Kep23

Hello Allnurses. I am a junior in nursing school and have been reading through the threads here about school problems and the decision to press on vs. drop out. Like many other people who've posted, I'm trying to figure out whether I'm really not cut out for nursing, or if I just hate nursing school. What's a little bit different about my situation is that I know for sure that if I quit school, I'll want to keep working in direct patient care (as either an LTC CNA or an HHA). I like the long-term relationships I've been able to develop in this type of work, and just knowing that the way I go about feeding, washing, and talking to a demented older adult can make the biggest difference in his/her quality of life. I can't imagine giving this up and going through all the trouble of finishing nursing school, just so I can swoop down on a patient 3 times a day with pills (or other treatments) and fill out paperwork in between! At one time I thought being an RN would somehow allow me to "do more" to improve the lives of old people, but now it doesn't seem that way to me. Do you think I'm right? I would fight through all sorts of nursing school nonsense if I thought my license could really make a difference for the population that I want to help. Thank you in advance for any advice you may give!