need advice

mama_d, BSN, RN · Nov 12, 2008

I well remember those days. And am signing up to do it again as I step up through the degree levels.

It gets better, I promise. I know it's hard now, but look at how far you've come and the sacrifices you've already made. Whenever I felt like giving up I would imagine what my hubby would have said to me about what I had already put him and the baby through and how pointless the sacrifices they had made would be if I quit. I'm sure that it was just my inner feelings of guilt manifesting themselves in his voice, but it gave me the push I needed to make it through.

Nursing school and clinicals are hard for a reason...not everyone is cut out to be a nurse and make those sacrifices and face those challenges, whether because of personality or because of life circumstances. But it sounds like maybe you're just temporarily burnt out b/c of everything you have on your plate. You're going to have to weigh how much longer you have left in school with what you and your family are willing to put up with, and where you'll end up when it's all said and done for whatever decision you make.

Are your kids old enough to understand what you're doing and why? My nine year old cries sometimes when I have to go to school, so I have to give him snuggles and explain to him gently that I'm doing this for him too so that I'll be better able to provide for him, and remind him of his dream to have a big enough house that he can have his own room. You have a degree in psych, so you're probably better able to come up with this kind of stuff than I would. I've had conversations with all the kids (except the two year old) about "When mom is making more money and working less hours, what do you daydream about doing?" The answers range from vacations with the family to Disneyworld to getting a dog when we have a house with a big backyard. I try to encourage the sense that we're in this as a family to help us achieve these goals. It gives them the recognition that we're all in it together and that their dreams are as important as mine, and helps them to recognize that I'm doing it for them. It gives me something personal to them to remind them of why I'm doing it.

Honestly, sometimes it's harder to get my husband on board than it is the kids. I'm not sure what kind of advice to give you there; maybe others will be able to help both of us with that!

Sorry that was so long-winded, and I wish you the best regardless of what decision you make. Oh, and I've been a nurse for almost nine years now, and only had to place a NG about a dozen times. :)

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 12, 2008

The thoughts of NG tubes and foleys do not excite me.

Just for the record, you don't have to be excited by these things to be satisfied in a nursing career. A lot of us were never excited by the technical tasks of med/surg nursing. Fortunately, those technical tasks are only 1 part of professional practice.

The bigger task is for you to assess yourself to decide whether or not it is nursing as a career that turns you off ... or whether you are just exhausted, overwhelmed, and depressed because of your overly-busy schedule.

If it is your overly busy schedule that is causing you to feel overwhelmed, tired, and depressed ... then you need to take a look at your life to see if you can reduce some of your committments, slow down your academic progress, or find some other strategy to ease your burden. Sometimes, we have to be patient as we find that we can't do (and be and have) everything at once. Sometimes, it takes longer than we would like to get everything we want. Slowing down is sometimes necessary to get where we want to be in the long run.

However, maybe it is nursing itself that is turning you off. Why did you choose nursing in the first place? Are those reasons still valid? What type of nursing are you interested in? Have you had a chance to experience that particular type of nursing or specialty yet as a student? If not, maybe you will be much happier when you get to study that particular specialty.

As you think through these questions/issue, you will begin to get some insight into what your actual problem is. That's the first step in making a good plan of action.

I hated most of my nursing school with a passion -- but loved my mob as a NICU staff nurse as a new graduate. The two experiences were not at all alike.