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Discussion

Leaving Phd program for nursing

Hello all,

I've been lurking for a bit and finally had wanted to ask for advice or suggestions. I am currently going into my 2nd year of a dev. psych. program. By next May or Aug I will(should) have my Masters and then will continue on to prelims to go up for doctoral candidacy in my 3rd year. I do research health with the aging population and all during my first year I have felt disillusioned by academia and its environment and the commands of an academic job. I had considered nursing since college but never went for it. My mother was a CNA and worked only with older adults by her choice, so that has always inspired me. While I adore research in itself, I feel that I want to be able to actually work with people, learn disease processes, and help treat them, none of which my PhD would allow me to do in the long run. I am considering leaving my program after I get my masters (in May or Aug 2012) and starting pre-requisites (If I can't start them now, while I still have tuition remission and a stipend :p) and working towards making myself competitive for a 2nd degree BSN. It would probably have to do pre-reqs for a year and a half if I can't start them in my grad program and so won't be able to apply for 2 years. I really would like to leave this academic environment; however, would it be best to wait until after my PhD or head for the hills after my masters like I want to?.Also, I have support of my BF who I live with, I made sure to talk to him extensively concerning this because of finances, and his mother (a CRNA) is really supportive of me and she has been the stand in for my mother.

Also I wanted to add that I have little to no interest in my courses (theory, theory, philosophy, theory) and I have been fighting tooth and nail to get courses outside of my department (Public Health, Community Health, whatever health course I can get my hands on) but they have not allowed me but one course that I'm waitlisted in. Among the grad students, I would say I am the most applied in nature(I understand theories and models and how to use them for research but I want to actually apply my research in the forms of programs, interventions, etc) and this program is not giving me what I want/need nor allowing me to go out and find what I want/need.

So wise fora, do you have any thoughts, suggestions, condemnations?:)

Tauren

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    Your plan sounds expensive -- but if money is not a problem for you, I don't see anything really wrong with it. Be careful not to get yourself so deeply in debt that it has a long-term negative influence on your life.

    Another point:

    You might get disillusioned with nursing, too. Most people do. They go into it with grand ideals and are disappointed that it is not as terrific as they imagined -- even people with family members who are nurses. Be prepared for that. You may get particularly disillusioned if you to a nursing program that is second-rate. You may feel a need to get that nursing degree fast, and that might lead you to make a few compromises in the quality of the school you choose -- which might have long-tern negative implications.

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    Although my plan may be expensive later on, I don't have any debt from undergrad or from this grad program so I can take out loans without much worry there. By the way I am not viewing nursing as perfect and grand profession, I know that the schooling and job will be gruelling and hard work, as well as down right unpleasant some times. Academia though, saps my energy and will to do any thing, I get tired of the passive aggressive/hostile environment where I feel like I will not make the contribution I want to during my program or after I have received my PhD.

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    By the way I am not viewing nursing as perfect and grand profession, I know that the schooling and job will be gruelling and hard work, as well as down right unpleasant some times. .

    Most people say that -- even the ones who end up disillusioned and bitter. I'm sorry that sounds so negative. I'm just trying to prepare you for reality. Whenever people think "the grass is greener" elsewhere, they are setting themselves up for disappointment. Becoming a nurse to get away from something else is a set-up for having unrealistically optimistic views of your future nursing career. I just want to be sure you are aware of that.

    If you want to be a nurse becasue nursing work is what interests you, be a nurse. Be the best nurse you can be. But be cautious about becoming a nurse to get away from something else that didn't work out for you the way you had hoped. Nursing can suck the life out of you, too, and is infamous for its hostile work environments and ugly politics. While some workplaces are better than others (just like in academia), few nurses can avoid experiencing some of the negatives. You need to want to do the work badly enough to endure the negatives in order to succeed and rise above those negatives.

    Good luck to you, whatever you decide.

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    • Author

    Thank you for your blunt words. I've made sure that I am not running away from dev. psych. but running to nursing because it is what I want to do, as my therapist put it. I want to be a nurse, I know all places and professions have negatives along with the positives, I'm trying to be as realistic as possible weighing the pros and cons of each profession. I'm just not sure if I should finish the PhD or leave with a masters.

    Thank you llg.

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    If you want to be a nurse becasue nursing work is what interests you, be a nurse. Be the best nurse you can be. But be cautious about becoming a nurse to get away from something else that didn't work out for you the way you had hoped. Nursing can suck the life out of you, too, and is infamous for its hostile work environments and ugly politics. While some workplaces are better than others (just like in academia), few nurses can avoid experiencing some of the negatives. You need to want to do the work badly enough to endure the negatives in order to succeed and rise above those negatives.

    As always -- llg nails it again! What a wonderful response.

    I have also experienced academia and found it pretty suffocating -- but even on my worst day, there was no danger of contributing to a patient's death. Just sayin' . . .

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