I don't want to regret staying in Nursing....LPN-RN

Nurses Career Support

Published

Hello everyone

I need your honest feedback. I'm on several other forums (Occupational/Physical Therapy, etc.) and thought I might come here, too, even though it's probably a tad biased in each forum ;0). Here's where I'm at in life:

  • I'm a 25 year old lady who doesn't mind putting in another 4-6 years of college, but I also would like a family someday..preferably by the time I'm 30.
  • Just graduated from LPN program and was looking to transition to RN, but haven't started
  • LOVE the actual job of nursing, the bedside care, etc. I love helping patients.
  • HATE what I have seen/experienced so far in the nursing field, from several areas: backstabbing, cattiness, gossiping, stress, abuse, harassment, bullying, insane workload, constant fear of lawsuits/losing license
  • Don't feel nursing is recession proof, in fact, I know there's no shortage at all. I got into it specifically for my passion. I knew there would be some suffering, but didn't realize JUST how much
  • Feeling VERY pressured by my family and EVERYONE to continue for my RN/BSN. It's as though if I do NOT go on, for my RN, they consider it "taking the easy way out" or "running from a challenge"..like I'm giving up and I don't feel that's the case. Even my fiance acts that way..they don't say it OUTLOUD, but from all their comments, it's easy to read between the lines.
  • Don't feel like nursing really is what it's portrayed to be. I want to help people, not have depression and anxiety because I'm fighting with my coworkers nonstop or being treated like dirt.
  • I know that I wouldn't stay in nursing unless I eventually earned my Masters, due to my concerns above. A Masters would enable me to eventually become self-employed..my ultimate goal.
  • I have 60ish college credits, total, and would like to stay IN the health science arena. It's just what I love.
  • Considering OTA or PTA program, but I want to make sure that I will be able to go on for my Masters and/or PhD after I finish my associates. I have heard that it doesn't work like that, and I'm confused.
  • Really wanted to finish my BSN, but have this terrible feeling that I'm going to look back in a few years and think "What a regret, I wish I would have gone for OTA/PTA, etc.".
  • Whatever I do, I preferably want to specialize in Geriatrics.
  • Don't mind making a little less, so long as I'm happy w/ my career

Any advice?Are there awesome Nursing Jobs? Sure, but you better believe that you need experience, seniority, and a good reference. You don't just apply and stroll right in...and let's face it, experience takes YEARS...if you want to be any good anyway ;). In those years, I feel like I could be finishing a degree in a "less-miserable" field. I don't want to bash nursing, so please don't take offense. I really wish Nursing WAS Nursing, but I just don't feel like it is. I don't mind blood, feces, vomit, yelling patients, etc. What I *DO* mind is the terrible management and being treated like dirt...as though I'm stupid. I've seen it with my own eyes..at several different facilities, ALL over the country. Thinking that I'll have to deal with more of that, than I already did in my awful nursing school, actually depresses me. At the same time..I don't want to make the wrong choice. Any suggestions? Are OTA/PTA much harder to get into than Nursing programs? Am I absolutely being unrealistic wanting to make this change?

Sorry if this is so long!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in HH, Psych, MR/DD, geriatric, agency.

If I knew then what I know now, I would NOT have became a nurse for all the reasons you stated and more.

Follow your heart. Not what your family says. Its your life and your career, whatever you choose.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
If I knew then what I know now, I would NOT have became a nurse for all the reasons you stated and more.

Follow your heart. Not what your family says. Its your life and your career, whatever you choose.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post and respond to it. In my heart, I don't feel nursing will be the right choice. Not because I don't want to put in hard work, I'm ok with that. I'm not ok with the loads of suffering, misery, and stress that accompany it. I feel it makes a potentially great field a horrible one. That is the only reason I don't want to continue in it. My nursing school experience was also horrid, but I kept trying to tell myself it gets better.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

There are so many other opportunities in the medical field, PT's, MT etc. I know I shoulda/woulda/coulda gone for something like MT - love the science or PT where it's a bit more laid back and way more patient oriented and you are working towards goals of getting them better.

Good luck with your choices, I'd suggest visiting and talking with folks in the areas your interested in and find out how they feel about their fields.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

I can't imagine PT/OT programs are any more difficult to get into than nursing programs, and if it's similar educational requirements, you get to provide patient care without the grunge work associated with nursing. And it pays better.

It does sound like this is where your passion is, forget what your family is telling you, do what YOU want.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
There are so many other opportunities in the medical field, PT's, MT etc. I know I shoulda/woulda/coulda gone for something like MT - love the science or PT where it's a bit more laid back and way more patient oriented and you are working towards goals of getting them better.

Good luck with your choices, I'd suggest visiting and talking with folks in the areas your interested in and find out how they feel about their fields.

Are you speaking of Medical Technologist? I'm researching MANY different fields in Healthcare. I don't think my family and friends understand that my passion is to help others, in the health care setting..or maybe outside of it. I LOVE the healthcare setting...I love the science..I love working towards a goal...I love the field. I just don't feel like I should limit myself to nursing..but with everyone rambling about the baby boom, I sometimes wonder...will I see RNs being hired like hot potatoes, in a few years, and then say "Crud, should have stuck with it?". I guess I'm nervous that I will become an Occupational Therapy Assistant and fail at finding a stable job and advancing...I'm probably being negative...I'm a little scared, but thinking about making the switch excites me. I feel like I have my LPN to fall back on, and worst case scenario..I can go back for my RN, if I absolutely regret it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I can't imagine PT/OT programs are any more difficult to get into than nursing programs, and if it's similar educational requirements, you get to provide patient care without the grunge work associated with nursing. And it pays better.

