Hating Nursing School - Don't know what to do

[nicolie1125]

For the past few years I have been trying and trying to get into a nursing program. Well finally I am in a ADN program and I hate it. I have hated every minute of it. I honestly believe that a big part of it is the school itself. They are trying to expand and doing a crappy job of it. None of the teachers really know what they are doing.. and it's miserable. I am doing quite well grade wise though. I have one of the highest grades in my class. But still it just hasn't clicked with me. I cry every night before clinicals, after.. I'm so terribly miserable after one semester. And it has nothing to do with the work load. I'm fine with that. THere is just this feeling that I have deep down that I hate it and I'm afraid that it's not going to change. So I've been debating if I should even continue onto the next semester or not?

I don't want to put more time money and effort into something that I hate. What if I hate it when I get out? I dunno what to do.. Any advice would be great.

[Mariposa88]

i think you can sometimes get the school blues or feeling burnt out, but if nursing is what you want to do then DO IT, STICK WITH IT. Maybe post something in one of the forums that people who are already nurses post at and ask them if anyone else has felt that way and was it worth it to stick through it...

[LeesaRN]

I feel you should give you it one more semester. The further you go the more challenging it becomes. Like a previous poster said you are doing tech work in the first semester and to some it is boring. It me not having medical experience it was challenging, and It makes me really appreciate what techs do. I have had some types of feelings like yours, this being my second career and while working full time and going to night school to get accepted into this program was in itself a challenge and the first few semesters where somewhat easy.As you move into more expanded duties and learn to prioritize treatment it becomes more challenging. Follow you heart, and I sure you will make the right decision for you. Hey getting into nursing school isn't easy and you should be proud of yourself for that if nothing else.

[mastigirl]

Hi Nicolie,

I'm new here so I'm not sure if this considered heresy, but have you ever considered medical school? I don't know exactly what the source of your feeling is but you mentioned being more drawn to the technical stuff. I have friends who have gone both routes. Or maybe lab research? Not sure what your background is. It sounds like you are pretty miserable. Maybe just taking some time off of school would help you get perspective and help figure out if it was school or if it was nursing. Good luck!

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

Nursing school has a high dropout rate precisely because people realize they didn't know what they were getting into. The reality may not match your expectations, which => disappointment/disillusionment.

We can't tell you what to do. If you "hate" it, quit doing it and find something you like. If you dislike where you're at, change it. Not many people "enjoy" nursing school.. if you want to be a nurse but just don't like school, stick it out. What's 2 years out of your life?

[lovehospital]

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I dislike school and waking up at 4:30 in the morning to go to clinicals and not sleeping or having a life. I cry after almost every clinical rotation. Because I'm exhausted, I smell like feces, and I'm aggravated. Sound remotely familiar?

Stay in school. It is not about dreams of a great career and, at this time, it is not about helping people and being a beacon of light. That is an added bonus. The truth of the matter is, economic times are tough and its only going to get worse. With upwards of 2 million Americans out of jobs at the moment, you need to cling to this opportunity. Nursing will fare relatively well in the coming economic depression. And having a job will be far better than starving or losing your home.

If I had my way, nursing would be the last thing I would want to do. I have a bachelors in accounting and nursing is far more promising as far as pay, hours, and benefits.

It is a dirty job and a hard job. You are in the working class. The smartest thing for you to do is find the career that gives you the most money for the least amount of time...and you have found it. Stick through it. You have the support of other nurses, this forum, and hopefully, your family.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you...there are other decent paying jobs and she shouldnt be forcing herself to the life long career if she truly decides or realizes that she is unhappy ...there are other medical professions like ultrasonography,nuclear medicine,respiratory technician..for which training is relatively short or the same as for nursing degree.And I'm suprised about your statement that nursing pay well for the least amount of time?Say what?:uhoh21:Maybe you are reffering to 3 "12 but first try it and then you will realize how exhausting such long shifts can be,I can almost guarantee you then by the end of the third shift you will be a wreck and all you will think of is to catch on your sleep...bottom line is you want to make money in nursing then you have to work your ass off taking overtime etc...It sounds like your heart is not in nursing and hopefully you wont burn out too quick...I mean I would never follow nursing path if I didnt like anything about it...

