces, your confusion about the pre-reqs, etc. etc.

All of these concerns are not only going to hold you back in starting nursing school, just wait til you get into nursing school and you have to study your behind off without a break, figure things out on your own, shave, and do numerous clinical rotations where you will do nothing but clean up poop.

All in preparation for a job that will revolve around poop, not having breaks, figuring stuff out on your own, confoming to other people's demands regarding your professional presentation, and making not a whole lot of money at all doing it -- if you are fortunate enough to even find a job.

The positives that you percieve -- that it's a good paying job and you'll be able to move up through the ranks quickly, are actually not true at all.

Yes, you will be in a helping profession and you will help other people, but you will also have to make a lot of personal sacrifices to do it, and you don't seem to be ready for that right now.

I think if you really want to do this you are going to have to commit 100% to coping with the negatives, throw yourself into that for the cause, and see how you cope with all the bad stuff before you take on massive amounts of debt to prepare for a job that you do not, at the moment, seem to be emotionally prepared for.