rbekt2010 22 Posts May 3, 2012 To choose nursing school because of connivence of your schedule is a horrible choice. If you are not 150% committed to being a nurse (the good, bad, and ugly) Don't do it. You will be miserable.
mitral 106 Posts May 3, 2012 If it were me, I'd spend a full 12 hour shift shadowing a nurse on a busy hospital floor. You really get a good sense of what you're in for. Some people get really excited, others go home and collapse Although it would not be easy, you could get both degrees down the road if you decide at some point you've picked the wrong one. Thinking in these terms may help relieve some of the pressure and allow for clearer thinking.
marianbells 9 Posts May 3, 2012 I didn't know (and maybe still don't to some extent) what I wanted to do. I chose nursing because it seemed natural I would care for people, I am sick of being poor, and job security. I'm 34. Being 24 allows you a lot more leeway in your life. You can go into nursing, do it for 2-5 years and still be young enough to start another career. You don't have to make a decision that lasts the rest of your life. The beauty of nursing (another thing that attracted me) is the options you have. You can go anywhere and do most anything. You don't have to work with poop and vomit all day. You could work at planned parenthood teaching young girls about birth control (you need a few years under your belt). Or do research. Or teach. etc etc etc. You could work with the sickest people or people you aren't sick at all. Don't pigeonhole yourself. And the college experience is overrated. The people you meet and bond with in nursing school will be as lovely (if not lovelier) than everyone your same age. You will meet people with different life experiences that will enrich your life. And you will all have one thing in common... studying. Good luck with your decision and be thankful you have something to choose. A lot of people fumble around for years with no idea what to do (that was me :) )
ImThatGuy, BSN, RN 2,139 Posts May 3, 2012 OP, I understand your predicament. I like biology and assumed nursing school would be more biologically and medically oriented than it its. If you're there to learn about physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology on a cellular level then you're going to be short changed. You won't get that. I didn't at least, and this was a BSN program with specific course titles reflecting those areas. I think natural resource conservation would be more interesting as well. I admire that you're thinking of doing that instead. I went through paramedic school many years ago just to learn. It wasn't a long program, at least not in the amount of time I'd have to put in to be successful and "learn," and it wasn't expensive either. Once I finished the teacher, who also owned an ambulance service, asked me to come to work for him so I did. It was a decent extra job and one that I held over the next couple years off and on, but it wasn't for me. Now, I'm not a "delicate" person as you claimed to be. I'm actually a career police officer and a bit unique in that nothing I've written above tends to fit in with what one thinks of as a cop. However, I'm not a hands on guy....at least not when it comes to healthcare. I like to learn about it. I want to know exactly why something works, but I do not want to be the one necessarily doing it. I'm fine with assessing people. I've been doing it for years, but once it comes to getting what I refer to as "intimate" with them then heck no. Leave me out of it. When nurse teachers talked in class about holding hands and rubbing backs I almost gagged. I don't electively touch random people or try to foster meaningful connections with them. I'm a great listener, but as my clinical faculties have said time and time again, I'm "not very giving of myself." I debated for YEARS about doing a paramedic to RN program so that I could efficiently move on up the healthcare food chain and do something else. I finally joined a "generic" BSN program last August having finished all of the prereqs from a previous B.S. degree, but I've been uncomfortable since the first day. Fortunately, I never had to quit working, and my monetary expense hasn't been that great. I can eventually coerce myself into working enough, on a part-time basis, to remunerate myself for it. Anyway, I have to run, but the point to this, and I write this on my very last day thereby completing this BSN program, that I was hesitant because I knew I didn't want to be a RN. I assumed at some point I'd assimilate, but I haven't. If you really don't think it's for you then run the other way. Trust yourself. I always do and did except with this. If you'd like to PM or something then hit me up. Plenty of people have had very rewarding careers as nurses, but the role of a RN isn't a role I want.
MyMystudentRN 176 Posts Specializes in pediatrics, geriatric, developmentally d. Has 1 years experience. May 3, 2012 "i just mean i want to be around other people around my age --being in a specified major (so a lot of the same interests) with the same sort of lifestyle going on" Be careful who you associate yourself with though, some may still have the mind set of wanting to live the life they always wanted to live and may bring you down with them. but goodluck on whichever you choose
sandanrnstudent 233 Posts May 3, 2012 There is a lot of good advice here. However, I think I may have another option for you to consider.Step 1: Take a CNA 1 course. You'll only invest about 250 bucks into it (with class, book, and scrubs) and about 1-3 months of time (classes are usually 2 or 3 times a week). Nearing the end of the class you will do clinicals. While this isn't exactly what the nurse has to do, it'll give you a feel for taking care of patients, wearing the scrubs and looking the part, standing on your feet all day, and helping patients feel as comfortable as possible.Step 2 A: If you find out you hate it, just pursue the 4 year degree and you're not out much. Step 2 B: If you find it interesting because there is never a dull moment, and most patients really are appreciative, then enter the nursing program next year. (If you got in once you can probably get in again). Step 2 C: If you are slightly curious but still not sold on what nursing is like, enroll in a CNA 2 course. This is more nursing-like stuff. You don't get to mess with IVs, giving meds, and the decision-making a nurse has to do... but you WILL get to put in cathethers, do trach care, change ostomy bags, irrigate wounds, etc.It would be nice to hear what you decided!Best wishes,sandanrnstudent
