Nursing? May not have any other choice.

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I've been thinking to myself for quite sometime that I am not a people person and would rather work alone. I'm at a crossroads in my life and very unhappy at my current job. I'm waiting to hear by early next year if I've gotten accepted into the nursing program. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure nursing is for me unless I can do something in it really interesting like work in the ER or closely with the medical examiner. Yet I was thinking with this economy being the way it is I may have no other choice right now. Alot of companies are laying off and people are losing jobs. I figure even if I don't like nursing very much I have the ability to move around because they are always hiring for nurses. So say if I'm at a hospital that I hate and coworkers I don't like, it may be easier for me to find another job and jobs for nurses are always available. Whereas if I go into another field the job market may not be as good with this economy. :yawn:

Specializes in Critical Care.
I'm sorry. I made a typo in this post. I didn't mean to say "if I don't like nursing very much I can move" I meant to say if I don't like the place (hospital, nursing home etc) where I work as a nurse I can move around to another place of employment as a nurse. They are always hiring for nurses where I live, at many different hospitals and such offering huge sign on bonuses.

One problem I see with you getting a "huge sign on bonus".....they generally come with a commitment. Most places require at least a 2 year commitment if they give you a sign on bonus and that goes up proportionally with the amount. If you don't stay the required amount of time, you will have to pay back a large part of the bonus. No good for someone who is already mentioning the money aspect.

If you aren't planning on staying in any one place, you would do well not to accept any bonus given in order to keep your money in your wallet.

Besides, if you go inwith the attitude, "If I don't like it I can move on." Let me tell you, you won't like it. Attitude makes a BIG difference in how you do on a job.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I'm not a people's person but I do quite well with basic interacting when it comes to job information. I don't do well with people who are overly gossipy, rude, nosy, lazy, thin skinned and judgemental. I get along well with people who are easy going, slow to anger, hard working, and open minded. I may not go out of my way to befriend them but we usually get along quite well on the job.

As far as the studies go, I do well in any course that doesn't require extensive upper level math. I did very well in anatomy, microbiology, terminology etc. When you start talking TRig. calculus, balancing chemical equations, college algebra etc. I will have problems. So I think I'll do well in nursing. The only problem I may have is dealing with pushy trainers in the clinicals.

If you don't do well with "people who are overly gossipy, rude, nosy, lazy, thin skinned and judgemental" then you will not do well in nursing. You just describe a large portion of the patient population.

Pay attention to some of the posts in here. Patients want it all, they want it now, and they don't care if you are busy. This is not a profession for someone who is not a people-person. You have to want to help them and take a lot of stuff from them in the process.

***not all patients are this way, but a big majority are***

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I will enjoy reading your posts as you progress through school as if you are having this much doubt now, and have such requirements as "I only want to do ER" "I dont like pushy teachers" "I dont like gossip" I think you will find that school will be a challenge!!

Yes, I'm still in the learning phase. But I will keep you posted.

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If you don't do well with "people who are overly gossipy, rude, nosy, lazy, thin skinned and judgemental" then you will not do well in nursing. You just describe a large portion of the patient population.

Pay attention to some of the posts in here. Patients want it all, they want it now, and they don't care if you are busy. This is not a profession for someone who is not a people-person. You have to want to help them and take a lot of stuff from them in the process.

***not all patients are this way, but a big majority are***

I was not describing the patients here. I was talking about the coworkers. It was a post of mine in response to someone who spoke about me not liking to work with others. Yes I understand quite well that patients can be this way.

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One problem I see with you getting a "huge sign on bonus".....they generally come with a commitment. Most places require at least a 2 year commitment if they give you a sign on bonus and that goes up proportionally with the amount. If you don't stay the required amount of time, you will have to pay back a large part of the bonus. No good for someone who is already mentioning the money aspect.

If you aren't planning on staying in any one place, you would do well not to accept any bonus given in order to keep your money in your wallet.

Besides, if you go inwith the attitude, "If I don't like it I can move on." Let me tell you, you won't like it. Attitude makes a BIG difference in how you do on a job.

I hadn't realized the sign on bonus had so many stipulations. I always thought it was a "come on" type deal.

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Specializes in ICU/ER.
I hadn't realized the sign on bonus had so many stipulations. I always thought it was a "come on" type deal.

If that was the case every one would switch jobs every 30 days...

