Just starting out. Am I being naive? Arrogant?

[KiusLady, ASN, RN]

I'm in my mid-30's. I've been in the graphics field for over fourteen years. And I just enrolled in my local community college with the hopes of getting into their nursing program early next year (this year will be spent slamming through my gen-ed's and pre-reqs while still working full-time).

Seems like an odd leap on the surface, but like a fly against a window, I've been bouncing against this career option for a long, long time, I just never thought I had the mental and emotional fortitude to hack such an intense profession.

But as I've always had a caring, nurturing disposition I've just naturally gravitated towards helping others. I've been a birth doula for about nine years (only attending four births though as I prefer to only doula for friends and family

In between my previous and current jobs (about four years ago) I worked as an in-home caregiver to an elder quadriplegic gentleman in the last nine months of his life. I loved that job a great deal and I learned a lot. It was the first time I thought that maybe, just maybe I could pull off being a nurse. But still I feared I wasn't "strong" enough.

Two things happened within the past year though that finally changed my mind about my inner strength:

1) Training for (and achieving) my second degree brown belt in Karate this past October and

2) Caring my ailing father-in-law in the last month he lived with my husband and I (he passed away four months later under hospice care; hubby wasn't present through any of this btw as he was away on travel

The Karate test showed me I do indeed have the strength to push through physical and mental fatigue (plus it's pretty damned empowering being a small female barely tipping the scales at 110 pounds and fighting off guys nearly twice your size).

Caring for my FIL showed me that though there were many instances I really didn't want to deal with (like an exploding colostomy), I had the mental wherewithal to think on my feet and deal with whatever problem his condition could throw at me. Never once did I show (or really even feel) disgust or pity while dealing with even the "ickiest" moments of his end-of-life care. I was simply filled with compassion for him; it was my (rather unintentional) job to alleviate his embarrassment and make sure he was as comfortable as possible. Yes it was frightening and exhausting, but I did it and was empowered by the experience.

Then this month all the cogs seemed to align and it finally "felt right" to pursue this career I've been deliberately avoiding for years.

My academic adviser has warned me (as she should) that the nursing field is tough. All I wanted to do was shine a light under my face and creepily say, "I've seen things..."

Am I diving into this whole thing with blinders set by "good" past experiences? Or am I being cocky thinking I can handle the stresses of this tough and noble profession?

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

I don't think you are arrogant. You probably are naiive. Most new nurses start out this way before meeting the harsh reality of the nursing workplace.

[Trust in Jesus, RN]

As a fellow pre-nursing student, I think you would make a good nurse.

I wonder if your academic counselor was also thinking of the competitiveness and challenges of nursing school. It can be really hard to get into a nursing school depending on your area so you will need high grades.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Let's be honest here- if nursing school were that difficult, there wouldn't be over 80,000 students graduating from BSN programs each year. Is it competitive? Yes. Will you have to study and work hard? Yes. Do you need any exceptional experience or characteristics to be a good nurse? No. You have to be willing and able to study, learn the information, and show compassion and caring while you apply these skills and knowledge. You're not arrogant for expecting to succeed. I don't consider you naive either. Maybe you don't know exactly what a nursing program, or the nursing profession is like. Neither do hundred of thousands of hopeful applicants. Not knowing exactly what to expect doesn't make you naive, it just makes you inexperienced. You're not wrong for having confidence in your abilities.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

First nursing tip -- change your avatar. Social media can be a real landmine for nurses. Even an inadvertent slip up can have devastating professional consequences. Stay anonymous, my friend.

I hope you make it through with your optimism intact. Disregard the haters & keep on being a dedicated "Goal Digger" - LOL.

[KiusLady, ASN, RN]

Thx.

I'll get that avatar changed.