How to know if nursing is right for you?

metal_m0nk, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2010

I didn't always know that I wanted to be a nurse. However now that I've started my nursing education, I can see that many of my life and educational experiences have prepared me well for nursing. I have no doubt in my mind at this point that I am in the right place, at the right time.

brokenroads27 · Sep 10, 2010

i knew since high school that i wanted to pursue nursing. i knew my whole life i wanted to do something in health care. since i started nursing school, it just feels right. i really think i made the right career decision. even though a lot of what we do does not come naturally to me, a lot of it does, too. it takes practice and patience but im willing to do that. math and science are used a lot but its not the kind of math that you're used too. when we started doing the dosage and calculation problems, it started from the VERY beginning of math, with a review on how to do simple math problems so it eased you into it. that part should be fine for you and you'll get the hang of it. i also do not do that well under stress and i don't make quick decisions very well at all so those are challenges for me. so like you said, ER or OR for that matter, are not specialties i would want to choose. med surg is a little slower. there will be many moments where quick decisions need to be made in any specialty area but you wont be alone, and you'll get used to it. also, for emergency situations there's also a rapid response team so you will almost never be in the room alone when someone in going into cardiac arrest, for example (im talking about when you're a real nurse, not a student). at my school there was an information session about the nursing program and it talked about the career in general, usually that takes place in sept or oct. good luck!!

SingDanceRunLife · Sep 10, 2010

I'm one of those people who just "knew."

I didn't know when I was super young or anything (I decided when I was a junior in high school after knowing for sure I wanted to do something medical/health related since the beginning of high school after a brief period in middle school where I wanted to be a teacher of the deaf)...but I did a lot of research...looked on boards online, talked with people, used my own personal experience etc...and once I did all of that, I decided that nursing was for me. Once I had that in my head, that was that.

I am now in my first year of nursing school (second year of college), and I'm loving it (for the most part)! The classes are much more engaging than the classes I took last year, and they are challenging, but in a good way that requires critical thinking and understanding things rather than just memorization.

Good luck with your decision!

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 10, 2010

A couple of things come immediately to mind based on the OP:

1. Don't think so much in terms of the requirements for school. Think in terms of whether or not the career would satisfy you. For example, do you want to do the type of work that nurses do? How would you feel about working the type of schedules that nurses typically work (inlcluding nights, weekends, holidays, etc.) A lot of people focus so much on the schooling when making their decision that they are not prepared for the realities of the career after graduation.

2. Volunteer in a hospital so that you can work in that environment, see what nurses do, interact with patients, etc.

3. Become a Certified Nursing Assistant (courses are typically 6-8 weeks long) and see how you feel about actually getting your hands dirty and taking care of sick people.

Those things would give you an idea as to whether or not nursing is for you.