Well, I have decided that nursing just isn't for me. At least, not right now anyway. I've learned so much here from everyone and being a volunteer has taught me a lot. So much, that I am pretty sure... nursing is just not for me. My anxiety level hits an all time high, each and every time I step foot in the hospital. And that's just volunteer work. I can't imagine what I would be like as an RN.
I am afraid of what everyone will think of me (family/friends)... so far they've been pretty supportive. But who knows what they are thinking. I guess it's better to do it now, than after 2 more yrs of the program.
I want to thank everyone for all of your wonderful words of wisdom. My children need me now, my husband needs me now, and I really just want to be home, with them.
My courses that I've taken are good for 10 yrs. So, if I change my mind once our youngest is in school all day, I can still go back. But for now, I'm just going to be with my kids.
I'll keep sneaking around here, now and then... but it's been kind of hard lately (more sad than anything), so, it might be a while.
Good luck to you. This may be for some reason, you know. It could be you're meant to do something else really great that you are very much suited for. Have fun w/ the kids in the meantime.
I think it's wonderful that you have made a decision to be with your children. Nothing is more important than raising your children and being there for them. You may decide to go back to nursing and you may not, but your children will always be grateful and benefit (even though they may not admit it in their teenage years! ha) from your decision to be there for them. Plus, if you do decide to go into nursing later, you will probably be much stronger and prepared for the road ahead.
You GO Girl!! Your children will only be this age once, you should enjoy them completely. Family is so very important and the stress of NS is so high. I so agree with your thinking, you can always go back. Enjoy your summer with your family :redbeathe
If you like the idea of the medical field but do not want to do the hands-on type of stuff, why not look into medical transcription? I have worked from home for many, many, many years doing transcription/medical editing and have been able to be with my daughter every day (put her on the bus when she was in kindergarden....now I'm here with her when she gets home from highschool). It's the perfect career for anyone with small children.
My background in medical transcription is what got me interested in nursing. I am now going into my 2nd year of an associates degree program. I don't think I will ever give up transcription, as that is where most of my work experience has been (I currently make more as a medical editor than I will as a graduate nurse)....but nursing was my life-long dream.
Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do. :icon_hug:
Nobody can ever fault you for doing what you believe is the best thing for your family. When you are ready to come back, we will be here waiting for you with open arms.
I applaud you for taking that extra effort to do so much volunteering before making the leap to school and for being able to recognize your feelings regarding the work you were seeing/experiencing. Even if all of that clinical volunteering didn't lead you decide to pursue nursing or even any medically related work, it was NOT a waste. I'll bet you learned A LOT about yourself and have a better idea of what appeals to you than you did before you did all that volunteering.
I also want to confirm your concern that starting nursing might be overly stressful. No doubt it IS stressful. For most clinical work as a nurse, there IS a VERY steep learning curve after graduation and when you start working. School gives you just an introduction to all the various types of nursing. Most programs these days do not graduate students "ready to hit floor running" as they say. Yet newbies still are often expected to work a full load within just a few months. So that nervousness you describe at attempting a new skill or dealing with something new to you happens 80 times a day for the first 6 months to year. It usually takes at least that long for newbies to feel "comfortable" as a new nurse. It can be very draining and not leave much energy for friends and family. Many describe wanting to vomit before each shift, insomnia, and other signs of extreme stress the six months out.
If you really, definitely wanted to be a nurse and looked at them and were saying to yourself "I want to do that! Let me in there!" then I'd without hesitation to say go for it. I am confident that you could make it through school and could make it as a nurse. But it is a BIG investment and it sounds like your experiences so far are telling you that this environment or type of work may not suit you as well as some other. Further life experience may change that, and at that point, you could go ahead and make it happen. But for now, given what you've shared, this sounds like a sound decision on your part.
Count it as a blessing that you have the choices that you have! - as opposed to feeling guilty for having such choices and not HAVING to make nursing or something else work NOW. You may not even be feeling that way - I just know that that's probably how I'd feel. You can continue to explore jobs and careers while allowing yourself the quality time with your kids that you have to opportunity to have.
As another stated, when one door closes, others open. There may be other ways to help babies besides NICU nursing. Deciding to look at other options may free up both your mental energy as well as actual time to see what else out there might work for you!!! You might end up reconsidering nursing or you might not. Best wishes to you!!!!
Wow! Thank you ALL for your kind words. I've been kinda blah today... thinking about what I'm about to give up. But I just have to remind myself how much free time I'll have with the kids, and I feel much better. (you all cheered me up too)
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imenid37
1,804 Posts
Good luck to you. This may be for some reason, you know. It could be you're meant to do something else really great that you are very much suited for. Have fun w/ the kids in the meantime.