redhead89

I've recently come to an impasse in my choice of undergrad major. Do I really want to be a nurse or do I want to go to med school and be an orthopedic (or trauma) surgeon? Nursing is on the one hand, a much shorter career track, even with a B.S.N. I like the idea of one on one time with patients and making them and their families feel comfortable, etc. On the other hand, as a nurse I don't get to do much hands-on work with surgeries. There's always been a part of me who wants to experience that thrill of performing a successful operation (cutting, suturing, etc.) I really am fascinated by surgeries and every time I think of just being the person who hands the doctor his tools instead of being the one in charge, it makes me a little sad/disappointed. What I'm wondering is will I truly enjoy nursing as much as I would being a doctor or a surgeon? I don't want to feel I'm settling for something or being less than I could be (not that nursing isn't a great and rewarding career choice). I just don't want to look back and think, what if.. Any thoughts on this?

Pediatrics or ER. Not sure which at the moment.

I'll be taking one of my prereqs for nursing online starting in 2 weeks. We'll see how it goes what with working full-time. Up until this point I've not worked and gone to school simultaneously. Eventually I'll have to quit my job and find one closer to school as the commute is killing me but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I went through a period of several years after I started college where I was chronically ill. Worsening of allergies, asthma when I'd never been asthmatic a day in my life, chronic pelvic pain, discovering I had interstitial cystitis, contracted mono, was diagnosed with anemia. Basically my body rebelled and decided it didn't want to be a healthy young person's body. Because of everything I've been through and now that I'm mostly better (aka not housebound), I'd love to be able to be there for people when they aren't feeling well. I know what it's like to be in pain, to be depressed, anxious, and not know what to expect from life next. The people that made my days at the doctor's and hospitals pleasant or unpleasant were more the nurses than the actual doctors. Being able to say I've been there and things may be tough now but you'll pull through it is why I want to be a nurse. I've become much more compassionate and patient with people than I was pre-illness. I hope that by working as a nurse I can sooth people's trying days and make them smile through the pain.

I don't see what all the upset about facial piercings is about. If someone I worked with had one, it wouldn't change whether or not I viewed them as professional. Professionalism in my opinion is much more about attitude and actions than hair color, dress, etc.