Newbie - Thinking of going to school

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Hello everyone! I have been lurking the boards and decided to post because I am seriously considering going back to school to become a nurse. Like many of you here, this will be a 2nd career. I am 36 years old and have been a paralegal for the past ten years and I have never liked my job. The only thing keeping me here is the money!:p But now that I'm 'older', I'm looking for something more meaningful and something I actually would enjoy doing. Nursing appears to be that for me. I've always been intrigued by the medical field and would love to be doing something that makes a difference.

I live in Chicago and am now researching nursing programs. I do not have any medical/nursing background or experience. I graduated 15 years ago :eek: from college with a B.A. in Paralegal Studies and have been in the legal field ever since. My question is: it appears there is a 2 year program for RN? Is this true? Also, I've read that there are "prereq classes" you have to take before even beginning school?

Lastly, my biggest fear of nursing school is failure. I've been out of school a long time. Math and chemistry were not my strong suits. I was an average student (basically because I was lazy!). After reading about nursing school being "hell" I am quite intimidated. I do realize school will be a lot of work, but I also want to have somewhat of a life outside nursing. I've read about the nurse shortage - and nurses working ungodly hours without time off. How true is this?

These are my only fears of the profession. Otherwise, I am intrigued and inspired to learn and help people and make a difference in their lives. Thank you for reading my post!

Deb

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Yes, there are two year nursing schools to get your Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN). Then you have the four year Bachelors (BSN). If you want to hear the differences there are wayyyyyyyy to many posts on the subject on this forum..LOL!

I spent 3 years in prereqs, but I took my time and took evening courses...so some can do this quicker dependant on what types of prereqs are required by the college. Math, English, Chemistry, Bio, Anatomy/Physiology, and Microbiology seem to be the typicals. And with some great study skills and good books, I found these to be a breeze and I had horrid study habits (I was 28 when I went to college...boy I really appreciated studies then, so I did well...better than if I had gone shortly out of high school for sure!!!).

As far as nursing, do remember that it is not only a function of the brain, but the body too!!! Us nurses have bad backs, sore feet, run around all day like a hamster on the wheel, and STRESS. Equate those into your choice as well...heck, I thought I was going for a career where things would lessen after time...heck no, more experience usually means more work! IT is a high stress job, and stays that way! (ie the burnout!).

I am certainly not knocking nursing...but don't focus strictly on nursing either! Other careers that help people and deal with healthcare include Respiratory Tech, Physical Therapy, MRI Tech, Pharmacy, Physician Assistant, Ultrasound Tech, ER Tech, the list goes on! In fact, I have often thought of switching gears and going MRI tech/Ultrasound tech because I still work with people but don't have to do all the multitude of othe tasks a nurse has to! Heck, I would even go plebotomy or IV! So make sure you aren't limiting your visions!

Find out what it is you really WISH to do helping people in healthcare and look at your options! AND...if you are interested in a certain area (like nursing) as a local hospital if you can 'Shadow' for a day (that means go an observe someone doing it for a day...I tell you, I may have chosen something different if I had shadowed a nurse for a day, there is much more to it that I had thought, and I had known they did a ton!!!).

Good luck to you...there is a full horizon for you, choose your path well according to your individuality and wishes! If you are like me...we will retire in that field, so keep that in mind!

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Specializes in critical care: trauma/oncology/burns.

Hello and congratulations on thinking about a career in nursing, and I would say it is not a decision to be made lightly. Much to consider especially all the hard work ahead of you in your classes and clinical rotations.

But I may be the wrong one to post a response if you are not looking for a "cheerleader" (smile) I guess I am one of those old farty nurses a/k/a "a dinosaur" who feels that the nursing profession is akin to being a calling, if you will....I have been a RN for 30 years and I would do it all over again. Warts and all. In fact, I am attempting to finish up a family nurse practitioner program and continue on for my doctorate in nursing.

But, as TriageRN said, there are many other inroads one may take in order to work within the health care field.

Whatever road you choose, best wishes to you!

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Another thing to think about: My boss's wife is a nurse-turned-attorney! She had an RN an was an emergency room nurse. Although she liked her job, she was also intrigued by the legal cases against the hospital and the ones against rapists. She was the one who did the rape kits on rape victims. So she went to law school. Now, she uses BOTH of her degrees and loves it.

So I think the field of nursing is SO incredibly diverse, you should be able to find your niche in it. Or at least I hope that's the case as I, myself, am trying to get a nursing degree as a 2nd degree. Check into 2nd degree BSNs in your area. There are multiple threads on it floating around here.

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The only advice I can give you is to make sure to research degree programs closely. In my area, for people who already have BA's, there is a bridge program to MSN that takes about the same amount of time as the two year degree - seriously. Of course, I didn't know this until I was well into my 2 year program - grrr. So look at all your options!

Good luck,

Amanda

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Along that lines as well...many 2 year nursing programs have a lottery system to get in! I have three friends that have waited 3 years and counting trying to get in! How long is too long to wait??? Usually, from what I heard the 4 year isn't as hard to get into right away!

Another thing to think about...check out your particular 2 year colleges and see what type of waiting list, or lottery vs grades to get in...

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Wow thanks for all the speedy replies! There definitely seems to be a lot of opportunities in healthcare - sometimes it's overwhelming trying to decide which avenue to pursue. I hope that eventually you 'find your calling' along the way.

Thanks Amanda about the tip on the MSN - I had no idea! I will have to research that as well (I had not seen that offered on any of the schools I had looked at in Chicago).

TriageRN - the waiting list is insane. I had read on here that some schools do have this waiting list - but to wait 3 years? I guess if you are taking your pre-req classes during that time, maybe it works out.

Thanks everyone for your very helpful responses. I'm still at the beginning stages of exploring different possibilities in healthcare. Nursing seemed to "have it all" as far as a broader range of duties and responsibilities and my thinking was maybe from there I would find where my "niche" is. I am definitely going to look into Shadowing as TriageRN suggested.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

My friendly suggestion is to visit this site's pre-nursing student forum.

https://allnurses.com/forums/f198/

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