I am getting so frustrated:banghead: with taking the same classes over and over. I am a older student with a lot of family responsibility. I am a single mom and have read many single mom motivating stories on this website. Out of the eight children I have, I am finishing raising four more of my eight children, but my daughter has just move back with me and she has two children (single mom also) I am getting so frustrated with all my life. I want a better life, so I have been plugging away at the pre-nursing classes to get into a program by winter 2010, but it doesn't look possible for me. I am currently taking A and P this summer and was just informed by my Professor that I will not be able to get even close to a A or B in the class. I have done terrible on the first two exams and first practical. I have 3 more exams left and the final practical. I am so down right now, because this is the last class I need to get into a program. Also, i am worry about my daughter, she is showing signs of being addicted to pain meds. She has been showing signs of this for about two weeks now. She has two beautiful kids that I help with when she works, but I told her I can only help when she is working, but now she is so far gone sometimes she hasn't been going in to work. I also work at a major hospital in my area and I almost got fired, because I have been calling off to study to get through these summer classes. I don't know what to do. I have to make a better life for us. I really enjoy the Nursing field, but I don't enjoy being a CNA anymore, being my age I want so much more, so I have a plan to go to NP school when I finish the Nursing program. I still have biggggg dream for myself, but I feel that I always have to pick up the pieces for my family. Yes, it was my choice to have children, but i didn't want to be doing this alone. I though I would be married for many years more. Well, I just want to know if there is a sign or something that would tell me maybe Nursing is not the correct pathway. How would I know if I am heading in the right direction? I will have to tell you I have been trying to become a Nurse for many years now. I know many people over the many years that I have been in school that has passed me by. I also have a bigger responsibiltiy trying to get my 22 year old daughter help. Man, life has been throwing me a lot of hard balls. I also found out that the housing units where I live will be destroyed within this next year. I have to get a plan together and get my family relocated, before next summer. I am so stressed out I can scream, but I am blessed that I have my health (sorta). I just want to know from any of you, if I am making a good decision in pursuing my dreams to become a Nurse. I have about a year left in the area in which I live. I can take A and P again and wait out another year and do some other classes or I can take the C grade and run with it. What would you do. I have big dreams. I one day would like to have a house in Italy!! I live there for about five years of my life. I had the rat race and would like to take my family away to live the simple life. I also would like to have a house in California, which this is where I reside now, but I would like to live in Northern California (Sonoma) wine country :wink2:. So whom every response to this post I want to thank you I need all the advice I can get. I need to make some good decisions. Thank you again and have a great day!!
I didn't read your entire post, cause i need to run, but i would like to say something to you as an idea. Since you mentioned you have a family...
First of all, when I was in nursing school in the 90's, all 60 of us in our classes were making FAILING grades on our exams (which tells you that the teachers actually needed to re-think their strategies). I was always an A student, but now I was making D's and C's. ONE little genius in the class, however, would make A's. So the entire class was then rounded up only to low B-C's because of her. If she had not made A's, we would have been rounded up higher. Moral of the story is...A and P is the hardest of your classes. You may be doing fine, if EVERYONE else is also making low grades, or, you may have to take it twice. Not unusual to take it twice.
Having said that....here's what i REALLY want to tell you. If I had to do it all over again, I would go to an Associates Degree Ultrasound program. Some states allow you to just do Ultrasound, while other's make you do two years of Radiology, and then a year of Ultrasound.
Why should you consider this?
Nurses deal with vomit, pee, poop, snot, and spit. Ultrasound techs deal with some "cold gell" on their patient's stomachs..
Nurses work terrible hours, holidays, and on call. Ultrasound techs work M-F, no call, no holidays. Occassionally, some hospitals have weekend ultrasound schedules but it's fairly rare.
Nurses have to see and do terrible things, under the scrutiny of doctors and angry or sad or schizoid patients. Ultrasound techs work ALONE in pretty rooms, with ugly little floral wallpaper, pretty music playing and in the DARK! 90% of what they do is visualizing new fetuses. So the happy parents are crying and....happy. The other 10 % is spontaneously aborted fetuses; cancers, etc....
Nurses, since the world isn't fair, make at least $25,000 less a year than Ultrasound techs....... yep, you heard me right. Where RN's make 50K a year...Ultrasound Techs make 75K. And for basically the same amount of schooling.
