soulsearching

dishes - thank you! I'm so happy to hear that there are many of you out there who feel such intense satisfaction from the profession. I believe that I have a better grasp on what I want in life now as opposed to when I was 18 years old and deciding on my first career. For some reason I thought that money and status was going to make me successful, but instead it's left me with a hole in my soul. My mom was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers a few years ago and has all but forgotten my name recently. We put my 2 grandmas in nursing homes over the past year and they are now suffering dementia. I had a very close relationship with all of them and now I watch them completely surrender independence of both mind and body. They would all be mortified if they knew this was going to happen to them, and they deserve so much compassion because they were such strong women only a few short years ago. I think these things have made me start to examine my life and are having me question my purpose. I'd rather take care of people like these ladies in my life than a bunch of greedy shareholders.

Thank you both for your input! Fiona - I work close to 10-12 hours a day 5 days a week, plus I'm in the office most weekends and sometimes holidays. I take my job home (laptop) when I really can't get something done at work... so trust me, the lack of weekends, holidays or night shifts do not scare me. Also, I have taken 2 vacation days this year and the majority will be carried forward again because there is no time for me to take because I'm needed here all the time. I actually took a day off last week because I was so ill and people were still calling me at home asking me for things, so didn't even get a good rest! I don't care if I get full time employment in nursing because I am VERY fortunate to have the option to not need to work full time hours. As I've mentioned, I have many good friends who are nurses so I am well aware of the schedule (or lack of one). I plan around them constantly (i.e. meet for lunch during the day because I often miss them at night when they are doing nights) I give 110% to my current job even though I'm not happy, so I can only imagine what it would be like if I truly felt good about the work. Jaylily - thank you for the positive reinforcement! I know that I always have my original career to fall back on, but if I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to pursue my real passion, then I'd love to take it. There is no perfect job out there, but I'm just looking for one that gives me a reason to be here. I'd love to hear success stories about people who have left their former careers for this and haven't looked back.

Hi all, Are there a lot other professionals who have left their field to go into nursing? I am a 32 year old Chartered Accountant who has close to 15 years of school and experience in my field. I am really good at what I do and am currently in a fairly high position of a large corporation making six figures and have limitless opportunities.... the problem - although I enjoy the stressful deadlines, pressures, and problem solving ability, etc. that the job demands, the context in which I work is so wrong. I've audited many different industries and businesses during my time articling at the firm, and have now worked for 2 large corporations and I find that my work mandate goes against all my beliefs and practices in my personal life. Basically I've had it with all this excessive corporate greed and growing businesses for the sake of the bottom line, and I'm a direct contributor to it! I have many friends who are nurses so I've been privy to the good and the bad of the job over the years they've been practicing. After having a c-section, I developed thrombophlibitis and was very sick in the hospital for 5 weeks. I felt so comfortable there and my respect for nurses went through the roof during that time. I must have seen 50+ during my stay (I was moved around to different wards, went for CT scans every other day, MRIs, etc...) Anyways, my point is that I really felt connected to these professionals and have so much respect for what they do. I think I've given my profession all I could and I just don't think it's right for me. Switching to work for another company is not an option because I work for a highly respected company and I'm unlikely to find better here. My husband is extremely supportive but he wants me to consider starting my own practice and helping smaller businesses where I would get some intrinsic satisfaction and they would really appreciate the help. That could definitely be a viable option for me, but I am overwhelmed with a desire to become a nurse right now. I think years of watching corporate greed has left me jaded towards my profession. So my question is... for all you who left professions to pursue nursing, was it a hole you were trying to fill and did it fulfill that need? Are you happy you left or do you wish you would have done more with your previous profession? I know I can do this, but my husband is worried that after the first couple of years actually working as a nurse I will miss many elements of my current job and that nursing will become boring to me. Thanks all!