I'm thinking about dropping out of nursing school...?

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm double majoring in Accounting and Nursing. I don't go back to school until the 3rd of January and I've been considering dropping out of nursing school for quite some time. I live in the state of California where our state budget is rapidly declining due to illegal immigration, welfare, and other problems I don't really want to talk about. From what I can see, there's really no "nursing shortage." My mother (a physician) stated that hospitals would rather hire an RN with experience or even a foreign nurse with a work visa than train a new graduate nurse. This would save the hospital much more money. According to the Human Resources department at my hospital, they said that nursing schools in California are pumping out more graduates than there are jobs available. This will lead to a nursing inflation. I'm very interested and passionate about the career in Nursing, but if there's no job available at the end, what's the point? I know many nursing graduates who have been looking for jobs for the past two years and nothing has popped up. If I continue, where can I go to obtain experience? Out of state? Peace Corps? Military?

I've been doing really well in my Accounting classes and I have a paid internship position at one of the Big Four Accounting firms. I know the people in the Human resources department of the company. My resume and references is pretty solid and impressive for an Accounting student. Yet, I have no work experience when it comes to health care, but the clinicals I've been doing. I don't have any references from any hospital workers. I'm in school 6 days out of the week and if I drop out of Nursing, my schedule will be quite lenient. I have no troubles of continuing nursing school, but its just the emplyment situation. I'm not seeking out no big sign-on bonus or a high desired salary, I just want to work with patients and learn from my experiences.

Apologize if I sound pessimistic, but I just came from a group meeting comprised of economists and nurses who are stating that the economy will not jump back anytime soon, but several years. I just want the truth and nothing "sugarcoated." Thank you!

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How would you feel about completing both degrees so that you can have nursing as your back-up career? Your job prospects are far better as an accountant, but if you ever need a job with more flexibility that nursing degree might come in handy even for some part time work. If nursing school isn't causing you too much stress or causing you to go into debt, why not continue?

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Hello. You wrote that you are "double majoring in accounting and nursing", so it seems that you have keen interests in both of those professional fields. With no "sugar coating", your physician Mom seems to be thoughtful to encourage you to specifically check out job opportunities for accounting and nursing. If your first work love is nursing, from what I have seen and read I do believe you will be able to find a rewarding nursing job---in doing so, the approach to application for jobs may currently require an effort to be very flexible(willing to start in job not of first choice or willing to relocate). The "turn over" in nursing staffing in some medical facilities is higher than in others---for example, one of my pals is a director of nursing at a long term care facility and she says that she frequently has RN job openings because unfortunately many of her nurses get "job burn out" quickly when they discover that the work is busier and more challenging than they had expected. Best wishes!

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Things do change...If you are this far along in the programs consider completing both degrees.

We are in the East, and business has not been firm either.

A friend who is an accountant has been out of work here for

quite a few years. Many fields are affected with the economy.

My vote is to get both degrees. Then if you want to pursue accounting

first you will always have nursing as an alternate career...

Whatever you decide, best wishes to you...

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Specializes in Aspiring for a CCRN.

You sound like quite a busy student!:) Yes, it seems a rather sad state of affairs for the new nurses. However, there are jobs if you search strategically. When you get a chance during this winter break, read about the "New Grad Programs" in this forum. There are quite a few in the So. CA as far as I've read. A big caveat is the fierce competition for the available spots, as you can imagine.

As for the academic endeavors, if I were you, I'd finish both. However, because you have a paid-internship at one of the Big Four, I don't feel badly to tell you to concentrate on accounting if you had to choose one. They will most likely hire you. I am willing to bet you on this monetarily if I could. My sister's two friends did unpaid-internship while at UCLA and were hired (= snatched up) by PwC after graduation. Both passed their CPA three years ago. One subsequently left PwC to assume an upper-level mgmt position at Toyota and another moved to Seattle with her boyfriend because she absolutely hated accounting.

Naturally, you'd end up with a better accounting GPA if you were to solely devote more time to one discipline than splitting your hours into two subjects. Although, ideally, it would be beneficial to finish both because you can easily utilize your accounting degree. Moreover, if you are planning to get your CPA, then you'd be an amply strong candidate for upward mobility in both the accounting and nursing administration, I believe.