So, how does nursing look to you now? What if....you are failing A&P so you could get on this forum and hear about a possibly better option for you and your family????
Thank you for that information. I do need to find something else if Nursing is not going to work out for me. I have always wanted to benefit myself through education. I do love working in the Hospital. I will be looking into other career choices for myself. I think Ultra sound tech sound like something worth looking into to. Thank you so much for your advice. I really appreciate all of the replys. Do you know where I could get more information?
The best info on Ultrasound school would be to look up all the colleges in your area and see what is required for their programs. Be sure to check all, as some may require radiology+ultrasound, while one might offer a quicker degree in Ultrasound.
While looking at them, you can see what other medical related degrees they offer.
Next highest: LPN/ PT Assistants/OT Assistants $18-$20/hr ave
Next highest: RN $22-$29hr ave.
Higher: Ultrasound Tech or Radiology Tech (but radiology is like nursing: 7 days a week, on call, holidays, 3 shifts) $30-$35/hr
Higher: Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist. (these require more schooling, of course)$35-$38/hr
Of course, these salaries can all vary depending on length of experience and location.
My vote for best job conditions + higher pay + only 2-3 years schooling; is still Ultrasound...!
Good luck, and don't get discouraged! Biting the bullet for a couple of years will make your life easier for the rest of your life, as well as your children's lives. Dont give up! And remember, your same classes you already took are going to transfer to Ultrasound or the other medical fields...so you haven't wasted your time! But...you will likely need A&P for most of them, i'm sure. So sooner or later you'll need to pass it.
Interesting comment about the ultrasound. However, how easy is it to get a job in that field?? I know it can be hard in nursing right now, but I only had my license two weeks and landed a nursing job. I have looked for RN jobs in various venues... newspaper, craigslist, etc. and have never seen any listing for ultrasound professionals. It does sounds wonderful, I am just curious about the job market for ultrasound. Seems like it would be slim pickings... even worse then RN positions.
I don't know either.....about the pickings of the ultrasound posistions. But do remember this: nursing cycles every 10 years. It's just a fact of life. For 10 years, there's a shortage, whereas they beg for nurses AND auxiliary people, which results in more people hopping into school. THEN, those new grads graduate and suddenly we're in an overage again. So, guess what happens to nursing when these new "Obama" nurses graduate in two years.....? Big time overage is coming. The bad economy sent people flying into college since they couldnt get jobs. All the nursing schools are currently packed. But would I worry about this? No....there's ways to ensure YOU get employed. The first thing to do is absolutely get a TECH job in a critical care area while you're in school. Once you are "in" and loved by the department, they will absolutely keep you when you take your boards and become an RN. Also, since critical care nurses are in short supply, its really the only specialty you should be looking for right now. I graduated back in 1994 during an overage. 60 nurses in my class. Only 5 of us got jobs...the others took a while. Why did 5 of us get jobs? Because 5 of us were smart enough to be WORKING as techs in different departments, and so our departments kept us once we took our boards... The other students were married and had husbands to support them, and so they got to "devote all their time to their studies" by not working. However, it backfired for them later.
Yes, since there are likely only a few ultrasound techs needed per hospital, there would obviously be fewer jobs available. However, I wouldn't let that stop me. There are jobs to be found at private radiology clinics also. And if you're willing to move....the possibilities really open up.
You mention some good tips. Because of personal reasons, I did not work while in school. I cannot move either as I am married and my husband has a pretty good job. So that is out. I have a job pending with a very good hospital on a med/surg floor and hope to go into cardiac nursing. The hospital I am going to work for has one of the best cardiac programs in the country... so, after my stint in med/surg, I hope to move over to cardiac.
The ultrasound you mentioned peaked my interest. Years ago, I thought about being a cardiac echosonographer. In-fact, I got into a program and later backed out. So radiology and cardiac have always interested me. Who knows, the hospital also has an interventional radiology dept. as well. I believe med/surg will give me a good overview and then I can jump into a speciality from there.
Good luck to you and thanks for sharing your insight!
very interesting information about the ultrasound tech. what i am wondering is how far can you advance in an ultrasound career? with nursing you can get your masters and become an NP but what else can you do with ultrasound? just curious because i may have to reevaluate a few things!
Well, there are different levels in ultrasound... there's an Ultrasound Technologist, and a Chief Ultrasound Technologist (who is a manager of the department), and there is something called an Interventional Radialogical Technologist.
