Is there ever a time where it's okay to give up on nursing?

Nurses General Nursing

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What happens if you feel like it will be years of getting waitlisted and rejected just to get into RN school? I feel like that's where I'm going to be headed. Is there another field that students can go into so they won't waste years of chasing after something that may not happen? I looked into Radiology Technology but there is no demand for that job. I have no idea what else to do and I feel hopeless

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Hang in there. It will happen eventually. Have you applied more than one place?

As for Radiology Tech, there are jobs in my area. Also, I wouldn't say there is a "demand" for nurses right now, especially new grads.

If nursing is truly what you think you are ment to do, then just be patient. It will happen.

Good luck!

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Each school wants slightly different pre reqs in their curriculum so Im pretty much forced to put all my eggs in one basket. Going to another school to take additonal classes for a few more semesters is not affordable right now. And its competitive and no guarantee that I'd even get in after I do all of that. trying to get into nursing has far too many obstacles

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Ultrasound tech is a good paying job, though I've noticed people who had prior bachelor's degrees seemed to have preference to get into the training program and also had an easier time getting hired. We have some people at work who've taken tech training programs but been unable to get a job in their fields. Radiology techs had a 1% vacancy rate in our state last year. Another person I knew was an older woman with ultrasound tech training who had applied to any place throughout the state. I'm guessing age discrimination played a role in her case and she probably didn't have a Bachelors.

There are many allied health jobs available, just have to read up on it. Try getting a job in the health field and then ask everyone you work with about what they do, the education they needed and what they like and dislike about their field.

If you can afford it community colleges offer the cheapest and best vocational training programs. Look at what's available in your community. If you have a choice try to stick to a non-profit community college. The for profit colleges will bombard you with advertisements luring you to go there, but they tend to be very expensive and have high drop out rates and student loan defaults.

Always be very careful with student loans because you will have to pay them off whether you graduate or not, or get a job in the field! They are more dangerous than credit card debt. So do your research carefully and keep the student loan debt down to a minimum.

Also a bachelors degree may be preferred and is necessary for some programs like med school or pharmacy, but if you just get a generic liberal arts degree there is no guarantee you'll get a professional job after. I know people with college degrees working as secretaries, wait staff, housekeepers, taxi drivers and truck drivers because they couldn't get a better job. One person was a transporter at the hospital who had a graphic arts degree. Nothing wrong with any of these jobs, just that the pay is usually not a living wage and there you are struggling on a low income job and now you have to pay back all the student loan debt you took out as an "investment" in your future. You are legally gambling when you invest with student loan debt!

That said while there is no guarantee with any educational program, you have to do the best you can with whatever education and training you decide on and keep your eyes open to the risks involved by being conservative with student loan debt, take college seriously and give it your all.

If you can get an internship you have a much better chance in getting a job, hopefully with the company you are interning for. Think of the internship as a job interview and work hard and do your best to shine! That may be your best chance of getting the job you want.

Before you go into nursing, get some real world experience and talk to nurses and find out if this is what you want. If it is you can find a way! If you are on a wait list, then you might have to go to a more expensive private college or perhaps even a for profit college to get the degree sooner, but research the colleges out carefully.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

PS I took liberal arts classes at a university before going into the nursing, but worked part time and went to school part time so didn't take out student loan debt then. Those were some of the best years of my life. I explored different majors and it was a fun, informative time with good friends and lots of socializing opportunities (not drinking). I would not trade that time for more money.

I'm not against college just want to warn people not to get carried away with student loan debt and take college seriously. It is not meant to be about drinking and partying in excess. Don't waste your time in college by goofing off and drinking and partying to excess, especially so if you want to get into competitive fields like nursing, med school or pharmacy as GPA's play a major role in getting into these programs and in professional masters degree programs as well. There is a lot of competition and the schools want to know you are serious and hardworking. So do your best, get extra help if you need it.

If you are taking a math class you can get a supplemental "solutions" book on amazon if your college doesn't offer it. It's not cheating, but it will open your eyes to how to arrive at the correct answer. Otherwise you could be literally wasting hours and still not get the right answer or know how to do so, which could demoralize you and lower your GPA and discourage you from pursuing your dreams.

When I made the decision to go into nursing I found a private school with a two year program and took out student loans at that time. I'm still paying those off because I put them in deferment and forbearance a lot when I was out of school.

