Loststudent

Hi everyone! Wow it has been a long time since my original post. I wanted to reach out and thank everyone for all of their support and advice during such a difficult time in my life. As I wrote a few years ago, I ended up by leaving the nursing program. I went on to pursue a BA in Psychology and worked in behavior intervention with kiddo's who had ASD after I graduated. This September, I started my first year of a Masters of Occupational Therapy program. I am loving it so far and know that I wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for all that I experienced through nursing. I finally feel like I am in the right place with OT :). Thanks again to everyone for all of your support. I can't believe it has been 5 years. Time flies. Much Love!

@hotaru1 - I left my nursing program. I knew in my heart it wasn't for me, and that it would just be a job for me, not a career that I am passionate about (which I am striving for!). It's hard to decide, especially when you are so far into it. Honestly, if I were you, you have one more year left. If you can handle it, I would try and finish, since you already went through all 3 years and are in that debt. A lot of the jobs I have been looking at - human resources for a hospital, to management, to community health programs - all consider a nursing degree for hire. A lot of companies in general just look to the fact that you have a bachelor's degree, nevermind the fact that it is nursing. There are so many masters programs out there now that you could expand your career goals into if they don't include nursing to further your education without necessarily starting over with a new bachelor's degree. But, I believe the situation is different for everyone! Only you can know yourself. Life is too short to be miserable. Be sensible, but listen to your heart ( had to throw this cheesy line in there). :)

Yeah i've been looking into other careers, but it just seems like my mind is all over the place. I may just go and see a career counsellor. You're right, Fiona, and I appreciate your honesty. I have only invested 1 year specifically to nursing, and I am only 19 so I suppose it's right to take time to make this decision instead of staying and occurring even more student loan debt. I really appreciate all the help. It's nice to be able to talk about this, I don't talk about it with anyone else in my program. I'd feel judged and like I'm a failure. Props to all these great nurses for the support, y'all are the best :)

The fact that nursing is so hands on is what I liked about it, and I really can't ever see myself doing any sort of secretarial/clerical job for a living, not enough critical/exciting thinking involved for me. That's why I thought nursing would be a good choice. It's not that I can't handle body fluids, as I have been for the last 13 weeks in clinical, I obviously don't enjoy them though. I love teaching people about health, diseases, etc, and trying to figure out what's wrong with them based on their symptoms and way to work around that. I do not however, like doing that in an emergency situation, and that's what I would be worried about going into nursing. I like things that are quicker paced, but not "do this now and think fast otherwise this person could go downhill". I find the whole rehab aspect interesting to some degree, but I don't like the work. I don't like rating what a person's bowel looks like, or assessing their scores on a FIM or Braden scale. I find it so boring. But it's so hard to tell what other areas of nursing would be like because I havn't had the chance to really experience them. I know people always bring up the "niche" thing, but I worry that I'm not "cut out" for all of it. Again I really appreciate all of the advice!!

I really appreciate all the honest advice, and the last thing I want to do is be that nurse that is unhappy, and treats patients and co-workers poorly. I promised myself after seeing the way some nurses treated the patients on my floor, that I would never treat a patient like that, and if it got to that point, that I would leave. With that being said, it's hard to leave with a huge student loan debt and find another job. I appreciate your imput Fiona about the government and set backs. Originally I wanted to go into public health but after realizing that there are about zero jobs out there, I changed my mind quickly. I really appreciate all the help, it's very insightful coming from other nurses, and not just lay people who have every opinion possible about what I should do with my nursing career and life.

Okay so I've seen this post around a few times, but everyone seems to have different circumstances. I know that my indecision is currently being felt by many, and I just wanted to get an opinion from some other nurses out there. I'm just about done my first year of nursing (bsn), and I am stressed out of my mind. I can't sleep because I can't stop thinking about this, I'm crying all the time, and can't focus my mind. I'm not too sure what made me apply for nursing in the first place, it just sort of came to me. I spent a year at a college, taking some courses to lighten my load for the first year of nursing. I still wasn't sure if nursing was right for me when I started the school year, but everyone assured me that I would know at the end of the year if it was right. Well, I'm at the end of the year, and I'm more confused than ever. Obviously I am aware of the job security, the countless options, how there's always something to do, etc, but I feel that that's not enough when it comes to a career in nursing, I don't want to hate what I'm doing just to have job security and a good paycheck. I have loved all the theoretical work and book work we have done, and I just went into my first clinical setting this semester at a rehab/medical floor at our local hospital. I learned very quickly how difficult and draining it was, and how as an actual RN, I would have so much more to do. I ended up making a decision about mid semester that I would finish the semester, then not return to the program. I really did not enjoy clinical. I hated how stressful it was, and how their lives were in my hands. I learned how extremely significant a med error could be, and how an error of mine could seriously injure a person. I like doing vitals, but the charting is endless, and I hate the paperwork we have to do. I like interacting with the patients, and am okay with the sight of blood, but am feeling woozy looking at and cleaning wounds, etc. The thought of putting an NG tube or catheter in someone scares the heck out of me and really grosses me out. I am a very emotional, and stressful person as is, and I worry that nursing would just lead me to have a mental breakdown. However, I do love helping people and interacting with them, and I love science and learning how the body works with diseases, etc. I have always thought I would be an L&D nurse, and never really considered or had any pull to work in any other speciality or floor of nursing. Obviously though, I haven't had the chance to experience OB yet, and I hear it can be crazy stressful, and have so many ethical issues. Lately, I have been second guessing my thoughts of dropping out of the program. I don't want to regret this decision 10 years down the road, wishing I would have stayed in. The night shifts and holiday work make me cringe, but I just feel so unsure about what I should do. Now that I have experienced what an actual nurse would do day to day (on a rehab floor at least), it makes me extremely disgruntled to think of having to do that all the time. I have learned that nursing is an extremely draining, and a physically and mentally tough job. I appreciate all the nurses so much more after experiencing what you guys have to do, and the amount of work that goes into a crazy 12 hour day. I just want to know, have any of you been in this position? Did you almost drop out? Do you wish you would have? I'm not looking for someone to make this decision for me, as I know that I can only make this decision myself, for me, but I just want to know if nursing is something I should seriously reconsider since I feel this way? I used to feel so passionate in the beginning, but now, I feel depressed. Thanks for all of your help.