How can you tell if nursing is a good fit for you?

can'tdecide · Mar 9, 2011

This is my fear too. I am 41 years old and just starting school this summer. I'm so scared that I am going to take a bunch of classes to get into the nursing progam and then hate it. I decided to sign up for the CNA program. It is an 8 week course at my school. The program will be over by the time summer school starts. If I hate the CNA program I will know nursing is not for me and change my major.

doxiern40 · Mar 9, 2011

That is a really good idea. Then you could work as a CNA while going to school if you have time. I am 36, so close to you in age and it's just such a change of pace from working in the corporate world and there are so many things that I worry about. Currently I volunteer in the ER of our local hospital and some aspects of the job appeal to me and other things, such as the smell of the ER, the waiting room and the patients (so many of them smell like smoke and/or like they haven't bathed in a long time) bother me a little. I just wonder if stuff like that you just get used to or what?

jjjoy, LPN · Mar 9, 2011

Good question to ask. No one definitive answer to give.

My guy reaction is that someone coming from marketing and business, at least someone who didn't hate it and was fairly successful, wouldn't be an automatic fit in nursing, unless they were heading straight to administration. But I'm sure many people have made the change and found it rewarding. So what about you? No ways to find out for sure until you become a nurse, but what can you do get a better idea before investing in schooling?

Ask about volunteering on other units to get broader exposure. I also think nursing assistant or unit secretary work can be helpful. Nursing units can be crazy busy and chaotic in way different from the ED; floors that may *look* quiet often have a lot more going on than meets the eye.

Besides volunteering, have you been able to shadow any nurses for part of their shift? It's not the be-all end-all answer either. Even if you are allowed to shadow, nurses may not have time to explain much of what they're doing and thinking, and all you see is someone run-walking up and down the hall, passing out pills, making phone calls and typing into the computer.

Good luck in your pursuits!

Jack245 · Mar 10, 2011

CNA was a good eye opener for me. I was in a smaller class, there were 7 of us. After the 8 weeks we could definitely tell which of us were more suited for the role and which of us weren't. I'd say sign up for one of those and see how things go. If you're still smiling by the end of it, you might have just found your calling.

doxiern40 · Mar 10, 2011

Good suggestions everyone. What exactly is the role of a CNA and what sort of income can you earn as one?

can'tdecide · Mar 10, 2011

I do not know. I'm thinking it is going to be a lot of running to get the patient things, turning them, helping them to the bathroom, baths. Things the nurses are too busy to do. A lot of work, but will get to watch the nurses and see what excatly their day is like.

In my area (rural Missouri) I have heard the pay is anywhere from min. wage to $12.00 depending on the shift. I have a friend that is on "as needed, nights" and she started out at $12.00. I think days, full time would be a lot less.

doxiern40 · Mar 10, 2011

Hmm, okay. I am just feeling so undecided about this nursing thing. One day I will feel really excited sort of like I have found my calling and then I start having all of these doubts like can I deal with the bodily fluids, or will I be able to do the job well? I am not worried about being able to make it through school, it's sorta like what happens after I finish?

can'tdecide · Mar 10, 2011

I'm so undecided too. Everyone I have talked to has told me they knew from the time they were little that they wanted to be a nurse. I sat down at the computer one day, looking to see what programs my school offered, and picked nursing. (That was just last week). I talked to the school several months ago about enrolling and told them I didn't know what classes to take. They told me I should look at their nursing program. I told them "No Thanks". Still unsure what to do. I'm going to go ahead and take my Pre-req classes for Nursing and go from there.

Unlike you, I know I would make a great nurse, bodily fluids do not bother me. I'm just hoping that I can make it through school.

jjjoy, LPN · Mar 10, 2011

If one already has most of the pre-reqs for nursing (eg from a previous major), a strong GPA, and access to a nursing program that they could likely get into within a year but aren't sure if nursing what they want to do, the opportunity presents a dilemma. In the amount of time it might take to explore the field (shadowing, volunteering, taking a CNA course, working as a CNA), that person might very well have already earned an RN license!

If the nursing program costs aren't astronomical, it's easy to figure might as well just apply for nursing school and give it a go if accepted, even if not sure about nursing.

However, how many qualified people who definitely want to be nurses can't get into programs simply due to lack of space and a 3.2 GPA instead of a 3.6? And if it turns out you don't like it, what then? What do employers think of someone who dropped everything to go nursing school only to later discover it wasn't for them? More importantly, how would you feel about it?

So, what to do if you're not fairly sure about nursing? I'll have to go with a not-so-helpful "it depends." If you don't yet know if nursing is for you, you don't yet know it and nothing but exposure and experience will shed light on it. So you get to determine how you will go about getting relevant exposive and experience. See about working part-time as a CNA while keeping your 'day job'? Apply directly to a nursing program and just jump on in if accepted?

Again, best wishes! Having this kind of dilemma means you are blessed with options!

doxiern40 · Mar 10, 2011

Yes, jjjjoy, that is my situation. I can have my prereqs knocked out by the end of this summer if I want to, and then just start. I guess I'll just keep going and try not to feel pressured to make any decisions right now. I have a little time to figure it out. I'm also very interested in the PA program at our school, but it's a lot more difficult to get into and you need 1400 plus hours of patient experience which I would have to get.

Just curious, if I were to get my CNA, what sort of setting do you guys think a new grad would end up working in? I'm interested in emergency and labor/delivery mostly.

can'tdecide · Mar 10, 2011

Just curious, if I were to get my CNA, what sort of setting do you guys think a new grad would end up working in? I'm interested in emergency and labor/delivery mostly.

I think you could get a job of CNA just about anywhere you wanted. I know a few that work in nursing homes and I have a friend that started working in a hospital as soon as she finished the course. They told me the places around here are begging for CNAs. I talked to a hospital about working for them when I finished the class and the only thing they asked was, "will you show up everyday?"