I don't enjoy nursing school, and I've only been in for two months. Its gotten to the point that I have no motivation to study. Prior to school, I didn't stop to consider the tough job that nurses have, and the extent of the responsibility. I've only had one clinical day and it was, in my mind, a disaster. The attraction to the field was the nursing shortage and the security of a job (I've been in the corporate world which is unstable).
When I started, I envisioned an doctor's office job or an patient education job. Are they hard to find? And at my age (almost 40).
I just don't think that hospital nursing is my thing. And I think that a person should be really committed in order to be successful at nursing school.
op, i can promise you that your nursing program admits 10-25% more students than they will have at the end of the first semester, because they know that in a few weeks after the semester starts their office hours will be filled with people who are horrified/saddened/shocked to discover that they hate naked bodies/can't handle feces and the places that produce them/didn't know they were going to be held accountable for so much hard science/it's not just "following doctor's orders" and fluffing pillows/they can't be "mother-baby nurses" without doing med-surg first, or some other thing.
"i always wanted/my mother always wanted me/to be a nurse just like her/my auntie/nurse hathaway/cherry ames!" is usually accompanied by tears, but sometimes by anger. what we would do is say, "goodbye, and good luck, you need to be finding something else."
you have a choice. suck it up and deal, knowing that nursing school is only the first step in a career that has a lot of options in it (keep you eyes on the prize, even if distant), or leave for something else. if you are ambivalent, stay and learn more about those many, many cool options down the road.
talk to all the nurses you meet, anywhere you meet them. ask why they do what what they do and (and this is important) why they don't do what they don't do-- something will resonate with you.
Thanks for your replies. My ultimate goal is to become a SANE or Forensic nurse, as the analytical and medical sides both interest me. But I am concerned with the difficulty RN's are having finding jobs right now (and probably will be by the time I would graduate). I am very anxious about entering the nursing field altogether, considering the cost in time and finances vs. the likelihood of employment.
This is something rather bothersome to me, as well (job prospect). I spent 4 years after getting my BA dealing with minimum wage, part time jobs or temp jobs that never resulted in hires. Meanwhile, people were constantly asking me what the crap I was doing in the different fields, because I should be able to translate or work for the government (I'm trilingual...speak German and Russian). I have the understanding that nursing will be quite similar. Especially since it will just be an ADN. I would say (if I wanting to continue in nursing, which I don't at this point) I could go straight into an ADN to Masters program since I already have the BA, but those programs typically require a year or two of clinical experience before entrance. So I imagine a lot of nurses with an ADN and BA who haven't been able to get a job are pretty stuck.
I do think that GrnTea made a good point. A lot of people go into nursing because someone wanted them to (the same goes for a lot of degrees...medical school included), only to find out they truly don't like it. Going into something something because someone else wants you to is never a good reason. When I was discussing with my parents about going back to school (they are nice enough to be paying for it), we were looking at options that had a practical application (my BA is in German and Religion...there's NO application to that without going back to school, unless I wanted to live in a cardboard box). The two options we thought of was either an electronics degree (which would have cost significantly more) or nursing (which I was apprehensive about due to the cattiness I experienced in the veterinary industry). I like fixing things and I enjoy health science, so both had positive and negative aspects. I was much more fascinated by health science than the physics I would have had to learn for electronics, so that's why I chose nursing. That's also, it turns out, the reason I'm not enjoying nursing, though. There's not enough science for me. But I never would have known if I didn't even start nursing school, so at least there's that bright side. Back to GrnTea, I also think what she said about asking current nurses those questions is a very good idea (I'll probably do the same, though nurses that AREN'T my professors). Since you see people at your school all the time, find other nurses to ask, though, to give yourself a wider opinion.
I don't know your situation, but as for myself I would hate to have started NS and not make it through. Unless you absolutely hate it I say stick with it. The more you know the easier it will seem. Judging by some of the nurses I see at my hospital ANYONE can become a nurse. Don't make a quick decision that you will regret later in life.
nurseprnRN, BSN, RN
1 Article; 5,116 Posts
op, i can promise you that your nursing program admits 10-25% more students than they will have at the end of the first semester, because they know that in a few weeks after the semester starts their office hours will be filled with people who are horrified/saddened/shocked to discover that they hate naked bodies/can't handle feces and the places that produce them/didn't know they were going to be held accountable for so much hard science/it's not just "following doctor's orders" and fluffing pillows/they can't be "mother-baby nurses" without doing med-surg first, or some other thing.
"i always wanted/my mother always wanted me/to be a nurse just like her/my auntie/nurse hathaway/cherry ames!" is usually accompanied by tears, but sometimes by anger. what we would do is say, "goodbye, and good luck, you need to be finding something else."
you have a choice. suck it up and deal, knowing that nursing school is only the first step in a career that has a lot of options in it (keep you eyes on the prize, even if distant), or leave for something else. if you are ambivalent, stay and learn more about those many, many cool options down the road.
talk to all the nurses you meet, anywhere you meet them. ask why they do what what they do and (and this is important) why they don't do what they don't do-- something will resonate with you.
let us know.