Nursing a good career?

[asmada]

Okay I'm about to be a high school senior in less than a week and still don't know what I want to do with my life. I'm in the top ten of my class, have a high gpa, and can get into a good college like Penn state university park. But I hate school, I don't like the socialness of it, plus I get a lot of anxiety and stress from just one assignment, and I get worked up and I do a good job because there's no other way for me to do something otherwise I'll get even more worked up. I can't handle this stress for 4 years, then another 4 years for medical or some other school. My dad thinks I can be successful and go into pharmaceuticals or something, and I think so too, but I just can't deal with school or the school work for no purpose. I was considering going to a not so elite community college so I could get an associates degree of science in nursing and become a registered nurse and go straight into that career, and if I decide I like it enough, perhaps I'll go back for my bachelors and masters in that field. That's settling for a specific career and ignoring my other potential, and I don't know what to do. I worked so hard in high school and to that throw that away feels horrible, but if I don't want to go to a big college for years and deal with the stress for my dad then it makes me feel just as bad. I could always go to a vocational school and become a nursing assistant and see how I like that and then decide if I want to become a nurse or go to college and have a different career. I've read that some rns with an asn or adn can't find jobs without experience, wishing they had become a cna before going for more asn/adn I just don't know what to do. If I do choose nursing as a job should I pursue a cna beforehand?

[Miss Infermiera2b, BSN, RN]

Nursing is usually something students go into when they are pretty sure about it. It's incredibly stressful, and if you don't think you can handle high-stress for prolonged periods of time, I might reconsider. However, I would suggest getting your CNA certification and/or shadowing a nurse or two to get a good idea of the work load and the requirements.