This is going to be my last post on this thread because I am finding myself getting frustrated...but come on. Your 38. Do you know any nurses? Have you spent time finding out what thier job is all about? Have you talked to any nursing students to hear 1st hand how difficult it will be?

Maybe I am just tired but if I am reading you correctly it seems as nursing is last on your list of what you want to do when you grow up. If so, thats fine. No one is trying to force you into being a nurse. That is the great thing about our country we can be and do anything we want to be.

I am not saying all nurses have to have big hearts and have a passion to help people. But they should at least respect the profession.

I myself went into nursing for what I think are purley selfish reasons, I wanted a part time job I could work nights and weekend and still make a decent hourly wage, I also wanted to use my mind and my hands. I did want to say I could make a difference in someones life. Before I jumped feet 1st into nursing school I took a job as a CNA. It was the hardest job for the smallest amount of pay I had ever done, but it did show me that yes, I can and do want to be a nurse.

I love being a nurse, but it was a long hard road to get there and for someone to come on and say "Nursing? I may not have any other choice" just kind of irks me.

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Specializes in ED.

If I were you, I'd try another profession. I've been a nurse for 15 years, and I can tell right off the bat who is there for the money and promise of always having a job and who is there because they genuinely love the profession. And yes, some of those who are there just cause they think it's an easy paycheck are good workers who get the job done and do it satisfactorily. But there is always something missing from their nursing practice. Also, they are the ones who tend to complain the loudest and make the floor a difficult place to work.

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

I understand that the forensic program was very difficult, but wait until you get into nursing school. I was floored by how hard it was and still is. If you think that nursing school will be alot easier for you than your first choice, I can only caution you as I wish you the best of luck. My advice, if you get in, is to tie a large knot and hang on tight. Your going to work very hard for your degree and even harder than those of us that believe that they were called to this profession.

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PopeJane, exactly WHY do you want to be a nurse? The reasons you have stated here mainly sound like you only want to become a nurse for the money, because of the option to move around, and because this is your last resort. I understand you're a hard worker with good work ethic, which are some important qualities that make a great nurse, but I never once read anything from you that mentions your desire to help people, or that you want to make a difference in people's lives.

Also, if you're not a people person, you will have a very difficult time in nursing school and in the job itself. You'll be working with people constantly...coworkers and patients...so to me, that doesn't make any sense why someone who doesn't like working with people would want to go into nursing. As for the gossip of coworkers, I don't really care for it either but it is like that everywhere, not just in nursing. I've been working in an office for over 10 years, and it is that way...just mind my own and stay out of it.

I'm not trying to discourage you; this is just my opinion. I would hate for you to get into nursing and then you end up not liking it and quit, which would leave you back to square one. Have you researched nursing at all on the internet? You should really see what nursing entails before jumping into it. I would strongly suggest that, and also speak to a counselor to help you find what career would be best for you, because it sounds like it might not be nursing. Good luck!

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Specializes in ICU.

I have to agree with the sentiment of some of the responses here. Nursing is not a profession where if all else fails you can just pick up a shovel and start digging a nursing-ditch.

If someone thinks they can be a nurse if all else fails, I say go for it. If they think they'd rather work at Blockbuster but they need to pay the rent, so they better slap on some scrubs and be a nurse, I say go for it.

The colleges need the tuition money. I'm not worried about ever seeing you in my ICU.

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
Calculus, Statistics, College Algebra, Physics etc .

I had to take Stats, College Algebra, Chem 1, etc for my nursing BSN as well....

Just wanted to point that out.

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I hadn't realized the sign on bonus had so many stipulations. I always thought it was a "come on" type deal.

Nope, not at all. All sign on bonuses require some kind of time commitment. Also, when you leavek, you will have to pay back a pro-rated portion in most places. Some will require all of it, depending on how long you stayed. Some facilities will allow you to make payments, some will require a lump sum.

In addition, Those places are offering huge bonuses because nobody will work there otherwise. There's a reason for that, and it usually involves the kind of working conditions you listed that you despise.

I really would urge you to look into something else. Maybe radiology tech. The pay is not bad, it's a stable job and you won't have to deal with patients more than a few minutes at a time.

In addition, you're going to have to take microbiology, anatomy and physiology, and usually chemistry. Those often require prereqs, especially A&P and micro. Also, you're going to need to take some kind of math, usually college algebra and stats. Some nursing schools require calculus and physics, though those are easy to avoid.

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