I hope all is well with you.:monkeydance: I have read so many horror stories about being a nurse. It makes me wonder why the nurseing schools in many areas are jammed packed with students wanting to enter them. It is hard to believe there is a shotage. Also, when in school and doing your clinicals, don't you see the stressed out nurses?
I can't believe I am still considering nursing school after reading horrible threads about being a hospital nurse. Do I think it wouldn't happen to me? Oh God, what am I doing?
Well, I tried a few searches and didn't come up with anything in the top-10 results. If you know of any specific threads, I'd like to read 'em.
Here are the searches that I tried:
alternative nursing career
instead of nursing
what field instead of nursing
if not nursing then what
alternatives to nursing
I'm sure people can come up with innumerable alternatives to nursing. After all, I'm the first person in my family to have even considered it.
I'm just curious as to what fields the "don't be a nurse" people think would be so much better than nursing. If you'd care to post your suggestions, I can start another thread or you can PM me or whatever.
First off, I'm not a "don't be a nurse" person. I think nursing can be a very good career - as long as you pursue your own interests and take your career in the direction YOU want, not what others think you should do, not what hospitals/employers want you to do, etc.
However, there are many, many other options out there. It really depends on what your desires and interests are.
Like healthcare, but not nursing?
physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, pharmacist, radiology tech, ultrasound tech, exercise physiologist, dietician, psychologist, physician assistant, medical laboratory technologist, dental hygienist, the list goes on.
Don't like healthcare at all?
Well, the list is almost endless - engineer, accountant, architect, attorney, paralegal, interior designer, or whatever interests you.
Basically, there is no rule or law that says just because you are a nurse, you have to work as one. Nothing says that just because you have a degree in nursing, you can't get another one in something else. Look at how many nurses are in their second career/nursing is their second degree. No reason it can't work both ways, is there?
When asked this question in the past, I have stated that I would choose to be a pharmacist. If I had it all to do over, I would have gone to pharmacy school instead of nursing school. There is no reason I could not still do that now, but I have decided that advanced practice nursing is a better career option for me. That doesn't mean that I'm not keeping other options open if it doesn't work out, though.
First off, I'm not a "don't be a nurse" person. I think nursing can be a very good career - as long as you pursue your own interests and take your career in the direction YOU want, not what others think you should do, not what hospitals/employers want you to do, etc.
However, there are many, many other options out there. It really depends on what your desires and interests are.
Like healthcare, but not nursing?
physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, pharmacist, radiology tech, ultrasound tech, exercise physiologist, dietician, psychologist, physician assistant, medical laboratory technologist, dental hygienist, the list goes on.
Don't like healthcare at all?
Well, the list is almost endless - engineer, accountant, architect, attorney, paralegal, interior designer, or whatever interests you.
Basically, there is no rule or law that says just because you are a nurse, you have to work as one. Nothing says that just because you have a degree in nursing, you can't get another one in something else. Look at how many nurses are in their second career/nursing is their second degree. No reason it can't work both ways, is there?
When asked this question in the past, I have stated that I would choose to be a pharmacist. If I had it all to do over, I would have gone to pharmacy school instead of nursing school. There is no reason I could not still do that now, but I have decided that advanced practice nursing is a better career option for me. That doesn't mean that I'm not keeping other options open if it doesn't work out, though.
Sure, there are many, many options out there. I'm 42 and I've tried a couple of them already and have family members in some others. Believe me, some of those professions have very negative aspects associated with them. My original reply in this thread was geared toward the many posters I've read who state that they're so sorry that they're nurses and how they'd never recommend it to other people.
Sure there are many, many options out there. I'm 42 and I've tried a couple of them already and have family members in some others. Believe me, some of those professions have very negative aspects associated with them. My original reply in this thread was geared toward the many posters I've read who state that they're so sorry that they're nurses and how they'd never recommend it to other people.[/quote']
Ah, I see. Well, my guess is that they feel trapped, when they shouldn't. They are the ones who need to realize that if you are not happy, you should move on - even if it involves personal sacrifice. Sure, every career is going to have negative aspects, but some I am willing to live with and some I am not (what I might be willing to live with, you might not, and vice versa). That has shaped my nursing career a great deal - I have steered clear of the aspects I am not willing to live with. It has changed the options available to me, but the tradeoff has been worth it. If I hadn't been very careful to direct my career in ways that would make ME happy, I would probably be one of those who hates everything about nursing, too. However, I wouldn't let that stop me from doing something else - it isn't too late until you are dead. It might be more difficult at some times than it would be/would have been at others, but for the most part, you find a way to make the things you desire most to happen.
RN4NICU, LPN, LVN
1,711 Posts
First off, I'm not a "don't be a nurse" person. I think nursing can be a very good career - as long as you pursue your own interests and take your career in the direction YOU want, not what others think you should do, not what hospitals/employers want you to do, etc.
However, there are many, many other options out there. It really depends on what your desires and interests are.
Like healthcare, but not nursing?
physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, pharmacist, radiology tech, ultrasound tech, exercise physiologist, dietician, psychologist, physician assistant, medical laboratory technologist, dental hygienist, the list goes on.
Don't like healthcare at all?
Well, the list is almost endless - engineer, accountant, architect, attorney, paralegal, interior designer, or whatever interests you.
Basically, there is no rule or law that says just because you are a nurse, you have to work as one. Nothing says that just because you have a degree in nursing, you can't get another one in something else. Look at how many nurses are in their second career/nursing is their second degree. No reason it can't work both ways, is there?
When asked this question in the past, I have stated that I would choose to be a pharmacist. If I had it all to do over, I would have gone to pharmacy school instead of nursing school. There is no reason I could not still do that now, but I have decided that advanced practice nursing is a better career option for me. That doesn't mean that I'm not keeping other options open if it doesn't work out, though.