Need advice about work and school

[cofmgf6]

Hi everybody, I am new to the forum and am seeking advice regarding my new job and nursing. I recently accepted a job offer as a cna per diem at a hospital and have been doing orientation shifts with another cna. However, I dread going into work. I feel unprepared and I am overall just not happy. I know starting a job isn't easy, especially cna, but I am wondering if I should just quit and focus solely on nursing school if I am already feeling like this. Nursing school is already stressful as is, so I don't think the stress from this job will help me out in the long run. These past shifts have also made me realize I do not want to work in the hospital setting at bedside. I would prefer clinics and working with physicians, seeing one patient at a time. I have also grown an interest in school nursing.

I just feel so lost at the moment and don't know what to do.

[BagelBomber, ASN, BSN, RN]

I'm about to start my last year of nursing school. I've been working full-time throughout my education journey and am also a single parent, so cutting hours or not working simply was not an option for me. Nursing school content is not "hard." Nursing school exams and the time nursing school requires from you are what makes it so difficult. I have never been a crier- nursing school made me a bit of a crier. From mom guilt to sheer "I AM SO SICK OF WAKING UP AT 4AM SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND I JUST WANT TO SLEEP," I've had my share of crying. My job and my child certainly don't relieve stress from my life, but I also remind myself nursing school is temporary and I suck it up buttercup and get it done.

If you're able to not work, and you genuinely feel your CNA position will interfere with your learning, I do not see the harm in stepping away. That being said, your entire first semester of nursing school will include you being a bit of a CNA throughout clinicals. My first round of clinicals was in a nursing home and we performed morning care, took vitals, and performed quick assessments. If it's the actual work you don't enjoy (vitals, bathing, turning, etc.) versus the environment, just prepare yourself to grit your teeth and do that very work for a good chunk of your nursing school journey.

[Red Shirt 6, CNA]

Everybody feels unprepared when they start working at a hospital. The first episode of Scrubs (2001-2010) is about this very topic. If you stick it out that feeling will go away. However you know yourself best and know what it will take to get through school.