You do not have to settle for one if you could suffer now a bit longer. I know that it won't kill you with the right support system. If you have to work 25+hrs/wk, then I don't recommend double-majoring. And, the internship at Big Four is nothing to be scoffed at and will play a very important role in your accounting career in the near future. You'll see that soon.

Best of luck!

P.S. I just read that you are enrolled in a non-accredited ADN nursing program. You may not lose much if you did drop from the said program, especially if your accounting program is at a 4-yr university.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

The long term future for nursing is bright, even if the immediate one isn't. Maybe you can work in accounting until things get better? Maybe you can make sure you have all of your co-req courses for nursing done, so you can pick up later if you quit nursing for now? Is moving really an option because here in Florida new grads are still getting jobs.

If nursing is really in your heart, then just continue with it.

All the best.

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IMHO, drop nursing.

Put your emphasis where you can work and build a career. In a few years if the yearning is still there, and the economy changes, then go the nursing track. Most importantly, pay down your debt if you have it, and pay cash for nursing when you choose to do it.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

I completely agree with onaclearday. If you're in a school that's not accredited, as one poster mentioned, you need to fix that.

Who knows when the shortage or nursing jobs will resolve? If nursing is your passion, the profession will always be there for you to go back to when jobs open up. Focus on your accounting courses, pay down your debt if you have any and take that job you've been offered. You've got a sure thing going there.

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How would you feel about completing both degrees so that you can have nursing as your back-up career? Your job prospects are far better as an accountant, but if you ever need a job with more flexibility that nursing degree might come in handy even for some part time work. If nursing school isn't causing you too much stress or causing you to go into debt, why not continue?

Great idea! OP, you would be well positioned to become a nurse executive once you've accumulated some nursing experience. Or, as the previous poster said, you could work in accounting with the nursing degree as a backup position.

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You will find it difficult to get a job or move forward in nursing if you graduate from a non-accredited school. I would focus on accounting, take pre-BSN courses, and then if you want to continue with nursing, do an accelerated BSN program. Maintain a high GPA.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

I'm sorry, but I say run from nursing, assuming that with the big four as you say, you can make a salary to support yourself that is comparable to your loans and cost of living. Know that I'm in NC, where our needs of nurses outweigh our supply.. but I know our nurses that are recruited come from california and flordia and out of state.

So to be successful in nursing, starting in CA, you really would need to move out of state for a year or two, get exp, and move back. I've done this and it has help and hindered me financially. You need to choose wisely.

An accountant doesn't clean up puke, wipe butts, be treated like crap, yelled at by family, shuffle patients for some 30 minute window that gives a CEO a bonus at their demise, be sued, work short, work holiday nights, work crazy shifts, be responsible to train others when still green, have doc's yell at you at one am, with a patient needing them there now and they won't come, have docs that just yell, have management through your charts and write you up for everything from clocking in one minute late to messing up restraint documentation .... you have to come in sick or you'll be written up, your forced to have vaccines that have not enough safety studies on them.... you'll never pee some days.... choose between treating pain, or placating the pain in the orifice patient... and the pain in the orifice its the priority for management,

you barely ever win or succeed in making change in nursing, it's pure hell and you didn't want it sugar coated. To do this, you have to accept that you're usually wrong, are constantly counceled, will almost always fall short of your own personal expectations of care..... and be able to LOOK YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR AND BE WHOLE, and know you did your best, and be not only OK, with that, be able to sleep, have a healthy family life, friends out of work and try to be normal.

Not as easy as it seems... because it's not... and that is how nursing is.

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Here's what I can say about that from experience. In 1990 I was also in nursing school and also had a small thriving company. During those years I was actually making almost twice as much money with my company than I was going to be as a nurse...so I dropped out of nursing school after completing my 3rd semester. Over the last 20 years I was very successful with my assorted businesses but also missed the medical field as well...so I went to night school and became a paramedic and worked at that for the last 10 years part time.

Flashforward to today. Turns out that money is not the overwhelming factor that I once thought it was and instead of just hanging out doing nothing I have decided to return to Nursing school and finish what I once started. I just completed my first semester of med-surg/pharm/clinicals and am looking forward to the other 3 semesters.

Based on my experience there is always that thought hanging out in the back of your head asking...what if?

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