im terrified!!!

[luvmykids0810]

Of becoming a nurse. It has been one of my dreams to become one, I love working at my hospital being a PCT. And I dont want to go work at a nursing home again but becoming a nurse and being afraid I'll mess up is not what I want to do!

All of the nurses on my unit are backing me up in my road to becoming a nurse. But that 4-5 years of school scares me too. I have 2 kids under 4, and i dont have the funds or pleasure of being home with them because I work or go to school so much. And what if I forget a medications side affects, or what if I cant remember to do something?! To have another persons life in my hands scares me.

I want to work in cardio or L&D one day and the only way I can get there is by becoming a nurse with a BSN! My hospital is no longer hiring ADNs even if you already work there. They just let go of all the LPNs, they have to be gone by the end of the year! I cant afford to go to school for 5 years, my family depends mainly on my job, but I dont see myself doing PCT work for the amount of time its going to take me to finish school. And idk what to do. I need advice from you ladies, because im drowning in my own thoughts and what ifs here....

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

I'm no lady, but I'll answer anyways.

.I've worked, raised a family, and gone to to school for about 8-10 years total. Nursing school, BSN, masters program.

It wasn't easy by any means.

You can keep doing what you're doing, or you can decide to do whatever is necessary to achieve your dreams.

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

Some advice for paying for it: Take advantage of programs that help you repay your student loans (in your state or NELRP). See if you're eligible for scholarships & grants. Private lenders are the devil. Stick to federal loans if loans are necessary.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

I'm no lady, but I'll answer anyways.

.I've worked, raised a family, and gone to to school for about 8-10 years total. Nursing school, BSN, masters program.

It wasn't easy by any means.

You can keep doing what you're doing, or you can decide to do whatever is necessary to achieve your dreams.

Pretty much this. I am no lady either, but I do have work, raise a family, and gone to school for several years. I am still in the middle of my program, but I have decided that I am going to do what ever is necessary to achieve my dream.

Because of all the prerequisites, nursing school takes a long time just to get in. Once you are in, they can take several years further to achieve the degree desired. Typically, a BSN is essentially 2 years of lower division general Ed plus prequisites followed by 2 years of upper division nursing school and upper division general education. What they really want you to do is finish essentially all of your general education (upper and lower) so that all you have to do is the nursing school program and upon completion of the program, you graduate. The road ahead can be pretty quickly and easily mapped out, it is up to you to decide whether or not to do the work to map out how you are going to achieve your goal. Nobody ever said that nursing school was easy.

Once you have made the decision to do it, take that 1st step, the rest of the steps will follow. I am in nursing school, 3rd semester, and my road started in 2005.