EVERYONE wants to be a Nurse/feeling overwhelmed

Corpsman514 · Feb 11, 2013

DON'T stop! I have wanted to be a nurse since I was 6. I didn't have the best grades in high school (C student) and did not have the means to go to college. So, I enlisted into the Navy with the documented guarantee that I'd go to Hospital Corpsman School for the rate of Hospital Corpsman. 1.5 years after bootcamp, I received orders while 3/4 into my first deployment overseas. Since I was discharged, I have worked as an ER Tech, Patitent Care Tech in MICU/SICU/PACU and Step Down. In 2011, I graduated with a diploma in Medical Assisting, X - Ray (limited Scope), and EKG with honors. Passed my board of registry through the American Medical Technoligists to obtain my national registered certification as a MA. I'm at the beginning of my pre-nursing pre-req's. The nursing program at the university I attend is very competitive (as are many everywhere else).

I am a part time student and a full time caregiver to my husband, whom was wounded in 2010 while he was in Afghanistan. He has a traumatic brain injury- and he's a CHEM MAJOR!

You can do it! DON'T Stop!

People drop. It's an intense commitment and not for everyone. It takes heart, dedication, and commitment and only so many have that quality. Life intervenes at times, but it's all attitude.

Go For IT!

Alisonisayoshi, LVN · Feb 11, 2013

I laugh at all the "nursing majors" I see who know nothing of potential job outcome. Meanwhile they are taking out loans up the whazoo, getting only passing grades and all of them want to be trauma nurses or deliver babies. They dont want to bother with getting a CNA, or even working in the field. thats what annoys me. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING YOURSELF INTO!!! I went into this as a second career. If all else fails I can fall back on my first career. It pays about the same. Yes I have a dream and a goal, but no, I know it might not work out exactly like I planned. I wish more people saw the foolishness of walking into a career blind.

sweetnurse786 · Feb 12, 2013

I totally agree with Alison....dont make the same mistake like a lot of us have...at least I see it in my cohort. I was also in Finance/BA before I joined nursing school. Our school takes about 300 students each semester, yes each semester! Most of us are ABSN and like 30% are traditional students. Out of 300, about 40% have gained employment and we all graduated in May of 2012. And the rest of us are struggling to get jobs. I kid you not, last week I went to a few hospitals in my area and met some recruiters and all they could say is, we are not hiring nurses, we have hiring freeze, or we need x amount of yrs of experience. It was depressing because it seemed as if I was begging for a job. The sad thing is that a lot of the schools want to make money and not give us enough clinical experience that we need to get into the work force. You know in hospitals, it cost about 30K+ to train each new grad..yes $30,000 and more to train a new grad. Due to the high costs, hospitals are not hiring new grads that quickly. The people who graduated in May 2012, are getting jobs now in Dec/Jan time..which is about 6 months out...so yeah its definitely is a tough market. I do not believe there is a shortage out there right now and it might be later on but I think the only way positions open up is if they cut out the ADN programs (that will never happen cause cc are all government owned) or they get rid of LPNs which probably wont happen anytime soon. And also they need to stop bringing in international nurses in this country. And also most of us are in serious college debt...in my case I have $150k in debt and I will have to probably do my masters just so I can stay in school and get more skills. Keep in mind that if you do go to school for nursing, make sure that your school has solid preceptorship/clinical set up for you to be trained and they have a good job placement. Also start as a cna while you are in school so once you have a RN, you can get a RN position in that hospital. Also the NCLEX is definitely getting harder as they are saying...so I think the passing rate will drop. The other thing to keep in mind is that if you want to become a NP, you have to do a DNP degree to sit for the NP boards and that is about a 3-4 yr program. SO lots of changes happening in the industry...

o0fefe0o · Feb 12, 2013

I also meet tons of classmates that are nursing majors, but most are just getting their associates degree, whereas I am getting my bachelors. Just focus on getting those A's & you'll outshine the rest :)

queserasera, RN · Feb 12, 2013

I didn't read the whole thread so I apologize if someone has already said this.

I had the same realization, in my a&p course and my Micro course this semester I feel like half of each class wants to be a nurse. Not only that but a lot of them already have bachelors degrees! I feel the same way you do. I wanted this from the beginning. I will say though, that in these intro-esq classes everyone wants to be a nurse, but how many do you think will really make it past these classes? If the people in my class are anything to go by I'd say 50% have what it takes to even pass these classes, let alone get good enough grades to be competitive with me. So I keep thinking that. As long as I keep my edge of great grades, I should be okay. It is crazy though that I'm obsessing over A's so much that I'm disappointed with B's. I don't want to be that person!

NightNerd, MSN, RN · Feb 12, 2013

Ditto what everyone else said, but I gotta say, wouldn't it just be nicer to stop worrying so much about "competition" and focus on meeting new friends, study buddies, and possible future colleagues??? Yes, at some point we might be applying for some of the same jobs, BSN or Masters programs, etc., but instead of heading in the mean girl direction, why don't we just welcome and encourage each other? Becoming a nurse is tough (and definitely should be!), but we don't have to make it harder for each other. Everybody in these classes, even the folks who will eventually move to a different major or career, is just trying to find the right vocation.