Thinking of quitting nursing program...

[laynem]

alright, i'll start this off by saying that i didn't start school until i was 21. i never wanted to go to school, and as soon as i turned 18 i left florida and went to live in a tent in skagway, ak. i came back to tallahassee, fl and started school only because my family did not approve of the "transient" lifestyle i was living. i worked at a gym making $14.20 an hour i personally loved it and haven't really been happy since. i came here to make minimum wage and i started going to school working towards an aa in anthropology - i love cultures, i love being outdoors, and if i could move to some remote island to study some remote tribe i would. after completing about 50% of the requirements towards my aa i decided that my dream job would not be feasible unless i got a masters degree. it made more sense to me at the time that i would be able to find a "real" job in the "real" world if i entered a specialized program, which brought me to nursing.

i do not want to be a nurse at all. i am not a people person, i do not want to take care of people, and i prefer to stay detached from society as much as possible, but the want to please my family overtook my own wants, as it seems to for a lot of people. last semester i did fine with three classes and ended my term with a 3.0 gpa. this semester i am taking anthropology & physiology, science of nutrition, psychology, and mathematics for liberal arts. i am doing fine in the math class, but everything else seems to steadily just flow downhill. i have not missed a single psychology class nor missed any assignments and haven't recieved anything less than a 75 on any assignments and somehow my grade only factors out to a 66%. in nutrition i have no idea what the eff is going on, i cannot seem to grasp anything no matter how much i study, how many practice quizzes i do, or how many stupid little flashcards i make myself - everything is to no avail and i have a 55% in that class. i don't even want to express what's going on in the anthropology class. it's embarrassing.

i know i'm smart, but i am incredibly discouraged. almost everyday i have to go have myself a good cry in the bathroom. i'm pretty sure my teachers all think i'm some depressive underachiever that doesn't deserve a second glance, i almost thoroughly believe this because none of them seem to want to spend time speaking with me after class and they rarely answer my emails.

it has also been made clear that if one does not make a c or higher in a class that they will not even be considered for the program if they apply. i can't cancel out a grade unless it's an f... so a d pretty much ensures that i'm working towards nothing.

so i guess my questions are should i quit now? does everyone who is a nurse want to be a nurse? does it get easier? and how do you tell your parents you're quitting their dream?!

that last one is just wishing for an easy button...

thank you!

[Trenia]

No, you shouldn't quit. You should continue working towards a goal you despise even though your heart clearly isn't in it.

/end sarcasm

If you are sure you don't want it, why continue? I don't agree that you should work toward a goal you despise. If you aren't going to be happy, what is the point?

I was trying to point out how wrong that logic is.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

You tell them that thus us your life and you need to be happy and nursing isn't for you. Send them an email or letter if you can't do. It face to face. Be honest. Then go join the. Peace corps. Lol

[JLChasteen]

If you are sure you don't want it, why continue? I don't agree that you should work toward a goal you despise. If you aren't going to be happy, what is the point? Life is too short to please everyone else. You tell your parents by just sitting them down and explaining that you are living their dream not yours, and won't do that anymore. Even if they don't understand, oh well too bad! And yes I am in a nursing program and it is MY dream.. so I love it. But if it isn't for you then stop now. Plus nobody wants a nurse that doesn't want to be a nurse! (no offense but you can tell when a nurse isn't happy to help you and when you're sick that is TERRIBLE!)

[caliotter3]

There could be opportunities in nursing that would suit you, such as research, but you won't be able to explore those if you do not prevail in school. And even if you do not go into nursing, the degree could lead to another career, but you can't get there if you drop out. Whatever choices you make about your life's work at this point, get it together in school. If you are failing classes, consider dropping the classes and regrouping next term so that you can keep your good standing in school.

[its_meee]

Life is too short to be unhappy! Listen to YOUR heart. Sure, your parents want you to be a nurse, but they are not the ones who will have to go to a job they hate everyday! If you continue to do something that your parents want, but you do not, you may resent them later. Pick something that YOU would enjoy doing. This is YOUR life. If you truly do not want to be a nurse then please change majors. Do not be afraid to speak up for yourself!!!! BE HAPPY!!! :)

[momtojosh]

i have a daughter who is 23 and would rather live in a tent/RV somewhere on the road as well....i would NEVER dream of pushing her into something she doesnot want to do...i donot push her at all,i would slowly lose her if i did....she is her own person who is intelligent,compassionate toward her beliefs and beautiful both inside and out....she has found her "soulmate"...(her words) and they have a beautiful 2 yr ol boy,they live simply,live off the land and are doing just fine...they own their own home....anyway....tell them how you feel..they will listen..i did...:redpinkhe

[iPink, BSN, RN]

so i guess my questions are should i quit now? yes

does everyone who is a nurse want to be a nurse? i'm currently a nursing student and i don't believe so. i have a cousin who has been a crna for 7+ years. she honestly told me she chose that profession because she wanted to make 100k+/year. to her it was all about the money first and love the job second. her mentality has left her living very comfortably!

as for me, i'm a career changer and i chose this profession because i learned of the many possibilities that nursing provides. some nurses that i spoke with work a couple of different jobs in nursing, not because one job pays them less, but because nursing allows them to explore different areas without leaving them to chose one particular area exclusively.

does it get easier? it may or it may not. for some, nursing was the best career move they've ever made and then for others, they wished to do it all over again and chose a different field. this is a personal question that can only be answered individually.

and how do you tell your parents you're quitting their dream?! exactly like that. they can try to live vicariously through you, but that often doesn't work. it's your life and you don't want to regret your decision not pursing your passion or end up resenting them for pushing you into a career you have no desire to be in. most parents want their kids to pick a career that will afford them a lifestyle they can support independently. so, make sure you have a plan thought out when you sit down and speak with them. your "dream" must pay your bills.

i wish you all the best in whatever you decide. my advise is don't play the "what if" game.

[breezy7, BSN, RN]

So my experience has been nearly the opposite - I'm finishing my BA in Anthropology and realized how much it can be romanticized. Unfortunately, jobs are few and far between in Anth, and while it's a fantastic major that I loved experiencing, talking about how you want to study people on a remote island goes entirely against the discipline - but if you continue with it, you'll definitely learn that in your classes :)

However, I had to come to the realization that nursing is my dream, much like you're definitely realizing that it ISN'T yours. And that's it! If you've lived off the map before, if you've been happy working at a gym, then your answer is right there. Your family will have to understand, because being miserable to please them isn't worth it. They have to come to terms with it.

Best of luck to you. I know this isn't an easy thing to deal with, but it seems to me that you already know what your heart wants you to do. I say follow it!

[Always_Learning, BSN, RN]

Hugs to you. Keep in mind that not making a decision IS making a decision; if you don't speak up, others will do so for you. It sucks sometimes, I know. Best wishes to you as you decide and go forward. :redbeathe

[decembergrad2011, BSN, RN]

I agree with other posters who have said that if you don't find it worth the work, it's probably not. Simple as that. There are lots of times in nursing where I find myself rolling my eyes, being exasperated with everyone from patient to supervisor to physician to pharmacy, or saddened by the stories I hear. It's not always an easy profession, and you literally can witness the whole lifespan, birth to death, in action during your career. Lots of paperwork and responsibility relative to the pay. But there should be some redeeming quality to nursing that you enjoy enough to make you want to work for it. For me, it's the little parts of patient care, human interaction, and comfort interventions that I enjoy the most, especially with children because it soothes their families too. I also love the medical aspects to nursing, like surgery and disease and the like - of course I don't like the effects, but I like the gooey parts of anatomy and pathophysiology.

[lams]

You should not quit, life is not always easy and we have to learn to fight.