If you have the option consider living at home to save money. I had a strained relationship with my parents so lived on my own most of the time when I was young. My brother who got along well with my parents didn't move right away which allowed him to get his retirement and savings built up so he is in a much better financial state and has more flexibility than I do.

Take personal finance classes no matter what. Consider taking some business classes as well to help market yourself for a job and to help you start a small business perhaps for some added income.

Think of college as a lifelong investment and take fun and serious classes, just keep the student loans down, that why you'll have financial freedom and flexibility and you won't have regrets that student loans have made you into an indentured servant! If you are planning on getting into med school, law school or pharmacy keeping your bachelor's debt down will make it much more manageable for the loans you will have to take out then, because these programs are usually too intense to work part-time.

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I'm kind of in a similar situation although I haven't applied to nursing school yet - the reason being that I can't even pass the high school math prerequisite! I took a preprofessional year of university to have better chance of getting into the nursing program while also working on the math course - I failed the math exam twice and now I have to take two math courses next year, which will take about 5 to 6 months and I don't even know if I'll pass them. I fear that once I do pass math and apply to nursing, I will be waitlisted, denied, whatever. I'll be 24 in a couple of months and don't really have a great work history - I don't have a lot of options and not much else really interests me but some other programs I have considered are diagnostic sonography, radiologic technology, magnetic resonance imaging, and medical laboratory technology.

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My advice to you which someone once gave me was never give up on your dream.... no matter how long it takes you to get there. In the end you will be doing something you enjoy and it will all pay off. In the end.

If you work hard enough, you can accomplish anything. But if you don't want to dedicate that many years to trying to get into a program, there are tons of programs that are in the medical field like the radiology technician that you mentioned which could have less admission requirements.

Good luck to you with everything you decide to do!

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My relationship with my parents are not the best right now. They helped support me financially and are tired of it because it hasn't gotten me anywhere. Im pretty sure that if I apply one more time and don't get accepted, they will no longer be supportive of my goal to pursue nursing. And I cannot afford to chase this dream on my own because I don't have the skills to find a better job to fund it. My school changed the admissions requirements and nursing applicants have to take the TEAS test and I have anxiety about it, mostly because of the math portion, it's timed and we can't even use a calculator. Oh and word math which I suck at. :down: If I don't pass the TEAS, then I will consider Radiology Tech, and see where that leads me...hopefully a job. :) I need to do something because I cannot spend my life in college going around in circles, and putting things on hold. :crying2: It's really heartbreaking because I passed all of my classes with good grades, and I'm still no closer to my dream than I was a two years ago..it doesn't make sense. It's so competitive with nursing that even if you do everything right, you still can get denied acceptance.

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Well healthcare is a dicey field in general right now. I'd get a bachelors in something else (as I've said many times) and then test the waters again in a few years. You can interview for so many more positions with something non healthcare.

I found out from my dental hygienist that none of the new crop of hygienists from my school got jobs or interviews. It used to be that everybody did. Same with nursing.

Hard to keep shelling out money, you are right in reassessing things. I just hope you didn't quit a job/career in order to do this. If you are still working, focus on that primarily for now.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Surgical ICU.

Do not give up. I was where you were several years ago. I was all set to change majors to finance when 2 acceptance letters came for nursing school. It just may not be the right time and God has something in store for you.

If nursing is where your heart is DO NOT GIVE UP!!! Best of luck.

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Specializes in medical surgical.

Nursing is not the lucrative field that it once was. I know everybody says not to get into it for the money but I do not think one should take a vow of poverty either. The local hospital here is paying 18/hour for a new grad position if you can get one. The nurses that have been there for 3 years are earning a few cents more. One cannot pay off student loans with those wages and expect to eat. I would go for the cheapest school first and get the ADN. Get the Bachelor degree later and on someone else's dime!

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Specializes in pediatrics, public health.
Each school wants slightly different pre reqs in their curriculum so Im pretty much forced to put all my eggs in one basket. Going to another school to take additonal classes for a few more semesters is not affordable right now. And its competitive and no guarantee that I'd even get in after I do all of that. trying to get into nursing has far too many obstacles

It's really cheap to take classes at a community college, so you can get your "slightly different" prereqs covered cheaply. You can do it part time while also working. I covered the prereqs for several nursing schools this way, and was able to apply to 3 or 4 schools, one of which accepted me (if I hadn't gotten accepted at any, I would have taken a few more classes to fulfill the prereq list at a few more schools).

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