It does sound like this is where your passion is, forget what your family is telling you, do what YOU want.

Thanks, I would go for OTA, first. That's not an OT, but an assistant. I don't think they make more than RNs, I heard the average salary is around $50,000. RNs average salary is around 60ish thousand..but I don't think I'll be too sad over the difference if I know that I won't be miserable 90% of the time in my new field.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I almost dropped out of nursing school (BSN) after a year to pursue an OT degree. I wish to this day that I did it. I love love love taking care of people, but for the same reasons you listed, I'm not sure nursing was the right route for me.

I'm unemployed right now, but when I had a job I had horrible anxiety and was in tears everyday before work. The only thing that kept me at that job for a year was literally every week, I had a patient or family member thank me for taking such good care and actually showing empathy towards them.

I think you should shadow other healthcare professionals before you make a decision though. A lot of OT/PT programs require shadowing anyways. Hope this helps!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I almost dropped out of nursing school (BSN) after a year to pursue an OT degree. I wish to this day that I did it. I love love love taking care of people, but for the same reasons you listed, I'm not sure nursing was the right route for me.

I'm unemployed right now, but when I had a job I had horrible anxiety and was in tears everyday before work. The only thing that kept me at that job for a year was literally every week, I had a patient or family member thank me for taking such good care and actually showing empathy towards them.

I think you should shadow other healthcare professionals before you make a decision though. A lot of OT/PT programs require shadowing anyways. Hope this helps!

I felt like that in nursing school. I was absolutely miserable in between the disorganization, corrupt administration, and awful harassment and bullying that went on in the classroom. It was so much drama, I thought it was just a coincidence..surely I had just chosen a poor program, because we all know that 40-50 year old adults aren't this vicious right? Unfortunately, I've seen very little, further, to change my perception of that. Every time I went to clinical you could see the fighting, stress, abuse,and work overload, no matter what the setting. I kept telling myself it will get better.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My best friend is an OT and she LOVES it. We live in the MD/DC/VA area and there is a always a need for OTs. For this reason, she is able to negotiate her own schedule most of the time. She has a very flexible schedule and works primarily in assistive technology and early intervention. She rotates from working in schools, clinical settings, and home health. She has regular work hours (who does OT at 10pm or 12pm) and works on weekends and holidays when she WANTS to. Plus the pay is NICE. :)

I agree with the above posters...follow your heart...whether it leads you to PT, OT or RN.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC Family Practice.
Are you speaking of Medical Technologist? I'm researching MANY different fields in Healthcare. I don't think my family and friends understand that my passion is to help others, in the health care setting..or maybe outside of it. I LOVE the healthcare setting...I love the science..I love working towards a goal...I love the field. I just don't feel like I should limit myself to nursing..but with everyone rambling about the baby boom, I sometimes wonder...will I see RNs being hired like hot potatoes, in a few years, and then say "Crud, should have stuck with it?". I guess I'm nervous that I will become an Occupational Therapy Assistant and fail at finding a stable job and advancing...I'm probably being negative...I'm a little scared, but thinking about making the switch excites me. I feel like I have my LPN to fall back on, and worst case scenario..I can go back for my RN, if I absolutely regret it.

Yes MT= Medical Technologist, MLT= Medical Laboratory Technician (2 year). A cousin of mine's wife is a PT and has been for over 40 years, she has great hours, great pay and not nearly as much BS as nurses deal with. As I said before TALK to these people in the fields your interested in, try to shadow them for a day. With your LPN you can always do an online LPN-RN if something doesn't work out. But follow YOUR dream not anyone elses

Up Vote Up Vote ×
but with everyone rambling about the baby boom, I sometimes wonder...will I see RNs being hired like hot potatoes, in a few years, and then say "Crud, should have stuck with it?".

I've worried similarly... and yet, who cares if RNs are being hired like hot potatoes if you're miserable in the kind of RN jobs being hired for? As you noted, the most desirable positions generally require years of investment working in some other capacity or simply the luck of "being in the right place at the right time." Would you be miserable trying to get from here to there? And if you did happen to find a wonderful opportunity that matched up perfectly for you, would you then worry about losing that position because other RN options aren't very appealing? See how I'm good at the "what if" worry game myself?

I suggest trying to move out the "I might regret it" mode and try to decide that you WON'T regret whatever you decision you make regardless of the outcome. Clearly, if you had definitely known some option wouldn't work out, you wouldn't have chosen it! But you don't definitely know how things will work one way or another. So if you choose to continue on in nursing for now and then later choose to go another direction, then you can be proud of yourself for really giving nursing an extended try. If you choose to move away from nursing, then you can be proud of yourself for having learned something about yourself (nursing's not for you) and continuing to grow and learn.

And for those people who cluck on about "if only you had...." imagine that those same people would probably also cluck "if only"s in response to even the best of sucesses (you won 1 million dollars - if only taxes weren't so high! your children are healthy - if only they were smarter! etc)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment