Please help. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Mojo77]

I have wanted to become a nurse for years. I tried to start going to a local community college for my prerequisites in 2009 but it did not work out for me then for a few reasons. One being that I got very sick in the middle of going and was hospitalized for 2 months. Another was that I was going through a tough marriage separation and I wasn't totally emotionally stable at the time. And I didn't go back. My grades were not the problem, they were great. Anyway, I've let way way too much time go by dreaming of becoming a nurse. I feel like it's late in life, but I was always a late bloomer and I think I'm finally ready. There is a good 2 year diploma nursing school (RN) in my area in NJ that I am highly considering. I currently work in a big hospital and I have been working there for 14 years. I work part time, only 20 hours a week. One of the problems for me with school is working at the same time. I feel I'm too old for that kind of pressure. Plus this school is 8am until 4pm Monday through Friday. I currently work days. So I'd have to somehow work nights which means changing my position at work (difficult but not impossible) and being just exhausted. Not to mention I can't imagine how I would fit in my home responsibilities. I know so many of you have done nursing school while working full time (God bless you) but I just don't feel I can do it at this point in my life. At least not a full 20 hours. So I thought I would quit my job and go to school only. This means losing my status at the hospital, which would be a shame. If I kept some kind of position there, I could maintain my status and then hopefully get a job in nursing there when I'm done. But you can't have it all and I just felt that quitting my job and concentrating only on school would be best for me and my mental health and also to maintain good grades as I wouldn't be as tired or stressed. Then I figured I'd get a job in a different local hospital and make a fresh start. I recently read on an online forum that it's very very difficult for new grads to get a job as an RN. Is that true?? I also read that if you ALREADY have a job in a hospital while you are working towards your RN, that you are lucky and to stay at your job and that is basically the only way to land a good job in a hospital on a med/surg floor. So now I'm confused as to what to do. Quit and risk not getting a good job right away? I can handle starting out at the bottom, but I'm so used to a hospital environment and not sure how I'd feel about going to a nursing home or other facility when I've worked so long in the hospital. Or should I try my hardest to get some type of nighttime position at my current hospital to maintain my status there and have more of a chance getting a hospital position there right away. I'm so confused. I was so looking forward to quitting my job and having only my studies to concentrate on. Now I feel like I better keep my hospital job. On the bright side, I wouldn't have to work 20 hours to maintain my status. I could work less hours than that but I would lose my benefits which I would have lost anyway if I quit obviously. I was planning on doing something else (paying) for benefits while I was in school anyway. What should I do? Any advice? I'm so discouraged that I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't do this at all and just say screw it. I let too much time pass. I'll just never be a nurse. So depressing. Then I also think to go through all this decision making and then to go to nursing school only to find out it's too hard (I'm older, not 20 anymore) and not be able to pass the licensing test in the end anyway. I'm totally paranoid now and confused as to what to do. And I know it sounds crazy because I work around a ton of nurses and I work directly with physicians at work, but I feel very alone and have no one to talk to and ask advice of. This is why I'm asking here. Any advice or words would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

First off, be sure that your facility will hire a diploma nurse. If it is a 2 year program, it would more than likely be a better investment to get an associates. Which there are many hospitals who want new grads who have their BSN. So check first before you invest time and money into it.

Secondly, start speaking to your manager (or the manager of the floor on which you would like to work) about your plans. Unfortunately, if you are union, and the RN's are in a different union, you can lose seniority and take a big pay cut--RN new grad pay vs. 14 years in, where I am sure the first say 10 years or so you probably got regular raises--so see what they pay new grad RN's.

See if your place of employment has tuition reimbursement. If they do, then I would go for as much education as you can to accomplish your goal. And if you can, I would talk about maybe a weekend only position--prn--something that is going to keep your foot in the door of the facility.

Best wishes!!

[Fiona59]

Uhm, wall of type.

Could you put some paragraphs in?

[dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN]

Don't go to a diploma program.