Please help... Am I on the right path?

[jss1985, ASN, RN]

Im 32, take care of a family, and have worked in this field for almost 10 yrs now as a medical assistant. Im employed under a union that helps pay for college. I love this industry and am proud to be apart of it, but my deepest passion is fiction writing. To be an author.

Now im not about to give up my career in healthcare to risk a writing career that might not take off immediately. Bills have to be paid and i have a family to raise. So while perfecting my writing on the side, it only makes sense to pay the bills doing something you love doing right?

So i took up my union's offer to further my career and I have been in school part time since 2012.

The problem....

Im not perfect so i had to learn the hard way which majors are good or bad for me. I switched majors about 4 times since i started. I jumped from human services to occupational therapy to speech pathology. Now i finally decided on nursing. Mind you, i never got into any actual program in any of these, just took my core classes and such that can literally be applied to any major.

My reason for picking BSN? I feel some type of calling to it that i can't explain. It makes sense given my medical background, it pays very well, good hours (3 days a week x 12 hours is a dream for me), i love helping people (been doing it for 10 yrs now already), always in demand, and never boring. Other than that? Cant explain it.

I only have 2 prereqs left... Microbiology (taking it now) and chemistry. This means i wont get in any BSN program until 2018 and i would finish by 2020 (i will be 35).

Here is the thing.... I met with a union counselor and talked about it before doing this he said go for it. Next week i came back to give the union my class paperwork/bill and they found out im doing nursing now, they all scolded me for switching majors so many times and... Well lets say it was a bad day for me, very humiliating. I felt like what i did was a crime even tho im sure im not the only one. They looked at me like im an alien or an idiot, they were probably pissed for having to do extra paperwork too.

They said im gonna have to stick with nursing from now on. I said fine. Here are my concerns:

1. Say i dont get into a bsn program or say i do get in but fail a semester, should i switch to something else? A BS in HIM is something i recently discovered (too late, im going for nursing now) and sounds like a nice alternative if BSN doesnt work out. But if i go back to these union people, are they going to bite my head off again?

2. If i do get in and all turns out well, will my writing passion/time suffer/disappear as a result? Or is it all a matter of proper time management? I know nursing school is no joke which is why i ask.

Any thoughts/advice? Please dont be judgmental of me for changing my major multiple times. I know i screwed up and have no excuse what can i say. Oh and for those of you who ask me why im doing nursing if i want to be a novelist... Michael Crichton ("Jurassic Park") was also a doctor. And John Grisham went to law school.

[FutureNurseInfo]

Hi, I honestly did not read your post thoroughly but only skimmed. I did, however, got the gist of it. The thing is you are 32, and you have no room to make any errors. Yes, many will say you are still young, and I do agree. However, At 32 you should be clear if nursing IS the right path for you. I mean, would you want to again consider changing careers 10 years from now? Just go for it. And do not worry about your writing skills. Just like you developed and practiced your writing while working as an MA for years, you will go on mastering your writing skills while you are a nursing student/working as a nurse. Do not overthink anything. Just go with your gut.

[A.M. Wolf, CNA]

1) You can do anything as a hobby, such as writing. If it's a hobby that takes off, good. But it should remain a hobby until then.

2) Be sure that you always have a supply of condoms ready. USE THEM.

3) I wish you greatest success in nursing school! Your union is being very kind.

[jss1985, ASN, RN]

Hi, I honestly did not read your post thoroughly but only skimmed. I did, however, got the gist of it. The thing is you are 32, and you have no room to make any errors. Yes, many will say you are still young, and I do agree. However, At 32 you should be clear if nursing IS the right path for you. I mean, would you want to again consider changing careers 10 years from now? Just go for it. And do not worry about your writing skills. Just like you developed and practiced your writing while working as an MA for years, you will go on mastering your writing skills while you are a nursing student/working as a nurse. Do not overthink anything. Just go with your gut.

I'm definitely going to continue towards BSN, being that I only have Micro and Chem left over and my GPA is high. I think it's totally worth a shot. But what I'm wondering is this:

Say I either A) For some reason, I don't get in any program or B) I get in a program but fail it somewhere along the line.... At THAT point, do I go the backup route: BS in Health Information Management? If yes, do you think these union people are going to bite my head off again for changing majors? Or would I have a valid excuse in this case (i.e. not being accepted to/failing out of BSN)?

[FutureNurseInfo]

I'm definitely going to continue towards BSN, being that I only have Micro and Chem left over and my GPA is high. I think it's totally worth a shot. But what I'm wondering is this:

Say I either A) For some reason, I don't get in any program or B) I get in a program but fail it somewhere along the line.... At THAT point, do I go the backup route: BS in Health Information Management? If yes, do you think these union people are going to bite my head off again for changing majors? Or would I have a valid excuse in this case (i.e. not being accepted to/failing out of BSN)?

Like I said, do not overthink it. Clearly you have some confidence issues. By thinking you may fail is you setting yourself up for failure. Think positive. You are 32, and adult, and have what it takes to succeed. Yes, nursing school will be touch, which is why many students fail, or drop out. However, I may be too naive to think so, but I feel like all you have to do is have faith in your abilities to succeed. With your background in the healthcare, studying nursing may not be that difficult. As far as a back up plan, if you do fail, back right up, dust yourself off and try again. Major hopping is not an answer. You have same chances of failing the other major. So, like I said, have some faith!