Is Nursing a good choice for me?

[mctavish55]

First off, let me give you a little background on myself. I am a 19 year old male currently living in a small town quite far away from good schools and career opportunities, and I currently cannot afford to move elsewhere.

I was originally planning on going to school for Electrical Engineering, but the 4-5 years it takes is quite expensive. I am one of the privileged members of the middle class that can't afford to pay for college and have no aid offered to me whatsoever. And I would like to avoid student loans as much as possible.

I discovered that my local community college has a 2 year ASN program that I could afford. I have always been interested in the medical field, and nursing would definitely be a lot more fulfilling than the minimum wage call center I currently work at.

I figure that if I really enjoy the field I will pursue becoming a practitioner, and if I realize it's not really for me at least I would have enough of an income to go back to school for something else I enjoyed.

I'm just worried that my personality would inhibit my growth in the field. I am not the biggest people person, and tend to be very straight-forward and to the point when I am dealing with tasks, in other words I can be very blunt when it comes to my interactions with others. I do, however, posses a very high level of adaptability and can easily deal with high levels of stress. I also have a high level of intelligence and understand new concepts quite easily.

I'm not really squeamish, but I am a little concerned about having to clean up some of the messier bodily fluids multiple times a day (excrement and vomit in particular), I would probably get used to it eventually, but it still remains a minor concern.

I apologize if this post appears fragmented, I'll try to format it better when I am not so exhausted. I appreciate any input you can offer!

[PNW0212]

Try shadowing a nurse in a hospital and see if you like it. I also recommend becoming a certified nursing assistant (CNA) or private home caregiver. If you legitimately enjoy helping a person in need and are interested in medicine and patient care, nursing may be for you. You should be a people person in this field because as a nurse, you will deal with very sick individuals who need sincere care. Although there may be a lot of sick people, there are still many frustrating and annoying patients, not going to lie. :-) Patience is a must! Nursing (and any healthcare job, really) is such a fulfilling profession, though. Search YouTube for "A day in the life of a....nurse, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, doctor, etc)" and you will get a small sneak peek. Good luck and don't rush yourself too much, you've got your whole life ahead of you.

[PNW0212]

And as for being squeamish, you would get over it fast. I clean up copious amounts of stool....every day. But like I said, the job is truly helping someone. It's worth it.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

First off, even though you think the ASN is 2 years, it's not. The actual nursing program itself is 2 years. You are looking at a total of 3-4 when doing your prereqs if you go full time. It was 4 semester of prereqs for me. And I pretty much took a full load each time. I am only doing one class this summer but this is the only semester that hasn't been full time. So be looking at around 3.5 years to get this done. I know you said you want to avoid student loans but wouldn't you rather do something you love than just doing something for the heck of it because it's what you can afford? Your also looking at a little bit of a wait after graduation to be able to take the NCLEX to get licensed then find a job. You have to take all of these things into consideration. When I was planning stuff with my financial planner last year and we were discussing how long I would need to live without a job, I had to look at all of this stuff. I couldn't just say 2 years. We looked at 3 and 3.5 years and I already had some prereqs out of the way!!! Sit down with a professional and see what the outcomes are of each path. Would you make more as an engineer and be able to pay the loans back faster? What would the implications be if you hated nursing and ended up wasting money you could have used in another direction? I think you have a lot of thinking to do.

Also do not go to one of those for profit, really expensive schools because they are faster and promise you the world. In reality it's flushing money down a toilet and all you have is a degree that is not worth anything.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Totally agree with PP ^^^. It's much better to take a longer view of your career preparation rather than looking for a quick fix. Right now, Engineering & Computer Science grads are 'top of the heap' when it comes to job opportunities & overall career trajectory. Nurses are the lowest rung on the healthcare professional hierarchy. Nursing grads earn a decent salary to begin with, but there is extreme salary compression and minimal career advancement without investing in additional formal education. In many areas of the country, hospital jobs are limited to BSNs & this is spreading throughout nation. The US health care industry is in a state of unprecedented transition right now - maybe things will even out in a few years, but there's no guarantee.