Pre-Nursing Worries - Anyone Else Experiencing This?

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Okay, so I am going to try to sum this up in the most efficient way possible...

I am on my last semester of pre-reqs and am also in the process of filling out apps to FL schools (BSN programs) for fall 2013. I initially got into nursing because I thought I wanted to be involved in medicine, but was not interested in being a doctor. I am an extremely nurturing person and enjoy taking care of others. I liked the idea that nursing felt more tangible to me - fewer prerequisites than MD, and only 2 years of school after pre-reqs. Also, I really felt that nursing would be more suited to my personal goals in life that are non-career related (like having a family, etc.).

So here is my problem: Half of the time, I am so into being a nurse. The other half, I am desperately looking for another major.

When I am volunteering (at a local hospital), I see what the nurses actually do, and I am so confident. For a volunteer, I get A LOT of patient interaction, and help the nurses with anything they ask. I'm not crazy about all of the aspects of bedside nursing (cranky families, customer service, etc.) but I believe I could do it with a smile on my face because, in my experience, there are a few patients whose wonderful attitude and appreciation make up for a lot of the negativity (I have met some WONDERFUL patients who I know I will never forget!). I should point out, though, that this is just my observation and initial thought based on what I have seen.

Here's where my confidence gets ruined:

- I cannot stand my pre-requisites. I have had A+P I and II online, and am currently taking Micro and Sociology online. Doing my A+P work online excited me just as much as getting a root canal would. I managed to get As in both (for the lecture and lab portions), but man was it a pain! I feel exactly the same way about Micro, and luckily Sociology is easy and painless. My main worry here is that I feel like I should enjoy A+P and Micro - isn't science the foundation of nursing? Could I feel this way because of the online experience, rather than having had a live class?

- I live in FL, and I hear about the horrible job possibilities and low wages (especially on AN). I would hope that, after graduation, I could seek help through family/friends/past volunteer supervisors to help me find a job since I have heard that knowing people can greatly improve your chances. But, isn't it sad that it comes down to knowing people? I just don't want to go through nursing school and come out of it jobless.

-I don't know if Nursing is for me anymore, but sometimes I think that I have just psyched myself out. I find hope in the fact that, when I browse other majors and careers, I always come back to Nursing. But, I know that Nursing school will take a lot of dedication and study hours. At this point, I am so confused and I am afraid that my heart's not in it. After all, when I am up to my neck in hw, I often cannot even remember why I truly wanted to be a nurse in the first place. That complicates things application-wise (essays often include a question like that).

The bottom line is, I am having these feelings and I feel like I am alone. I can't tell if this indecisiveness (which is so not like me) is simply from the stress, long pre-requisite process, and reading too many AN articles (just the truth lol), or if I have a serious problem on my hands.

Even on my worst days, I tell myself to see where I get accepted and to give it a try. If I honestly hate nursing school, at least I can say I followed through and gave it an honest try. I would rather know and have hindsight then to pass up the chance and think "what if?" So I'm thinking that's my path for now.

Any comments/advice would be great, especially if you have gone through this, or know any nurses who did.

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I go round and round myself for different reasons. The pre reqs require a lot of time and I wonder if I will survive nursing school. I have done well thus far and just try to remember that the knowledge we are learning now is a foundation to actually being able to nurture and help patients. I have anxiety (hypochondriac) and learning about all the things that can go wrong in the body exasperates it. I hate hospital settings and worry that nursing isn't right for me. But, what other way to conquer my fears than to dive into what I'm afraid of. Hang in there. You'll figure it out. I think doubts are normal and the ability to process and understand your doubts will help you in the long run

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Thanks for the reply! It's good to know there are others with similar fears. So do you think I am doing the right thing by sticking with it?

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I'm in Florida too! :) I think if helping people is what you like to do the payoff of being a nurse is great! Anything worth having is hard to get. If nursing school were easy then everyone would do it. Takes a lot of time but in the end helping people is what we all wish to do.

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Being a student is a lonely career. All the studying leaves time for too much thought and doubt.

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Well I like helping people, but I am figuring out more and more that wanting to help people is not enough. I agree, anything worth having isn't easy, and I think time will tell. Where are you as far as the admissions process goes?

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I am applying in the fall for spring semester. Haven't taken the hesi yet but plan to study for it this summer. I am currently taking a&p 2 and micro, psych, med term plus the labs. Almost done! It's taking forever. I have also contemplated dental hygiene as a second choice but there really isn't room for advancement there. It's either a dentist or a hygienist.

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No way...I have seriously considered DH! In fact, I am still very open minded. However, I too worry about the lack of mobility in the field and have heard many horror stories of the carpal tunnel that a lot of hygienists get. I am taking micro online...it's horrible. Hate it! Where are you applying, if you don't mind me asking?

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I started out wanting to be a hygienist. I am still open to it as well. Depends on if I am accepted into nursing school next semester. I was a dental assistant for almost two years and the hygienist I worked with was a very content older lady. She didn't have carpal tunnel syndrome. She had good working posture and technique though. I am currently a student at gulf coast state college. My husband is a member of the military so I don't really have the option of choosing several schools to apply.

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I am taking micro online too and it sucks!

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Oh, gotcha. Maybe I will apply to the Dental Hygiene program if I don't get accepted. Thank you very much for your insight, and I wish you the very best with nursing school!

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YES!!! I've been considering registering on here, but after I saw your post I knew I had to respond!! I can SO relate to disliking the prerequisite courses. I've done all my A&P and micro, and while I can't say it was completely uninteresting, I really despised the workload, which left me questioning my ability to get through nursing school. Plus, I was able to get good grades purely by memorizing, and now I'm concerned that I won't be able to build on the material because I don't remember it. My husband always tries to reassure me by telling me that if it's something I truly need to know, then I will have the opportunity to learn it again. He's highly educated, but I still don't believe him. I go back and forth so much on whether I can do this, and if so, whether I really even want to, but then some days I feel such an intense drive to do it. It's so frustrating to me, because I know deep in soul that I was meant to help women during labor & birth and with breastfeeding. I've been accepted into a BSN program about an hour from my house, but chose not to attend until my youngest starts Kindergarten this fall (which meant I lost my spot). I will be applying again (by August 15) to start clinicals in January 2014. I will need to take four courses this fall, and I am nervous about that too!! I haven't taken a full load since I was actually college age and childless! I have to take STATS (serious YUCK), physiological chem + lab, lifespan development and human nutrition (last two should be fine, chem is a concern). I just can't imagine making it through all four of those, but I've also been a SAHM for 11 years, and I'm trying to tell myself that I WILL have a lot of time to dedicate to the coursework. I know it will be a good warm-up for the nursing courses. I want to want this, I want to just be confident and go for it, so like you, I've told myself that I need to take the first semester of nursing courses and see what happens. I hope that I fall in love with it and that alone will motivate me to finish. I know that if I don't try it, I will always wonder what if. I have researched (multiple times) every career known to man, and I keep coming back to nursing. It's the only way to be where I know I was meant to be. Having said all that, I too would love to hear from someone who went through all this doubtfulness and fear, but pushed through and is now loving being a nurse.

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