Police officer or RN

Nurses General Nursing

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hi everyone, i have a question;

my son wants to be a police officer because he wants to aprehend the "bad guys", but i believe that he should become an rn to learn compassion and emphaty.... am i wrong?

Let him be whatever he wants to be. Just be supportive. As long as he does something productive with his life, then he'll be fine. My parents never told me to be this or that, they just told me they didn't care, as long as I was happy, and that they would pay for my school. And that meant alot more to me. Besides, he'll learn compassion and empathy on his own, as he gets older and matures in life.

Best of luck to your son!!!!

Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

I don't think choosing a profession based on what you can learn is a good reason to go into it. A person should choose the profession they want to go in to, other wise they won't be happy. I also think you have to have compassion and empathy it isn't learned it is either there or not. I know nurses that have niether.

Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice.

Don't make this decision for him, let him make it on his own. At 18, I was told I could not be a LPN because "In 10 years LPN's will be nonexistent, you must go to college." Hated every stinking minute of those 4 years, and wasted 30K for a totally useless degree. Fast forward 25 years and where am I? In the LPN program that I should have taken when I was 18 and where I could have gone on to join the Navy. If you make this decision for him, he will resent you for it. I was resentful of my parents forcing me to go to college for years.

I originally thought this was your OWN debate about what career to choose, but this is your son's life, not yours. For God's sake, let him choose his own career without interfering. It really isn't any of your business (and yes, I have a child that will soon be making this decision, so I do know what I'm talking about).

Anyway, I had this dilemma personally. I actually took the test to become a police officer and I would have been seated in the second class of officers they took that year, but between the time I took the test and the time I received the letter of acceptance, I decided that I no longer wanted to become an officer and that I was finally going to pursue my lifelong goal of working with people in a medical setting.

I am excited about my choice and it wasn't difficult at all to turn down the acceptance letter but I assume that it would be for your son. Don't try to make this decision for him. It really would strain your relationship....you'll cut the apron strings a bit if you're smart. Try to back him up as a good friend would if he's old enough to become a police officer :)

Good luck!

Shanyone

Specializes in Brain injury,vent,peds ,geriatrics,home.

I would try to talk him out of being a police officer.My friend is a deputy sargent with the sherrifs dept. He tells us Horror stories.Some of the stories hes told are extremely gruesome.And not to mention extremely dangerous.Last summer a police officer was killed in our neighborhood just trying to issue a warrent.I think Id try to persuade him to be a nurse.

It's not your decision what he wants to be, it's his. One does not become a nurse to learn compassion and empathy, but because one wants to become a nurse. Your job as his mother is not to choose what you think he should be, but to support him in whatever he chooses to be. If he wants to be a door to door salesman, support him in being the best one he can be.

Specializes in Geriatrics/Family Practice.

My opinion-I have two sons who are 7 and 9 years old, and I'm a nurse and my husband is a police officer. I have to say that when my children mention being a cop, my heart sinks. I love my husband doing what he enjoys, but my heart breaks when he gets hurt or I hear of something bad happening on the department. So I have to say that I do try and detour my boys from wanting to be police officers. It is a honorable career but from a wife of a cop and a mother of boys who want to be cops, I would kindly push for being a nurse. I know your suppost to let them make their own choice, but you can hint around for the other direction. Also, I do know a police officer who was a nurse and then after doing it for a while decided he wanted to be a cop and did. He is a total asset to the department. Good luck with whatever he chooses, but I do feel for you.

Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

I was a police officer for 23 years before I retired and went to nursing school, and for many different reasons, the jobs are more similar than you might think.

Being a cop is far more than just getting the bad guys. You often see people at the worst moments of their lives and believe it or not, you do learn compassion and empathy. Although many people think that cops are just out to get them, they do a lot of things to help people that are often overlooked in the big scheme of things. Trust me when I say that some of my best days as a cop were those in which I was able to have a positive influence on someone or help them in some way.

But the bottom line is, as many others have pointed out, that the decision ultimately belongs to your son. If he decides to go into law enforcement with the idea that all he will be doing is getting the bad guys he won't get very far. By the same token, compassion and empathy are things that have to be learned, and pushing him to be nurse will not automatically instill these traits in him.

If it were my son, I take a step back and let him make his own decision, that's the only way he will learn.

You might encourage your son to get some aptitude testing. This is sometimes available at community colleges. If it isn't, they might be able to make a referral.

Aptitude testing usually involves a group of tests, including those that focus on inate skills, personality type, learning style, task preference, and career investigation. This could be a valuable tool in helping your son find his niche. I have learned that it's much less aggravating to fit the job to yourself rather than the other way around. Eagles can walk, but they'd much rather fly.

I wish you and your son well.

Hi CYB!

If your son is still under 18, check with the local police dept and see if they have an explorer program. In such a program the young people ride along with an officer but that is not all. They also work shifts in communications, corrections, crime lab, property room, detective section, and other interesting places. They are in a volunteer status, but they wear a uniform so they fit in and feel like one of the troops.

If your local agency has a citizens police academy, you may be interested in going to that. It will give you a lot of information as to what goes on in law enforcement. If your son becomes a police officer, you will have a good understanding about what he really does. There is more to being a police officer than just chasing bad guys.

If you want him to learn empathy and compassion, he can learn it in either career. With either choice, you have to have a genuine desire to help others. Police work certainly has it's share of dangers, but I have seen nurses get hurt on the job too. Each career has it's own rewards.

I started nursing school right out of high school (but after pre-reqs) and then dropped out and became a police officer. This September will make 30 years in this business. I will go back to nursing school once I have had enough of law enforcement. I have known several officers who once were nurses and vice versa, and I know lots of officers and nurses who are married. Like minded fields I guess.

Please let your son make his own career choice and it will probably be the right choice whatever he decides.

Good Luck

Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

Am i nuts, I don't think you can LEARN EMOTIONS it is either in you or not. Compassion and empathy are not learned. And you don't go into a profession to learn those emotions.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
i believe that he should become an rn to learn compassion and emphaty.... am i wrong?
i believe most people already had some compassion and empathy before becoming rns. becoming a nurse will not help someone learn compassion and empathy, as i have worked with numerous rns who totally lack the warmth, compassion, and empathy when dealing with their patients.

my mother wanted me to become an attorney because it was prestigious, carried a certain amount of power, and paid extremely well. i generally don't enjoy public speaking, bringing attention to myself, or dressing professionally, so being a lawyer wouldn't have been a good fit for me.

if your son wants to be a police officer, let him be. he'll resent you later on in life for trying to push him onto another path.

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