[nursing*student777]

This is my first post to this board, since I'm a new member! Your post caught my eye. I, too, just finished my first semester of nursing school (working on an ADN). And though it was not a walk in the park, I do enjoy it. (The biggest problem I have with the program is that the tests have nothing to do with the book or anything we go over in class). I have always believed that if you have to think twice about something, then that's just your gut instinct telling you that you should not do it.

Although it's a decision only you can make, I don't think you should do something you hate. I would recommend examining what you do like and weighing your options from there. Also, you may want to check out personality tests like Meyers-Briggs, which suggest careers that fit your personality, skills, and interests.

[gcupid]

Just hang in there... You finally was accepted and do you know how many people wish they were accepted but instead God (fate, luck, destiny) chose you.

We would be in an extreme shortage of nurses if everyone who hated nursing school decided to quit.

I have yet to meet one person out of the whole school of nursing that I attend who loves clinicals. We (the students) just put up with it because we have no choice.

I would rather go to work and do a 12hr shift than go to clinicals for 8hrs at the same hospital. I hate having to go to my instructor q time I give a med or etc.

I think it is a phase, but then again nursing school is a weeding out process. If you are doing fine grade wise and skills-wise hang in there.

[marie-francoise]

You sound like me. I, too, hate nursing school. The book stuff is not hard - it's the clinicals I absolutely abhor. I don't know if it's that I actually hate nursing, or the atmosphere of the hospitals, or what. Or being subservient to even the most disgusting people (and I'm not talking about poop).

But I'm seriously doubting whether nursing is for me, or for most people, even. I'm learning so much from nursing school, though. BUT, the biggest lesson I've learned is that I think I really hate nursing. And this is just based on clinicals, which make me so miserable I could cry. Almost cried during one of them. And crying in public because I'm miserable is NOT one of my life's intentions!

Even in a bad economy, I would NOT render myself miserable by pursuing a job that I dread every day and that would throw me into abject misery.

[polka-dot, RN]

If I had my way, nursing would be the last thing I would want to do.

No offense, but I hope you are never my nurse.

[marie-francoise]

I think a lot of hatred of nursing is a LEARNED hatred. I think many, many enroll in nursing school with an honest desire to be a nurse; but it is only through immersion in a nursing role that one learns about the downsides of it. If we relied on all nurses having a "calling" or loving what they do, then we would be in for a heck of a nursing shortage indeed.

I am very understanding of those who enter nursing school with high hopes, but learn to hate the very field they are studying for. Again, it may be how the nursing profession has deteriorated under managed care, hospital-as-biz, etc. It may be how patients are sicker, more demanding, and require ever more complex treatment. It may be that patient loads are getting too high, and charting requirements ridiculous, and non-bedside people making the big decisions. It may be the very nature of the job - e.g., being subservient to strangers constantly (it's not natural, in my book).

I am very sympathetic to those who come to know that nursing is not for them, and do not blame them at all for their honesty in telling us this.

[polka-dot, RN]

I just don't think anyone should do a job they hate...life is short. If someone really hates nursing, they should find something else to do. To subject oneself to a lifetime of misery shows a lack of regard for one's own personal fulfillment and emotional well-being. This is precisely why I left my previous career. I suppose the first step to finding happiness is to know what you don't want to do and looking elsewhere. I just know I wouldn't want someone taking care of me in my most intimate, vulnerable moments to be hating every minute of it.

[staeces]

It is my understanding that nursing school is just a big giant hoop we have to jump through to get to become a nurse. I am also told that whatever you don't end up learning in clinicals, you will once you get your first job. I am amazed at how limited in teaching ability and sometimes even nursing knowledge my instructors seem to show. It is sort of hard to respect them and not get so irritated at the idiotness of it all.....I have just finished my first semester of a BSN program.....

I want to be a nurse and I want to help humanity. I have no expectations of being anybody's hero and I expect to be treated badly by patients, older nurses and physicians once I get out.....

The reality in life is this: Life isn't fair and some people just have to carry the burdens of the weak and stupid. We nurses carry those burdens and unfortunately we get some good practice with such stupidity even in nursing school.