I am afriad to go to nursing school...

[changes13]

Hello everyone my name is Anthony I am currently 24 years old I have been out of school for 7 years and would really love to be a nurse. I love helping people I am the type of person that will pullover and help someone that needs help or stop and buy a homeless person a meal. I am so passionate about helping people and making people happy before my own happiness. Here is my problem I READ too much junk on the internet and that stops me from going after my dreams. I am afraid that I will spend the next 5-6 years at my school going through nursing and I will never get a job because I hear it is very hard to get a first job as a nurse. I have never posted anything on the internet but I am just so stuck in life and have no direction and am letting all my fears get to me as a child I was diagnosed with ocd so yes I obsess over things and I irrationalize things. I am sorry for the long question but basically this is all very scary to me even being a man at the age of 24 I live with my parents and have a job that is part time and they are very great people and just want me to be successful. I don't want to let down the the people in my life anymore. Can anyone give me any advice that would help me to go after nursing I don't care how long it takes to get a job I am just a worry wart and I am thinking I will get a degree and will never find a job EVER. I have great customer service skills and communication skills and people skills also have a very caring personality if that helps any lol..................Please help me.

[scatterpearl]

I'm in my twenties and living with my parents and had been stuck like this for a long time, really wondering what the heck was going to happen to me. I realized what I wanted for myself, and that I had been letting fear rule my life, as an earlier comment put it. When your parents are supportive like ours are, it can be really hard to start taking scary steps. It's cozy here at home! I am still a pre-nursing student, working on pre-requisites and currently applying to nursing schools, and I have to tell you that just STARTING this path has completely changed me and my outlook. It is scary to think that I might not get into nursing school after the hard work and $$ I have put into it, and yet even if I don't, I know that it has absolutely not been a waste. I have learned a lot about myself just through the act of trying. I found out I was a much better student than I used to be, and that I was tougher and had more energy and stamina and patience than I used to think. I really jumped in with both feet, taking a lot of credits at my community college and doing several volunteer jobs at a local hospital to get some experience and also future references. It was scary at first, it felt like I was just handing over my free time to strangers who couldn't really promise me anything in return. But I discovered that work and school both feel MUUUUCH different when you really care about the outcome. Plus, I found that there were more outcomes than just eventually becoming a nurse with a good and respectable job. I have met some nice, interesting, and driven people who motivate me, and I just have different priorities for myself in terms of having pride in the things I do and how much of myself I put into them. It sounds like you are truly drawn to nursing. This already gives you a huge advantage! My advice to you would be to NOT WAIT FOR ANYTHING. Enroll in a community college class for Spring semester RIGHT NOW and take your first step. You can chicken out later or change your mind if you find yourself wondering the heck you were thinking. Try to re-direct your online reading to more constructive details! Maybe you can turn this "thoroughness" to your advantage? There is a lot to learn, and being detail oriented can help you, whether it's learning all the different kinds of white blood cells in Anatomy class or trying to figure out what schools have different prerequisites and what their application deadlines are. When you've been out of school for a while, it's hard to get back in the groove of keeping up with all that kind of thing. (At least it was for me)

Maybe you can tell, your post really spoke to me, I recognized a lot of my own experience in it. I am seriously rooting for you, and hope you can take some positive steps forward, in any direction, honestly.

PS. I also agree with the poster who advised you to change your username, it's risky whatever path you take. :-)

[LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN]

But in all honesty, is there ANY degree which guarantees job placement after graduation? You can do it, just make up your mind and do it.

[BostonRN13]

Hi Anthony. First, I agree with PP, change your user name. Well, I've been an RN for 14 years. When I finished nursing school in the late 90's the job market was very different.. I had an RN position waiting for me in place of my CNA job at my hospital. But as with many professions effected by our ever-changing economy, budget cuts and the rollout of ACA (Obamacare) there is an ebb and flow..

My suggestion is to look elsewhere in healthcare. The competition now for a new grad Aran job is just too great. Being an RN isn't the only job in a hospital. What about an X-ray tech for instance? If you do decide to move forward, I agree with PP, shadow a nurse for a day before you start this journey.. Best of luck!

[kenya1005]

It just depends on the hospitals in your area. I heard it was impossible to work in a hospital as a CNA with no experience, but got a job one month after my state exam on a progressive care unit. I also heard it's impossible to get a job as a new grad, but my manager has given me all but a written guarantee that if I get my BSN and I'm in good standing at work, he'll move me to an RN position right away and my hospital is paying for my degree (which I also heard never happens anymore). I work with a lot of nurses who started out as CNAs/PCTs and moved right into an RN position. It's not impossible. Where there's a will, there's a way!

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

Kenya - what state are you in? It does depend a lot on where you are located.

I also thought, as a CNA I would get hired as a RN at the hospital I was working at as the manager and charge nurses showed so much interest in me but when I graduated, there were to many experienced nurses applying for the open positions so I thereby was not hired there. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

[JMCleveland]

Don't let fear hold you back! I am starting nursing school in January and, trust me, I'm scared! But, I am also very excited about the journey I am about to begin. I think everyone is a little scared at first. I am 39 and I regret that I did not do this earlier in my life. So don't wait or let anything hold you back! Follow your heart!