carlajane2

I posted this comment on Dr. Ablow's article, and I'm posting it here as well. The reason I didn't apply to medical school was because I wanted to be a nurse, not a doctor. And the reason I didn't apply to law school was because I wanted to be a nurse, not a lawyer. And the reason I didn't apply to dog grooming school was because I wanted to be a nurse, not a dog groomer. It is ridiculous to assume that, if given the opportunity, a nurse would rather be a doctor. They are different roles. I chose to be a nurse because doctors treat the sickness, nurses treat the person. That is neither good nor bad, just different. Preferring the role of nurse is not a relfection of intellect, but of disposition. Although his tone is objectionable, on other points, I do agree with Dr. Kablow. If you want to prescribe, be addressed as "doctor", and take other lead roles in the direction of a patient's care, what you really want to be is a doctor. Go to medical school.

I could have written your post -- all of it, from NICU nursing to our financial situation. (Only difference is my kids are 1 and 3, not zero and 2 :) ) We're also adopting a third, expecting placement sometime next year. We can afford for me to stay home with the kids, but not to put them all in daycare while I go to school. If you're like me, you probably need at least some pre requisites before you could apply to nursing school anyway. I've basically just resigned myself to chipping away at as many pre reqs online as possible in the next couple of years, one at a time, while the kids are in bed (I took one last semester and will take another next semester). Then, in a few years when the all kids are in school, I'll be able to take the courses that aren't available online and apply to nursing school. At times it feels like so far away (especially because I just turned 40 and I wonder who will want to hire a 48 year old new graduate), but I'm trying to just enjoy this time with my kids, knowing that when they're older I'll be grateful I had it.

Thank you, Humbled_Nurse, for your thoughtful response. It was reassuring! I inquired about shadowing at two different NICUs in my area, and both said they used to allow "civilians" to shadow, but HIPPA regs have made that no longer possible. They do allow nursing students to shadow, but that puts my cart before my horse, doesn't it? I experienced the NICU environment when my sister had a sick baby a few years ago, but other than that, I only know what I've read and what I've seen on documentary-type shows like "Special Delivery" (all of which I Tivo like an fiend). At some point, I suppose, it's a leap of faith that it will be a good fit for me.

I'm turning 40 this summer and my background is in administration, but I've been considering going to nursing school since my first child was born a few years ago because I've grown so weary of feeling like I'm not doing anything that matters. Pushing paper, sitting through pointless meetings, working on projects that don't seem to contribute anything to anyone, all in the name of XYZ company trying to make a buck. No warm fuzzies anywhere in that, not even philosophically. After my second child was born last year, my husband and I decided I should take that plunge and I will start my prerequisites this year. For the first time since making this decision, I'm feeling discouraged about it. I've been lurking these boards for years, all along trying to be objective about all the "noise" out there regarding how difficult/ thankless/ understaffed/ lacking respect/ (fill in the blank) being a nurse can be. I've read scores, perhaps hundreds, of accounts of nurses who hate their jobs and have come to hate the profession. Even those who are in it for the right reasons and have realistic expectations seem to end up clinging to some shred of why they went into the profession in the first place. But I've also worked in enough other fields to realize that there are elements of that in every job, and I know negativity and dissatisfaction feeds on itself. NICU nursing is the only specialty I've even considered. It's what made me want to go to nursing school and it's the only path I have any interest in ultimately. I realize that during clinicals I could be led a different way, but at this moment, my goal is to become a NICU nurse. I'm drawn to caring for a little human who has no history and no voice, someone who hasn't been killing themselves for 20 years with cigarettes and French fries and then wanting the doctors to fix the lung cancer and heart disease, someone who didn't ask for any of what's happening to them. I've considered things like whether my squeamish side will be able to handle nursing, and whether my compassionate side will be able to handle taking care of dying babies. I don't have any Florence Nightengale illusions, but did decide that I think I can handle those parts. But a post on one of the other boards has finally given me pause. Maybe you read it -- it was a question about whether you would recommend nursing to someone, and it was downright scary. Practically NO ONE would. My question is this: there doesn't seem to be as much of that on the NICU forum; in your opinion/experience, do NICU nurses, despite the intense technical and emotional demands, have more satisfaction in their jobs? Is it mainly floor nurses who have such intense dissatisfaction? I've been having visions of going through years of prereqs, nursing school, clinicals, training, sacrificing time with my family in search of a career where I could make about the same money but feel like I was doing something that mattered, only time say to myself, WHY DIDN'T I LISTEN TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO TOLD ME IT SUCKED? Please tell me that NICU nurses are a different breed.