I Really Want To Pursue Nursing But I Have Doubts...

[NoSoyEnfAhora]

So I'm a junior in high school, and it's my dream to become a nurse. I want to pursue this career because I love helping people, I love seeing smiles on people's faces, I want to make a direct impact on patient's lives by being there for them, and as self-entitled as this sounds, I think I would make a really good nurse. There are a huge number of problems though...

1. My family is against me pursuing nursing

My dad believes that nursing is for people who can't make it to med school, and he said that nurses are equivalent to mechanics is nursing is an "unskilled job," which is so not true! He said in India (where my parents come from) nursing is not considered an honorable career. He thinks I'd be better off in sales/marketing because I am a social person who can talk to anybody and I am really good at selling stuff. My mom has a friend who is a nurse and my mom said that she has to clean poop, so nursing is not fun. I am aware of the difficulties that nurses have to endure, yet I still want to pursue this. They both say that nurses don't earn enough, especially in the SF Bay Area where we live and everything is so expensive. However, I am a frugal person who does not plan on having kids so I think I can make it work. As long as I am making a decent salary, money is not an issue for me.

2. My dad keeps trying to convince me to go into either medicine, dentistry, or business.

I can't do dentistry because I do not have the best teeth and I don't have the best oral hygiene practices myself, (I can't even floss!) so how would I be a dentist? I used to want to be an M.D, but after my internet research, I have decided that I would rather be a nurse because of the direct patient contact and care versus the diagnosing. And quite frankly, I have no interest in economics or business.

3. Nursing school in CA is INSANELY competitive

I'm not going to sugarcoat it; I'm just not a good student. I immensely screwed (due to sheer laziness)up my freshman and sophomore year, earning GPA's in the 2.7-3.0 range. However, I shaped up my junior year and received a 3.5. I know that's not extraordinary by any means, however next semester is coming up next week and I plan to obtain a 4.0. I received a C in biology my freshman year because I gave up due to my bad attitude, but I plan to take AP Biology my senior year and obviously study very hard, so that I can be prepared. I also received a B and a C in chemistry last year, due to laziness. However, I plan to take Intro to Chem I at the community college this year, since it's a nursing prereq anyway. I know this sounds conceited, but I know I can get an A if I actually study my hardest. Anatomy and Physiology is much, MUCH harder than both bio and chem at my school, yet due to my decent studying habits I obtained an A. However, I'm worried that I won't get into any colleges for nursing due to the B's and C's in bio and chem. I wouldn't mind community college, but my family thinks that it's not a viable option (I disagree!)

4. My parents think this is just a phase and I'm not serious about nursing

My mom thinks I won't make it in nursing school due to my lazy study habits in the past, so she said that I have to go through with it. However, I am scared that I just won't make it into nursing school, and then I will lose my family's financial support for college. My mom specifically said that she won't pay for my college if I don't pursue nursing all the way.

5. My mom's friend who was an RN, ADN and now is a professor at CSUEB does not recommend going into nursing.

She thinks I won't make it because I'm not aggressive enough and that I'm too nice. She is going to take me with her students to the floor one day so that I can see what the nurses actually do. She said that although nurses make a decent salary and have a lot of flexibility, she did not like it because of the feces and the night shifts. My mom and dad both think that I'm not "rough and tough enough' to make it, this discourages me

However there are some good aspects concerning me...

✅ I start volunteering at a nursing home near my house soon! So excited!

✅ I did get an A in Anatomy, which is considered almost as hard as AP Biology at my school.

✅ I am a very patient and caring person which I believe are 2 very important aspects for a nurse.

✅ This is my dream and I am willing to work as hard as it takes. What should I do? How do I convince my parents that I'm serious about nursing? Will I get into any of the colleges as a prenursing/nursing major? What's the stigma behind community college anyway?

Thank you, I know this post was extremely long ?

[RegularNurse]

Your post is refreshing to read :-)

Go for it!

