I am currently enlisted in the National Guard as a Military Police Officer. When I was in high school I was dead set on becoming a Police Officer because I wanted to help people. But after being in the military side of things, I've come to find that I'm not getting what I wanted out of it. I've had lots of leadership push me and praise me for so much of the hard work I do and even some that pushed me to test with their civilian police departments. After slowing down, I took a full time job with the Guard. 8:00-4:30 at a desk, interacting with Veterans and people all over the state. Decent Pay, I'm exceling. But this isn't where I see myself. While I do love the guard, I would love a job where I'm pushing myself, on my feet and interacting with others, going to bed at night knowing I helped someone that day, even in the smallest capacity. I've done research, looked at the pros and cons. My fiancés sister is a teacher at a hospital and has helped me along the way. Problem is, I took easy classes in my high school career. Loved everything except science and math. I've been graduated for almost 3 years. I feel like now is different because I know I'll apply myself. I deploy next year and hope to start pre requisites while I'm overseas. I also ordered college books from thriftbooks.com so I can jumpstart my mind on things like anatomy and physiology, fundamentals of nursing, etc. Could this be for me? Is there anything else I can do to prepare? Advice? Words of encouragement? Thanks in advance.
SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN 2 Articles; 440 Posts Oct 11, 2017 I barely graduated high school, I'm certain the school graduated me so they didn't have to deal with me lol. I think my GPA was 2.2. It wasn't until I found that I wanted to be a nurse that I found my educational drive. Last May I graduated with my RN and a 3.9 GPA. I also have 3 kiddos and a husband so it wasn't easy. So I wouldn't worry that because you don't like math and science, you can't make it through nursing school.I had to study twice the amount most of my classmates did to get the same grade. But I wanted it that bad that I didn't even mind doing it.If you really want to do it then you will, you have already accomplished so much. Pre-reqs online are a great place to start. Dedicating your time in pre-reqs will make your nursing courses much easier.Just make sure nursing is really what you think it is. Almost always, its vastly different than the perception in people's head. I would see if your sister could get you in the hospital for a day to shadow a nurse. GL!
sanncmd 11 Posts Oct 13, 2017 You have much more experience than I do in LE, but I just wanted to say that I graduated police academy in 2008. I have security background and with my POST cert, I worked as a criminal justice officer for community corrections for four years while I worked on my pre-reqs for nursing school. I also just wanted to help people. I was honestly miserable as a corrections officer. It's definitely not for me. I was so glad to get out of there. It sounds like you know what you want. That's good...this will need to be self-driven. I tried college directly out of high school and got horrible grades and gave up. It took me a long time to decide what I wanted to do and go for it. There's really no way to tell ahead of time if this will be "right" for you. If, upon taking your A&P classes and other required classes, you continue to have an interest, then that can push you forward to each new step. I will say this much, though, when I first started out in nursing school, I wasn't so sure that this was for me! There were certain aspects that I wasn't sure I could handle (no, not any of the bodily functions...I was a CNA, those don't phase me) and they have wound up being my favorite parts of being a nurse. So really, I think it's hard to say if it's right for anyone until they really get down into it. Good luck on your path!
emmalee31b 3 Posts Oct 13, 2017 Thank you so much! I appreciate your input, and I'm glad to have spoke with others who have started in a similar place I will be starting soon!
