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 ?

[future_nurse_d]

Horseshoe said:

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.

People share negatives about nursing all the time. One could simply look them up.

OP, go for it!

[LessValuableNinja]

Lightning90 said:

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

Trololololol?

These sound like the words of someone who recently received nursing school rejection letters? ?

[bfletch]

You sound very much like me. I graduated high school last year and immediately dove head first into LPN school. I too am a...rather lazy creature, my dad paid for what scholarships didn't cover, and I am not an aggressive person by any means. I will tell you (I'm halfway through school - actually just had my first day in the hospital) if I can do it, you can too! I don't know if you're a shy person, but I am, and I've learned that the more you do and experience, in regards to clinicals, the more confident you get. I would have a serious talk with your parents; explain why you want to be a nurse, why this choice is better for you than what they want (they aren't you, after all. This choice effects you much more than it does them in the end), and if it comes down to it, ask what you can do to prove that you are serious about this and that it's truly not a phase.

LPN school has been tough for sure, I won't lie, but I know that it will be worth it! I wish you the very best no matter what you decide to do.

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

I want to speak to the "you're too nice and not aggressive enough" piece of your post.... I am a very nice person. That has been nothing but an asset for me (so far... I'm only 1 semester in to nursing school and about a month into my first healthcare-related job as a nurse assistant at a hospital). My patients have all responded well to me - and so have the other healthcare team members I've worked with. Niceness and a cheerful personality is never a bad thing.

Also, nurses do not need to be aggressive, they need to be assertive (well.... maybe they have to be aggressive sometimes). There's a difference between the two, though. As a 16 year old, you probably haven't had a lot of opportunities to practice being assertive in stressful real world situations - that's normal. When I was 16, I wouldn't have said boo to a goose, much less relentlessly tracked down and interrupted a busy charge nurse to report a patient's chest pain like I did yesterday. Some of the soft skills you'll need in order to be successful as a nurse will come to you with time and experience and not having those things right now is in no way a reason for you to not pursue this career!

[Barmherzigkeit]

Go for it! Just by reading your post, I can tell you are an intelligent and caring person. My sister knew she wanted to be a nurse at age 10 and she has never been sorry. She worked as a floor nurse for several years, obtained her Masters degree, and now she is the Director of Clinical Education at a major hospital. I'm applying to nursing school myself and hope to start this summer. It's the first chance I've ever had to be able to do exactly what I want, and nursing is it. Follow your dream - do what you love and love what you do. I admire you for knowing what you want to do early on. Good luck! ?