Help? I regret this career choice?

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I really regret choosing nursing and lately idk what it is but I have been having breakdowns dreading the brutal schedule I'm going to have as a new nurse if I ever find a job. I'm going to have no social life or time for myself. I know this profession is a bit about being selfless but I really don't want to play a martyr. I know the deal in the hospital is weekends and holidays but after much thinking this isn't something I want to give up either. Please no "well uh why didn't you realize this in nursing school?" truthfully then I had a passion for it and probably didn't think too much on how big of a sacrifice it was going to be. Is there ANYTHING else I can possibly do in the healthcare field that would accept me when I get my bachelor's in nursing? Or is there any bachelor's program I can look (allied health) into that will accept most of my science credits & I could finish it relatively soon and leave this horrible profession behind? Or just any program in general that you could recommend cause I have no idea what I want to do, I was even thinking turning to finance or marketing but that is going to take me another 3-4 yrs to complete.

Specializes in Critical Care, Medical/Surgical.

If you don't want to work weekends, then don't work weekends. If you don't want to work holidays, then don't work holidays. If you think working only three days a week and having four other days completely to yourself is not having a social life, then that is your personal view. If you are scared by the horrors and hardships of nursing, I promise you nobody ever becomes successful in any profession or at any job without going through any hardship. You might as well sit in your home everyday and eat from your parents' or spouse's salary because you are too scared to be an adult.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
I find it unfortunate too, but it is what it is. And, you are very right - to each their own, I don't enjoy working when everyone has their 2 days off and being off when everyone else is busy, I mean I really don't care if the grocery store will be less crowded or not - every other person I know is going to have the complete opposite schedule as mine.

EVERY other person you know will have the COMPLETE OPPOSITE schedule?

Really?

I find that a bit hard to believe.

Once you start a new job, you'll then know many people with a schedule like yours.

Unhappy people tend to complain more online about their lives. If you wish to let your life's course be determined by dysphoric, anonymous strangers, so be it.

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So you've stated that you "Can't find a job" and then also stated that "I hope there are things I can apply for once I've obtained my BSN." Answers will vary depending on whether you are a student or not. So, have you passed the NCLEX? Answer that first.

Secondly, if you haven't and you've already decided that you're going to hate nursing, and you're only seeing the negative side of things, then change your major. Why bother with the stress of nursing school if you have already decided that you're going to hate it?

Yes, I've passed my NCLEX. If you read the paragraph you would have seen that I unfortunately came to this realization AFTER nursing school.

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Wow. OK. Please disregard my previous post, which I wrote in response to someone I thought just needed a pep-talk and some encouragement. I see that I missed the mark on that one. My revised advice is run, don't walk, away from that BSN program. This "sucky profession" does not want, or need, another rotten apple (an apple that has started to rot before it even fell from the tree, no less).

That comment you're quoting was not in response to yours.

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Specializes in CVICU.

Nursing isn't a 'horrible profession', and it isn't the problem. Your issues with nursing are minimal compared to what you might actually take issue with once you starting working as a nurse. Nurses who work in clinics or doctor offices tend to work a 9-5 M-F no weekends/holidays schedule, but these places (especially doctor offices) tend to require experience and pay significantly less than hospitals do.

No one can tell you what you should do, and you obviously don't know. What you should do is continue on the path you are on until you have a solid plan as to what you want to do. There's no point in quitting now unless you're absolutely sure you would not use your nursing degree. For what it's worth, if you have your bachelor's in nursing, you're eligible to sit for the NCLEX. There are no non-nursing positions that you can work in as an allied health professional with just a nursing degree.

Having to work weekends/holidays does not make you a 'martyr', it makes you a member of the healthcare industry. People can get sick at any time on any day of the year. You said yourself you knew this would be expected of you, so if it's such a big deal, why didn't you consider that before pursing nursing? It sounds to me like you chose nursing without really thinking it through.

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It sounds to me like you chose nursing without really thinking it through.

You're completely on the mark, even mentioned it in the paragraph lol.

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If you don't want to work weekends, then don't work weekends. If you don't want to work holidays, then don't work holidays. If you think working only three days a week and having four other days completely to yourself is not having a social life, then that is your personal view. If you are scared by the horrors and hardships of nursing, I promise you nobody ever becomes successful in any profession or at any job without going through any hardship. You might as well sit in your home everyday and eat from your parents' or spouse's salary because you are too scared to be an adult.

Notice how I was wondering if there was any suggestions in what other field to work in with a BSN degree, not to not work at all. Maybe before you go on and throw a condescending rant at me on how I don't want to be an adult, you might want to take a look at what the question entails (just a thought, you know). If this is the attitude fellow nurses display to each other, without considering what I asked to begin with, allow me to thank you for adding another reason for avoiding a job in this field like the plague. I do apologize that you feel my aversion to this profession is avoidance of responsibilities, I hope never in your life you have to go through what it feels like realizing you worked your ass off to get to somewhere and then decide you've made a mistake - I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

Actually, your post is unclear as you repeatedly mention "when I complete my BSN" (response to #1 & 14)

Only when I searched your other posts did I learn that you are an ADN grad who became an RN on December 1 after multiple NCLEX attempts.

A new ADN still looking for a position after 2 months in a large city, is not unusual.

BTW, if you go on any interviews and stick up your nose at working an off shift or weekends, that will usually kill your chances for an offer, even if it's a nice 8-5, M-F job that they're offering. Inflexible candidates don't get offers.

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Tool around in the Nursing Specialties to see what you can aspire to when you grow up and have some experience. I haven't worked weekends, holidays, or nights for years. Yes, I earned it. And if I hadn't learned what I learned doing it I wouldn't have the value I have now. You, OTOH, have a long way to go.

I agree with several of the above posters. Grow up or decide to live off a partner or parents. Get your story straight. Don't do anything you don't like, ever, and see how well that works out for you.

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Actually, your post is unclear as you repeatedly mention "when I complete my BSN" (response to #1 & 14)

Only when I searched your other posts did I learn that you are an ADN grad who became an RN on December 1 after multiple NCLEX attempts.

A new ADN still looking for a position after 2 months in a large city, is not unusual.

BTW, if you go on any interviews and stick up your nose at working an off shift or weekends, that will usually kill your chances for an offer, even if it's a nice 8-5, M-F job that they're offering. Inflexible candidates don't get offers.

You're assuming a lot of things and creating a whole bunch of fallacies towards my case. ALL professions end up working or bringing home work on the weekends, it's a fact of life. I'm not crying over the fact that I'm going to have to work weekends, but I am opposed to every other weekend - and if people here chose to take issue with it, then so be it, at the end of the day: it's not their life. I wouldn't turn my nose to a job that would say "if we had to call you in a weekend to work, would you be opposed?" - so that's another assumption made. At this point I'm in a mess and am wondering what else I may do with a nursing background or a BSN so as to not waste the education. That's all I'm asking, and it's getting twisted into this huge deal.

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The most I've heard about using a BSN with out work as an RN is research or right grants. It may be helpful to call a nurse recruiter at a hospital and ask for jobs that are non-nursing but need some form of higher education. Or goggle it

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The most I've heard about using a BSN with out work as an RN is research or right grants. It may be helpful to call a nurse recruiter at a hospital and ask for jobs that are non-nursing but need some form of higher education. Or goggle it

Thank you, I'll look into it.

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