so what was your life like before u became a nurse?

dannyc12 · Aug 30, 2009

Thanks for asking!

My life before nursing was as a mechanical engineer. I was making decent money, but was getting almost no satisfaction from my job for a variety of reasons. These reasons include outsourcing, layoffs, unethical behavior of superiors and coworkers, and increasing demand for work with decreasing compensation.

One day, I was driving down the road trying to decide what to do with my life and said to myself, "I am going to become a nurse." One of the few areas of engineering that I did enjoy was working with everyone in the organization to improve processes, increase efficiency, or improve working conditions. I enjoyed doing training and being a valuable resource. I cared about people and liked helping them.

I have been working for a year in a medicare nursing home as a CNA and as challenging as that job can be, I have enjoyed it immensely. I volunteer there a couple days a week too.

I knew it was a good time to start nursing school after I talked with a few nurses I knew and attended an orientation session at the school I wanted to attend. After getting the low-down on what it took to get in, I decided I would get on it.

You prioritize by first making sure you have a plan while attending school. If you are working, you make sure you leave enough time to study. You pass on social events you would normally attend. You plan ahead for important events you want to attend and make sure you have your work completed. You stay home on Friday night and post on allnursing after you have done your lab preparation for Tuesday morning!

Good luck,

dc

Brikkz · Aug 30, 2009

Hoping you get more replies this could turn out to be an interesting thread.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2009

My life was simpler before I became a nurse. I was a factory worker at a tissue paper plant for over 3 years before I took the plunge and enrolled in an LPN/LVN program. I knew it was a good time to start nursing school because I was slowly getting into trouble with the managers at the factory, and knew in my heart that I needed to switch careers before that choice was taken away from me.

The stress of nursing is tremendous for me. If I made a mistake at the factory, it could usually be rectified. If I make a mistake at the bedside with a patient, the situation might not always be fixable.

**All Heart RN** · Aug 30, 2009

I'm not a nurse yet...I graduate in about 9 wks (!!!) but prior to nursing school, I was a mental health case manager for a few years. I began to consider nursing about 1 year before I was set to graduate with another degree. I had the opportunity to study abroad for a summer with an international health program and really became interested in health/nursing. However, because I was so close to graduating, I decided to finish that degree program. It took me a few years to finally settle on nursing because I didn't want to abandon the line of work I was in but knew that I was no longer going to pursue a graduate degree in that field (which was necessary to make a decent living) and I just wanted more career options and room for growth. I'm almost there, just 9 more wks to go!

Prioritizing throughout school has been difficult for me because throughout most of my program, I've had to work full-time (12 hr shifts). I made sure to really focus on points that the instructor seemed to emphasize during lecture and tried to gain a sense of how the instructor tested so that the time I spent studying was focused and well-spent.

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2009

Thanks for asking!
My life before nursing was as a mechanical engineer. I was making decent money, but was getting almost no satisfaction from my job for a variety of reasons. These reasons include outsourcing, layoffs, unethical behavior of superiors and coworkers, and increasing demand for work with decreasing compensation.
One day, I was driving down the road trying to decide what to do with my life and said to myself, "I am going to become a nurse." One of the few areas of engineering that I did enjoy was working with everyone in the organization to improve processes, increase efficiency, or improve working conditions. I enjoyed doing training and being a valuable resource. I cared about people and liked helping them.
I have been working for a year in a medicare nursing home as a CNA and as challenging as that job can be, I have enjoyed it immensely. I volunteer there a couple days a week too.
I knew it was a good time to start nursing school after I talked with a few nurses I knew and attended an orientation session at the school I wanted to attend. After getting the low-down on what it took to get in, I decided I would get on it.
You prioritize by first making sure you have a plan while attending school. If you are working, you make sure you leave enough time to study. You pass on social events you would normally attend. You plan ahead for important events you want to attend and make sure you have your work completed. You stay home on Friday night and post on allnursing after you have done your lab preparation for Tuesday morning!
Good luck,
dc

Funny you should mention engineering. That was my major until I realized I like helping people.

RNindmaking · Aug 30, 2009

I was an accountant before i went back to school to take up nursing. When i was in college,taking up BS Accountancy, my sister here in the U.S. wanted me to shift to nursing already but i refused. Until i graduated,they were convincing me to study again and take up nursing. My sister who's an engineer went back to school to take up nursing here in Nevada,then she passed nclex 4 weeks after graduation. it was always my dream to work in the office and someday put up a business. Until i got here in U.S. I worked as an accountant. My sisters are both RN, I saw how they enjoy and love their job. While me, I was crying almost everyday because i wasn't happy with my job and tired of doing paper works. Until i decided to go back in PI to take up BSN. At first, i wasn't sure if i'd love nursing. Until i had my clinicals. I realized, i love taking care of patients. After 2 years,i flew back here in U.S. with my degree in Nursing. This tuesday, i found out I am a RN. and I am so happy and thankful to the Lord. :nurse:

Brikkz · Aug 30, 2009

These stories are so interesting! I am glad I get to read them.

RNperdiem, RN · Aug 30, 2009

I was a sociology major in college looking at premed. I didn't have the high enough grades for med school so I graduated educated but unskilled.

I became a CNA in a community hospital to see what other healthcare jobs might suit me.

I was 21, lived at home with my parents. Life was simple.

bellasage · Aug 30, 2009

A little enjoyable??

shoegalRN, RN · Aug 30, 2009

Before I became a nurse, I spent 14 years working at the phone company in my area. I started there right after high school, and I worked my way up the ranks. I learned alot of valuable lessons about life along the way.

It wasnt until after I gave birth to my son that I realized I wanted to become a nurse.

However, I put the idea off for 3 years after that. And when my son was bout 5 years old, I went back to school. My first thought was to major in management, since I thought I wanted to retire from the phone company. Then in the middle of my first year, I changed my major to nursing and it's been that way ever since.

I got my Associate of Science degree while working full time and my job paid for it. I transferred to a BSN program shortly after. My job gave me a 6 month educational leave for the first semester of nursing school. Then when the semester was over and I survived it, I went back to work at the phone company. During that summer, the company offered me a buyout to leave. I jumped on the chance.

I graduated in May 2009, passed NCLEX July 2009, and started my job as an ICU RN on August 3, 2009. I am currently in a New Grad Residency program and is finishing up my Med-Surg rotation.

I will say I have so much passion for nursing, I couldnt imagine my life without it. I get so much fulfillment as well as entertainment from working a hectic 12 hour shift. Another thing I learned about myself is that I like variety, and I am a night owl. I love working nights. I spent 14 years working days because I had to. Now, I don't ever have to work days if I don't want to.

The only regret I have is that I wished I would have done it alot sooner.

Otessa, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2009

Worked as a CNA in a nursing home and then a hospital during my 4 years of college. Always knew I wanted to be a nurse.

otessa