I am begging for any type of input..

[truthseeking]

I've pretty much spent the past couple of years confused about what I want to do and how to get there. It's starting to feel like I'm falling into that pattern of "getting nowhere quickly." Here's my situation:

I'm lost -&- I'm entering my third year of college. Maybe it's cold "degree" feet, but this is horrible. When I first started out, my major was psychology, after trying my hand at that, it finally came to me. I wanted to do something that was more hands on. I wanted to be more involved in the health field and less involved in psychology. I guess I wanted more choices and the opportunity to grow and advance. I spent a few months bouncing back and forth between physical therapy and nursing. Finally, I decided on physical therapy. This is partly due to the fact that the nursing program at the college I am currently attending is very difficult to get into and many people have been sitting on a waiting list for years.

I'm having second thoughts..once again. I've been doing my research on both PT and CRNA. PT has many physical demands and due to unfortunate circumstances, I don't believe that this is a career that I could do for many years considering my physical condition now. I believe that I've always wanted to do nursing, and just recently I've really started becoming very interested in CRNA. But..I don't know if I'm cut out for it. I don't think of myself as being someone who's outstanding in anything. I look around this forum and all I see are well directed people who are so talented and I feel as though I do not fit it. I have such a passion to help people. When I was younger, whenever one of the neighborhood kids would get hurt, I was the one who would run inside, wash my hands, grab band-aids and peroxide to take back to them. But what if this passion and desire isn't enough?

Currently I'm taking a chemistry class along with the first of two physics classes that are required for PT at a junior college, and 4 more courses at the CSU that I attend. I am absolutely horrible in physics..for math hasn't been for a long time my strongest subject. So what am I to do? All I can think of is, if I can't get past this physics class, how is this going to affect me in the field of nursing/CRNA? Is it even that relevant? I guess I'm looking for answers to these questions along with, how did you (those of you who reply to this) know which career was right for you? Is physics really relevant in your everyday work? (Yes, I am worried about that class..however, I enjoy chemistry.) I'm just lost within the crowd..any input would be helpful..

[morte, LPN, LVN]

if i were in your position....and have the sense i do know (lol) i would hook up with a psychologist/counselor seeking some assistance with direction and self esteem....the interest inventory test would be my recommendation...trying to isolate that which would be the best fit for YOU.......

[truthseeking]

Thank you! I think I will try that, lol. I know that everyone doesn't exceed in every area but if you want something badly enough, you'll find a way to make it happen. =] I'm thinking this physics class just has me feeling rundown and out of luck, lol. I think I will talk to someone about some career advising and maybe some job shadowing.

[CountyRat]

"I don't think of myself as being someone who's outstanding in anything."

As a truth seeker, maybe you should explore that with someone first. The occupational questions might be better sorted out later.

[HealthyRN]

As another poster suggested, I think that it would be very useful for you to seek some career counseling. Most universities offer this kind of assistance for free.

To provide more input for you, I would need to know more information. What attracts you to the field of PT? What about nursing and why CRNA specifically? How limited is your physical condition?

Most hospital nursing positions are very physically demanding. If you are interested in becoming a CRNA, you would need a few years of ICU experience. In my opinion, the ICU is one of the most physically demanding nursing jobs because your patients are usually not able to offer any assistance in moving or repositioning and the nurse is providing all the care for the patient. As a bedside nurse, you will be on your feet for 12+ hours with few or no breaks in some cases. CRNAs may have less of a role in the physical aspects of nursing, but they are also on their feet for long hours and they may not be able to leave the OR at all for hours on end depending on what kind of a case they are working on. The stress levels can also be very high for CRNAs (and most other types of nursing as well).

I can't truly speak to the amount of physical labor required in nursing versus PT. I do have a PT in the family and her job does not seem to require nearly the amount of demands that I experienced as a floor nurse. But it would all depend on the type of job. If you were a PT doing rehab for spinal cord injury patients, that may require a lot of physical demands, but not so much if you are doing PT for sports injuries. The same thing can be said of nursing. I now have a job that requires no patient care at all. But I will caution you that it usually takes at least a year of hospital nursing to obtain such a job. However, even within the hospital there are less physically demanding positions. There are many nurses out there that are working with physical limitations, so don't let that be the deal breaker. It really depends on you and how much you want this.

I also struggled with career decisions when I was in college. Even now, if I could go back and do it all over, I don't know if I would choose nursing. I'm currently working on another degree to leave the nursing field altogether, but there are times that I am very grateful that I have the background that I do. You can do some things to help ensure that you are making the best decision at this point in your life. You can shadow several nurses and other healthcare professionals, volunteer, or even seek a paid position in healthcare as a nurse's aid. However, you will not know for sure until you are out there working as a nurse.

It may make more sense for you to finish your degree in another field since you are already 3 years into college. You could then apply for an accelerated BSN program, ADN, or master's entry.