I don't know if I want to be a nurse and I can't really...

Hopeful2011 · Apr 23, 2010

In all honesty.. I think you've answered your own questions.. nursing is not something you go into for the supposed "financial security"... It's not fair to you or to your future patients and their families for you to be in the profession when your heart isn't in it. Nursing school is not easy... trust me it really isn't.. and if you aren't motivated.. if money and job security (which really isn't guaranteed) are the only reasons you are going into or thinking about going into nursing.. then I say please choose another field!

misspotsandpans · Apr 23, 2010

Well, I can understand your position. I am new here and I imagine your gonna get replies saying maybe you should not be a nurse. I began my pre-nursing courses because I had children and had heard about the job security. During the few years I have spent accumulating my pre-reqs I have realized that I love the challenge of my science classes. I have had some great professors who have expected quite a bit from me and I truly appreciate it. I love getting so deep into my science courses I have to give up life and devour the info while basking in the cool air of the quiet zone at the library. I have cried during those times because of the physical and mental drain the challenge is but when I succeed the feeling is priceless and I love the bond I form with my study mates. I like the feeling I have when I feel like I just ran a marathon at the end of the semester. So that aspect has kept me going with this nursing dream.

Have you taken any courses? How do you feel about the challenges? I have been fearful of the responsibilities of a nurse and had decided not to do it. After a year off from the idea I am realizing I do want to do it. I miss those challenges without them my class work is boring and hardly a challenge. I am going to recommit myself to nursing. I may not REALLY REALLY REALLY want to do it for my own reasons but overall I know I can do it and if there is a true shortage the nursing world needs people like me. I may be fearful of the responsibility but I am gaining confidence that if I commit myself to nursing school I will come out prepared to handle those fears.

Sorry to ramble I needed to tell myself that really. I hope it helped you. The doubts you have are normal. Maybe some time off from the idea may help you get things into perspective.

NGeorgia · Apr 23, 2010

I don't believe nursing is a calling. But if you arnt motivated you may not pass nursing school and the decision will be made for you.

April, RN, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2010

Have you shadowed a nurse before? If not, that might be something that would benefit you. You can get an idea of what a day in the life of a nurse is like.

Bedside nursing is very stressful and you almost always need a few years of bedside experience to move up or move to positions with better hours and less stress. Even nurses who can handle stress find themselves feeling overwhelmed at times. That's not to say that you can't learn to deal with stressful situations though.

As for people saying you have to really want to be a nurse to be a nurse... Not every great nurse was born wanting to be a nurse, and there are nurses who certainly wouldn't stay in the field if it weren't for the financial security. However, nursing is physically and emotionally tough and if you really don't have an interest in it to keep you wanting to go back, you are going to burn out very quickly.

allnurses Guide · Apr 23, 2010

There are many different kinds of nursing. I met the most amazing nurse administrator at a job interview the other day. She has been a nurse for 30 years, spent 5 of that at the bedside, got her Masters in Health Administration and left the bedside to pursue the business side of things. Very happy, enthusiastic, competent, confident, successful woman.

Being a nurse doesn't have to be patient care. If you hate that, there are multiple other venues to take your nursing degree. You may have to go through some things that are less than your favorite, but that is true for just about any avenue you pursue.

For me, patient care is a calling. For others, maybe not so much but being an R.N. is a path to other goals. I know the job market is tight right now, but I do believe it will improve in time. Only you can decide if you can reach within yourself to get through nursing school and putting time "in the trenches" as you figure out which way you would want this degree to go. But there is no refuting there are multiple directions you can take it. There are uncertainties in any major and any line of study. You could do much worse than being a nurse, but you could potentially do better. Good luck as you hammer it out!

brownbook · Apr 23, 2010

I love nursing so much I would pay to go to work! I NEVER had an inkling towards being a nurse. I was a secretary/mother. My husband worked with nurses, he said "you would be a good nurse, you should go to nursing school." I thought "Right! I hate math, am not good at science, I'll show you, I'll go to nursing school and flunk out." Got straight A's in my prerequisits! Then I HATED clinical, I was scared to death! I dropped out my 3rd semester. Found nothing better (actually got fired from a banking job!) went back to nursing school. Repeating the 3rd semester things kind of "clicked" a little. I was still the most scared, green, new grad imaginable, but here, almost 28 years later, well just re-read the first sentence. My boss told me several times yesterday she wished she could clone me because I am such an asset. I'm not trying to boast, just pointing out NO ONE can predict the future.

Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2010

Agreed that nursing isn't necessarily a calling, but two points:

-it will be stressful, intermittently, if not constantly, depending on the unit you get yourself into; and

-before you sign on for the "job security," take a look around the first year forum or any of the regional boards and see how many people have been desperately job hunting for a year or more.

I second the suggestion to find a nurse to shadow for a day and see what it's really like, because it sounds like all you've heard about is the salary.

whodatnurse · Apr 23, 2010

New grad speaking here:

Do NOT go into nursing if your primary motivation is that you 'want to find a job'. LOL

(If you don't understand why I said that...search this site on 'new grad jobs').

flygirl117 · Apr 23, 2010

I wouldn't count it out quite yet. Nursing wasn't something I always wanted to do, but after years went by and I didn't feel satisfied with my job and thought I could do something more with my life, I decided to go back to school. I had an idea of what nursing was, but I think I had my own stereotypes and prejudgements of the profession. Now, I'm finishing up my first semester and I LOVE it. It is so much more than I thought it would be, so much more rewarding, so much more challenging, and makes me feel like I now have a purpose. You never know, you may find yourself motivated and inspired once you get into it. That's what happened to me. :redbeathe

bunsterj · Apr 23, 2010

Besides shadowing a nurse, you could work as an aide over the summer. That would give you an idea of what goes on in a hospital/nursing home.

Your school likely has a vocational counselor that can give you some interest/aptitude assessments and discuss various careers with you.

nursesaurus · Apr 24, 2010

If you don't want to be a nurse, you will know the first few months and you will burn out really quick.