This is not another "should I be a nurse" question. I KNOW I want to be a nurse. My mother was a nurse for 40 years. I wanted to go into nursing back when I was in college in the early 90's, but my mother talked me out of it (Go figure). I am now 39 years old, have had a few career detours (2 BS degrees later), but am now 100% ready to pursue my dream.
I've researched the job market IN MY AREA and right now, it's still good. But I don't know if it will be in 2 years...then again, how could I know that? I can only see what they are projecting...which all bodes well for me down the road.
BUT - I've been reading AN for about a month now...daily...many times a day in fact...and I am just bummed out! No one seems to like their job, their managers, their co-workers...and this is if they are lucky enough to HAVE a job. That coupled with the fact that my (extended) family thinks I'm crazy for going back to school because I am married with 4 kids and have been a stay at home mother for many years and do not (financially) have to work...(emotionally - that's another story), makes me just completely question everything I thought I knew. Husband is behind me 100% which is a huge plus. This is my last shot...I've gone to school twice tip toeing around what I really wanted to do because I was afraid of the science courses. No more. I have a 3.9 in computer science...I'm not afraid of science any more...I have more confidence now than I ever have....
I really WANT to be a nurse. I don't care about the money you make or am delusional and think it's all a piece of cream pie. I, of course, want to contribute to my family's finances...but we've done just fine for 10 years on one income...so it's not money that's motivating me is what I guess I should be saying.
So what IS motivating me? I don't know...I just have always wanted to BE A DAMN NURSE! I'm not thinking ahead to when I'll be a NA or a NP or an ABCDEFG...I just want to go to school, be a nurse, and go from there.
But now...reading AN where the only excited people are the nursing students, and everyone else, even here, is looking at me like "Nursing? Really? you're an idiot". And more like..."you want to work? you're an idiot". Same thing in this case. Well...the whole thing is enough to make me want to eat an entire DQ cake myself. And I just left the gym...
*sigh* I'm frustrated, scared, and have 2 weeks before my pre-req classes start.... UGH!
Don't mind the venting threads. I come here to vent or else I would throw poop filled briefs/sputum cups at my coworkers.
Good luck whatever path you choose.
Well that made me laugh, so thanks for lightening up this thread :)
I was sitting here feeling a little sad, a lot peeved, and very misunderstood...but your post literally made me LOL....so thank you for that. I hope I get to work with nurses like you some day...
I know it's hard with so many different ways people reply.
IMHO, you are welcome here as much as any pre-nursing person...It's nice that there is a place for nurses (that doesn't have a ton of spam for topics....oy vey-lol).
And, I understand why people feel reluctant to vent... somehow, it all becomes personal when it's not intended to be any sort of debate, but just opinions and feelings.
Did I ask ONE time if I should be a nurse in my post? No. I was venting. I'm sorry that you feel that I am not welcome on this site because I am not a nurse yet...so I am not permitted to vent. I suppose they should remove the entire student sections and pre nursing sections then.
People like you are the exact reason why new people are afraid to post one thing on here because they get jumped all over. It must be nice to know everying at 29. At 29, I thought I knew everything too.
Thanks for nothing. Nurses eating their young as so many claim? No...many are very very nice and helpful on this board and can have a reasonable discussion. Most have been very kind. But just plain mean nurses....yep. So so so very sorry I vented on your sacred ground.
Give me a break....
Look at the age and smile (if you can) and nod to yourself (I have shoes older than 29)....and this ground is not sacred...not yet anyway...:) like I said before, you already "get it"..so shake this unpleasentness off and come on back to something more fun (like dead puppies-ha, ha)..some of the threads in nurses Central are fun cause they are off the wall...there's bound to be one starting here too, sooner or later.
Op, when you are done with your first year of college, once in the actual nursing program for a year, come back and read this thread. You will have changed in many ways by then. You will be tougher, you will need to work on that "skin" to survive, yes, just to survive your nursing education. Nurses are very tough and decisive in this day and age. Nothing read in this thread is even one iota of cruel. You will soon see this. Your instructors and clinical site RNs will show you what that is about.
What you think of me does not bother me. I am sorry you are offended. I am however not one who can go around the bush much. Sorry about that again. This is obvious. :)
[b]This will be my last posting for the day. You are officially the thread hero and I am the villain[/b] Yes, it HAS to be all or nothing...
I wish some people could open their ears and eyes more and not pick and chose what they feel and run with it. [/b] Is there an "acceptable feelings list" that the majority of us have missed??? People feel what they feel- nobody said you had to feel the same say :)!!
I truly do with the OP nothing but the best in whatever she decides for herself. She shouldn't keep second guessing herself as her title reads and just go for it. She has much support and many great tools to become the nurse she has always wanted.
I'd be signing up for classes today!
Why is it so hard to be straight-forward and say what you (the universal 'you'- not just a single person here) mean/think/feel without doing it in a way that is harsh? Honest and harsh are not synonyms.
Op, when you are done with your first year of college, once in the actual nursing program for a year, come back and read this thread. You will have changed in many ways by then. You will be tougher, you will need to work on that "skin" to survive, yes, just to survive your nursing education. Nurses are very tough and decisive in this day and age. Nothing read in this thread is even one iota of cruel. You will soon see this. Your instructors and clinical site RNs will show you what that is about.
Good luck to you.
I am sure that is going to be very true. I am sure that after a year of nursing school I will have learned a lot. But I hope that I do not become hardened to the feelings of others. Maybe that is naive...but it's still my hope.
It is just frustrating, to say the least, when one is simply looking for an outlet for frustration and worry and one gets judged instead. It is my own fault for putting it out there on the WWW and for sure, I will be more careful about that in the future.
Look at the age and smile (if you can) and nod to yourself (I have shoes older than 29)....and this ground is not sacred...not yet anyway...:) like I said before, you already "get it"..so shake this unpleasentness off and come on back to something more fun (like dead puppies-ha, ha)..some of the threads in nurses Central are fun cause they are off the wall...there's bound to be one starting here too, sooner or later.
Yep...I'm heading over the "Grossest thing you've ever seen" thread. That will be a lot more fun than this one right now!
I don't think I've ever seen anyone on here advising those who want to be a nurse, or even just want to work, that they are idiots. There is a lot of honesty on these boards, and it's a good thing because the truth is that nursing can often be a really, really tough job carried out in distressingly subpar work environments. That's just the way it is these days. It can also be a wonderfully rewarding job sometimes. The problem is not so much the career itself but the circumstances surrounding it at the present time.
A lot of Social Workers and Teachers hate their jobs, some don't hate it but get frustrated by all the roadblocks....I think that's the majority of posters here. I think you should get that degree, no matter what. I want to be an Art Therapist, always have, always will, gonna do it. It pays poorly, jobs are few and a lot of people think it is a load of crap. I happen to love that crap and will find a way to use my education...and have so much pleasure in learning and meeting people like me who want to learn....do it and ignore the negativity..chances are you hear it more loudly because your mom was the number one wet blanket in your life regarding your dream career.
Poi Dog
1,134 Posts
Don't mind the venting threads. I come here to vent or else I would throw poop filled briefs/sputum cups at my coworkers.
Good luck whatever path you choose.