(I just got these job titles from Salary.com....)
It is definitely a "tighter" field.....not as varied as nursing. It's just that money is good and the job environment is good too...conducive to having a life! Nursing is harder, but then some would prefer it. I was reading a college website that said you can get an associates or a bachelors in ultrasound. There's even "Critical Care Ultrasound".....so apparently you possibly could work the ER..... That's a new one to me...hadn't heard of it before...
Original poster- it seems like you have a LOT on your plate right now. I suggest getting your LIFE (personal issues) taken care of FIRST and then worry about school. We all have dreams... mine too was to be a RN and I did it. I went back later in life also... graduated with honors, passed boards first time and landed a RN job two weeks after getting my license. I am blessed. On a realistic note, I will tell you.... RN SCHOOL IS HARD AND TAKES LOTS OF DECICATION AND BRAIN POWER. You must study (be able to focus) and devote your life to it. Simple as that. If you cannot do that at this time, then do not do it. Focus on your life FIRST, then do RN school; as RN school is a life in itself and it will take all of you to succeed. Good luck to you!!!
I disagree.
Who says her life with be better when?
Life deals us complete and utter crap when we least expect it.
YES, the program will take over her life.
YES, it will be intensely stressful.
BUT, the OP cannot stop her life for her adult daughter.
If she chooses to put nursing on hold, then what?
In two years she watches a class (that she could have been part of) graduate... and her life is still chaos. What did she gain by not going?
If she goes through with school, she will have it DONE. That is one major stressor GONE with the benefit of financial reward AND more time.
I have had this same struggle myself.
OP: Please seek support from friends and family. Do you have the option of talking to a counselor through work (Employee Assistance Program)?
SEEK SUPPORT!!!
You sound strong and you need to be.
But sometimes we need HELP, but that doesn't mean we are weak.
Thank you so much for replying to my post and you are so right. I want to give you a little update, my daughter is out of rehab, she is doing so much better. I didn't do to well in my physiology class this summber, but I am ready to move forward again. I thank you for your replying. I can tell that you put your whole heart into your post. I thank you. I will someday be a Nurse. I have many children and many situations, but I have to keep my head high. This next year, I will have to move, because the house that I am living in out will be demolished. I have to keep pushing forward. I know what your saying though!! Life happens, it's what you do with the life you have that will make a difference. Thank you for everything I can tell you are a geniune person.
cindyabernathy
8 Posts
HI,
I didn't read your entire post, cause i need to run, but i would like to say something to you as an idea. Since you mentioned you have a family...
First of all, when I was in nursing school in the 90's, all 60 of us in our classes were making FAILING grades on our exams (which tells you that the teachers actually needed to re-think their strategies). I was always an A student, but now I was making D's and C's. ONE little genius in the class, however, would make A's. So the entire class was then rounded up only to low B-C's because of her. If she had not made A's, we would have been rounded up higher. Moral of the story is...A and P is the hardest of your classes. You may be doing fine, if EVERYONE else is also making low grades, or, you may have to take it twice. Not unusual to take it twice.
Having said that....here's what i REALLY want to tell you. If I had to do it all over again, I would go to an Associates Degree Ultrasound program. Some states allow you to just do Ultrasound, while other's make you do two years of Radiology, and then a year of Ultrasound.
Why should you consider this?
Nurses deal with vomit, pee, poop, snot, and spit. Ultrasound techs deal with some "cold gell" on their patient's stomachs..
Nurses work terrible hours, holidays, and on call. Ultrasound techs work M-F, no call, no holidays. Occassionally, some hospitals have weekend ultrasound schedules but it's fairly rare.
Nurses have to see and do terrible things, under the scrutiny of doctors and angry or sad or schizoid patients. Ultrasound techs work ALONE in pretty rooms, with ugly little floral wallpaper, pretty music playing and in the DARK! 90% of what they do is visualizing new fetuses. So the happy parents are crying and....happy. The other 10 % is spontaneously aborted fetuses; cancers, etc....
Nurses, since the world isn't fair, make at least $25,000 less a year than Ultrasound techs....... yep, you heard me right. Where RN's make 50K a year...Ultrasound Techs make 75K. And for basically the same amount of schooling.
So, how does nursing look to you now? What if....you are failing A&P so you could get on this forum and hear about a possibly better option for you and your family????
just a thought....