HELP! I don't want to be a nurse! :0

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Hello, nurses!

I recently graduated with BSN and passed NCLEX in June.

After getting my license, I travelled many different countries for 4 months and now I am back home in the US. I know it was not the best time for me to do that as a new grad nurse, but it was the only time that I COULD do it.

To tell you guys briefly about myself..

I was a chem major when I was a freshman.. then switched to biology in my sophomore year. Then I got into the nursing program because I thought I couldn't really do anything with just a biology degree so I might as well be a nurse and make some money. also a lot of my friends who were also bio majors applied for the program so I did too because I wanted to stay with them (stupid I know)

so can you say that I am not really interested in being a nurse?

I actually graduated with a 3.8 GPA and got great reviews from instructors and my preceptor and I know I did well.

but it is just not my calling.

I want to be a writer! I want to be an interpreter! I want to be a teacher!

not a nurse!!

I just turned 23 this month and I know I am young. I have a great family who support me unconditionally and I have enough money to support myself for months even if I don't work as a nurse.

fellow nurses! what do you think? did I make a stupid decision of being a nurse when I knew it was not my calling? should I find a job where I WANT to work at, or where I SHOULD work at? I don't want to think that I wasted 4 years of my life but I know I did... I always wanted to quit the nursing program so bad but I never had the courage to do so.

I don't know anymore.. :(

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You have the answer to your question within your post. Read it again, look within you. By your words I can easily tell you will be miserable being a nurse, because of a very simple reason; you don't want to be a nurse.

Wishing you the best

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I think if you do not want to be a nurse, you SHOULD NOT be a nurse. You are only 23. Go back to school and find yourself.

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maybe you don't want to be a floor nurse, but how can you use this degree to enhance your other interests? I would say not to throw the degree to the wayside but to see how you can use it to your best interest. Nursing has many avenues

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God knows there is a crying need to have nurses who are decent writers. Think about getting a little hospital experience you can parlay into a tech writing job, working for a pharmaceutical or biotech company (they love nurses), or working for a nursing journal (they do it remotely for the most part).

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

To all the "I'm not sure I want to be a nurse either' readers of this post:

If it's not for you, admit it and move along. Don't deny a spot in a competitive program to someone who DOES want to be a nurse. I find that incredibly selfish- not to mention expensive.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Agree with PPs - life is waaaay too short to deliberately make yourself miserable.

You're young, obviously smart and independent. Pursue your dreams Hon.

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What kind of "help" do you think you need? If you don't want to be a nurse, don't be one. No one is going to force you to. You might want to keep your license active while you see how the whole writer/interpreter/teacher thing works out for you, though.

Whatever you decide, best wishes for your journey! :balloons:

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You can interpret as a nurse, teach, and write. Nursing has many different avenues. Good luck!

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Specializes in Forensic Psychiatry.

Firstly, no degree is a waste. I have like 2 and 1/2 of them and don't regret one class of my education. It was so, so, so worth it - even the classes I have no use for in my career. All knowledge is valuable.

Secondly, you're super young. If you don't want to be a nurse, you don't have to be a nurse. Just because you're an RN doesn't mean there is a rule that you have to work as an RN. There is no fault in that. It's a bit sad that you might have taken the spot in the nursing program of someone that does really want to be a nurse - but you can't really be blamed for that. A lot of people don't really know what they want to do career wise right away. Many times it's a good deal of trial and error.

Thirdly, sometimes a career is something you do to fund your life, and sometimes a career is your life. Neither one is the right way to do it - merely it is a preference. I love being a nurse but I also like to write, travel, spend time with my dogs, run ect. I'd say my life is divided 75% career and furthering that career (keeping up to date on policies, reviewing procedures and conditions I don't do or see often in psych, and working) and 25% hobbies (writing, traveling, doing whatever to relax). My partner on the other half is 25% career 75% hobbies. He likes his work, but he is a lot happier when he is at home playing his cello, doing photography, working out, and shooting his bow. That makes him happy. My nursing mentor was 90% career and 10% hobbies - he is possibly the best nurse and teacher I have ever had the pleasure to work with.

The point of this last part is this: sometimes working a job that you like, but aren't in love with as a way to fund the things you do love (writing, traveling, learning languages ect), is better than trying to make the things you love a job. Just something to think about.

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