Second career nurses

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Wondering if I could hear from people who began nursing as a second career. Was it what you expected? Are you happy/satisfied with the decision you made? Would you have done anything differently? From reading these threads, it seems there are a few of us out there who are considering nursing after being in a different field...your input would be valuable...

lkh

My youngest daughter and I were freshmen together. Became an RN at 54. graduating with honors. Helping others is very rewarding to me.

Other careers.. stenograher, hairdresser, buyer for store, owner Mini-mart and restaurant, escrow analyst, sales manager/sales trainer, manager imports store. Now have my own private duty nursing business (no boss, no employees). I also help my neighbors for free, diabetic foot, MS, cancer. I find this rewarding too.

It is hard work going to nursing school. Studying will be your life. I visited people in nursing homes, even bought a dog for a lady that missed her dog. Also, was a hospice volunteer.

Hi Kook,

I have Bachelor's Degrees in English and Biochemistry. Nursing school was certainly demanding, but I think that if you got through a major science degree, that you won't find the material of nursing that difficult. The hours are another thing. After all of my undergrad ed, I managed to get through nursing school in 15 months full time, but this meant hundreds of pages of reading each week, plus exhausting clinical hours. Again, it was not all that intellectually challenging, but it was hard nonetheless.

The work is pretty demanding too, but very rewarding. Yesterday a patient and family were telling me how much they like me -- and this and this was a family that complained about me early on. Better than money. And a three year old, to whom I have caused physical pain on a daily basis for weeks, told me that she loved me.

Meanwhiile, the work itself is pretty challenging intellectually, as you must constantly be re-prioritizing a large number of factors, and alert for changes and their possible effects downstream. This latter factor would appeal to the mind of an engineer, I'm sure.

Good luck. I think we need people like you in nursing. You have the mind for it, and you understand the heart of it.

Thanks for all the responses! I currently work in hotel sales and have a B.A. in English, 34 years old, single, no kids. For some reason I keep thinking about nursing as a career - it's like an itch that won't go away! I never considered it growing up, but I'm tired of working in an office, tired of sales, tired of doing something I don't love and doesn't have any real meaning in the world. I've always loved reading anything about medicine, which I know doesn't really mean anything, but, like I said, I just can't stop thinking about it...

I'm thinking about an accelerated BSN program for second degree students - does anyone know if they are hard to get into? And does it matter where you get your degree - do you have more job opportunities if you go to a "good" school - or does it not matter? How do I find out what schools have good reputations?

Again - thanks for all responses....

lkh

IKH,

If you have an itch, scratch it. It doesn't matter where you get your RN degree. There is a nursing shortage and a job will be easy to find. Take an anatomy and phyisiology course after work. It counts towards your degree and the knowledge is great to have even if you decide not to pursue nursing.

Hotelgirl and eveyone else - -thanks for asking question and all the responses. I am thinking of nursing as a second career and it is nice to read all your responses.

Wanted to go into nursing for 10 years (then divorced the guy who kept saying "NO"...not that that was the reason...). I graduated at 42 and yes, it was worth it!

My first degree was in French & Spanish, science minor. Had a couple of different jobs, worked in advertising and taught middle school, neither quite what I wanted to be doing.

I checked into an accelerated degree program when I knew I would go back to school, but it didn't work as well for me at the time as the ADN program (most of my hours didn't translate well...it would have meant much more school than the ADN program...somehow they wouldn't accept zoology, physics, and astronomy for physiology, chemistry, and anatomy, can't think why :)). It was not hard to get accepted into an accelerated program in Kansas -- they actually accepted me quicker than the ADN program; depends on the schools in your area.

I have a BA and MS, but decided to make a career change to nursing.

I am taking the ADN route because getting a BSN at the state university would require semesters of Texas history and Texas government. I want to learn about nursing, not how the Alamo fell!

The worst part was having to take College Algebra even though I aced my Master's level statistics class. I comp'd out of algebra as an undergrad, but the community college insisted I had to take it.

I have found the community college to be very inflexible, even if their rules do not make sense for the individual in question. Perhaps I am just getting older and ridiculous rules that don't make sense annoy me more than they did when I was 21.

I agree with the poster above who said the course work is difficult but not impossible. The biggest issue is the amount of reading you have to do every week. If you fall behind, it is very hard to catch up.

I think with the nursing shortage, the field is very open to second career nurses. I guess I will know for sure once I graduate!

Great thread, and love reading the answers.

I had lots of different jobs...worked in a savings and loan office (HATED that), waitressed, worked in a factory (hated the work but the pay was wonderful), and after I had kids, I stayed home for 14 years. Why nursing? I had worked as a young adult as a phlebotomist/ECG tech and LOVED hospitals, and worked a short time in a pediatrician's office. After the 14 years at home, I went to work part-time as an ophthalmology tech for 6 years. Medicine in some form just always interested me.

Became an RN at age 46. School was very stressful and difficult, but FUN. Did an ADN program and graduated in 2 years. Took Nursing courses at the same time as my A & P classes....whew, omly crazy people do this!!! I have NEVER regretted my choice! I now am getting ready to take classes to complete a BSN.

I like the variety that nursing affords me. I like the idea that I am making a difference in the world. I feel that this is a calling as much or maybe more than just a "job". The pay is not bad (could be better, of course) but that is all dependant upon where you live, what you do with your degree. Agency nurses tend to make a lot more, if you like that option. And you will certainly always be able to find a job.

+ Add a Comment