[NoSoyEnfAhora]

Thank you! I've been considering majoring in nutrition or health science, so that I can become a nutritionist or a health teacher if nursing is not for me. I think they have similar pre-reqs too, in case I didn't get into nursing school. Thanks for your encouragement!

[tweedleD]

I haven't read others comments. This is what I would advise you to do.

1) talk to a college counselor or find the pre reqs that is needed for the program the school you are interested in.

2) take the soft pre reqs. before taking on the core science for the program.

This will give you more time to decide what you want with your future. You may find a passion in another field and taking the soft pre reqs. will/can apply to another field.

[Lightning90]

Nursing isnt that great. Youre basically just babysitting a bunch of people.

[NoSoyEnfAhora]

Are you a registered nurse? I don't mean to be rude, but what makes you say that? After all, you don't go through 3-7 years of college/university/trade school just to babysit haha.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

orificehkabanerjee2000 said:

Are you a registered nurse? I don't mean to be rude, but what makes you say that? After all, you don't go through 3-7 years of college/university/trade school just to babysit haha.

According to her other posts, she is just finishing her pre-reqs. So she not only isn't a nurse, she's not even an upper classman in nursing school. Knowing that, perhaps her opinion may not carry much weight with you since she hasn't worked so much as five minutes as a registered nurse.

[susummers1]

Well first nursing is a wonderful profession and people who go into it are skilled workers. Nurses get to see the whole patient when the physicians are only seeing a portion for about 10-15 minutes a day.

With that being said nursing and nursing school are very tough. It will take a lot of commitment. You wont necessarily have fantastic grades and you will think you know nothing when you are done with school. But once you start working wherever and get some experience under your belt you will be surprised at how much you actually know.

With the way you describe yourself; caring, dedicated, outgoing those are some great attributes to be a nurse!

I would suggest shadowing real nurses to get a sense of what really goes on but if this is your goal go for it!

Plus the poop thing isn't a big deal unless it's a GI bleed then that sucks, but I have dealt with a lot of things I don't like including trach "secretions" and that is a nice way to say that! Good LUCK!!!

[pixierose, BSN, RN]

orificehkabanerjee2000 said:

Are you a registered nurse? I don't mean to be rude, but what makes you say that? After all, you don't go through 3-7 years of college/university/trade school just to babysit haha.

Don't engage with this poster and his or her thoughts on nursing. (S)he tried to derail another thread with the same exact comment.

OP, I say go for nursing. It sounds like a good fit for you. I think almost every nurse has their kryptonite (I second the trach secretions); you may or may not find yours, but don't let someone else's influence your choice.

[Steffy44]

orificehkabanerjee2000 said:

I have also explored the possibility of becoming a CNA first. The only problem - you have to be a high school graduate to become one, and there aren't very many CNA programs available near me. I really like the idea of becoming a CNA first though; I have heard that it greatly increases your chance of getting into nursing school!

does your high school not offer this? In my sons school they offer several "academies". In health academy they go through and do state testing to be CNAs. My niece did this at her school in Lincoln her senior year. She worked, as a CNA, part time after she passed boards. She's going to become a PA and found it good exposure to the medical community.

[NoSoyEnfAhora]

We do have a health academy, but they do not have the option of becoming a CNA. Also, don't you need to be 18 to be a CNA?

[Lightning90]

orificehkabanerjee2000 said:

Are you a registered nurse? I don't mean to be rude, but what makes you say that? After all, you don't go through 3-7 years of college/university/trade school just to babysit haha.

You can easily become a nurse after 2 years of school.. Youre asking your question in the wrong place. You are not going to get diversified responses on this page since this is a nursing website. Everyone here will tell you how great nursing is as a profession, and no one will tell you about the negatives.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Lightning90 said:

You can easily become a nurse after 2 years of school.. Youre asking your question in the wrong place. You are not going to get diversified responses on this page since this is a nursing website. Everyone here will tell you how great nursing is as a profession, and no one will tell you about the negatives.

That is a BLATANT lie. There are thousands upon THOUSANDS of posts here on AN about the negatives involved in nursing. They are in every forum, on every page.