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Thanks everyone! I do agree with what everyone has said, but I also agree that I should really see a career counselor. My university is a little hard to seek help at, but I can search for the right person. I have such a hard time making decisions, especially about huge things like a future career, so seeking professional help is probably best. Thanks again!

I chose nursing because I love helping people. Whenever I have a sick friend or family member, they always come to me for advice. I have the "personality of a nurse" (as some have told me), but certain aspects of the job don't really appeal to me. I'm on the fence between sticking with it and hopefully finding a specific area I can tolerate or even enjoy, or switching gears completely and finding something else in healthcare that is a little different.

Hi everyone, I need a little bit of advice here. I am a second year nursing student in a bachelor's program. I have always been a successful student and I'm never afraid of a little (or a lot) of hard work. I am a nurturing person with good leadership skills and a passion for helping others, and I always thought I'd make a good nurse. Fast forward two years into my degree, and I am holding on for dear life. To sum it all up, here's a list of what's going for me, and what isn't (aka why I may not be a great nurse). The good: - I am very hardworking - I am compassionate and caring - I love health and am interested in science - I like the thought of being able to help people as a part of my job - I like the salary, job security, possible benefits, and future advancement of nursing The bad: - I hate charting and care plans. Everything about it! - I am horrible with critical thinking. I am a very black or white person, so I struggle with this. - I am deeply affected by stress and negative situations. I do not handle severely sick people or death well at all. I am very sensitive. - I have a hard time physically being on my feet for more than an 8 hour shift. - I tend to freeze and panic in lab and clinical situations, even if there is nothing "bad" happening. Could be as simple as inserting a catheter or giving a bed bath to a grumpy pt. I have a tendency to be very nervous and anxious, more so than my other inexperienced peers. - There are a lot of aspects about nursing that frighten me, from being forced to work holidays while my family is having fun without me to being put on a floor that I hate because I lack experience. The long hours and mandatory overtime make me shy away from the job, as well as the horrible things that could happen, like mixing up meds and harming a pt or forgetting something else important. As you can see, I'm pretty scared to become a nurse. I cry pretty much nightly, and I would like to think I'm usually a tough person. I've never been this depressed in my life until I started nursing school. Any advice? Should I tough it out and pray it gets better, or switch to something I feel more confident and passionate about? Life is too short to do something you dread, right? Thanks everyone!

The problem is, I'm smack in the middle of my semester. If I drop my classes now, I will have a "W" (for withdrawal) for all of my course grades. I emailed my adviser and asked if I could make an appointment to talk about my options, but she hasn't replied and it's already been a week. I do know that I need to switch majors, and I wish I could do it now, but my main question is, should I tough out clinicals or opt out of them now before they've started?

Hi everyone, I am in my second year of nursing school and will be starting my first clinical in two weeks. I have been on the fence about nursing since I even chose it as a major in high school. I figured I'd pick something health-related, since that interested me, and something that would have good job security and the potential to make good money. So I chose nursing. All the wrong reasons to go into this field. I am now regretting my decision and would like to switch to either dental hygiene or occupational therapy, as I have shadowed both and loved them. I have realized that nursing is just not my cup of tea. I hate charting, I hate being responsible for relaying messages between doctors and other members of the team, I am a little queasy around bodily fluids and forget dealing with someone in a lot of pain or god forbid dying. I see some of my friends doing their thing in lab and they are fantastic. I hope they'll be my nurses someday! But I just don't see that in myself and I've finally come to terms with the fact that nursing is simply not for me. I dread going to class every day. My professors know my heart isn't in it, and are trying to weed me out. One of my professors even made me cry the other day, which was super embarrassing. I am not doing well in my classes because my brain has already checked out, and I get nervous every time I think about simply going to lecture, never mind lab! Our clinical is in a nursing home and is worth only 1 credit, and takes place for most of the day on Fridays. I could drop this class and still be above the minimum credit requirement to get financial aid. The only pro to staying in clinical is that I would earn my CNA license at the end of the semester, but now I'm not even sure if working as one would be worth the few extra bucks per hour (I already have a fairly good job that is not nursing related). So what I'm asking here is, is staying in clinical worth it? Should I stick with it to see if maybe I would change my mind about leaving the program? Or risk losing my sanity from having so much anxiety over it?

Laurie52, Maybe I just need to give it a shot for the rest of the semester and job shadow some nurses from different specialties. I am very interested in labor and delivery, so maybe having some sort of end goal to get to a desired field will help me through school. I think it's hard to know if I want to stick with it until I go through clinical and have actual patient interaction. Maybe I'll love it! Thank you for your advice.

Guttercat, I start my first clinical in three weeks. It's in a nursing home, with a small group of other students. I am terribly nervous about them, but so are the rest of my peers. I figured I will push through the rest of this semester and see how clinical goes, and maybe that will help me make up my mind. Like you said, I think I already have answered a lot of my own questions. I hate to give up on something, but I guess it's only considered giving up if I look at it that way! Thanks for your input!

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if any of you have felt that nursing was not for you at some point, or know someone who switched careers? I am currently in the second semester of my sophomore year in college and I'm enrolled in my school's BSN program. For the first year and a half, I was on the fence about going into nursing, but I stuck with it because so many of my family and friends supported me to see it through (none of these people are nurses). I had never shadowed a nurse, and never worked as a CNA, so I really didn't have much first hand experience when I made my decision to go to nursing school. I figured it would be a well-paying job that I could get a degree for in four short years, and I like heath and science. I also liked the thought that I could work in so many different areas or eventually get an advanced degree and work my way up. Fast forward two years into college. My professors are miserable nurses who turned to teaching due to burn out. They tell horror stories about what could -- and does go wrong in the field. Some of my friends' parents are nurses and they are the most exhausted people I have ever met. I struggle with charting and am absolutely horrible at critical thinking/NCLEX type questions, and really have no desire to practice any of this stuff. It just doesn't click in my head. I have gone from the dean's list to getting straight C's this semester, and I am honestly losing motivation. I could go on and on forever about my fears about both nursing school and the profession. I am not scared of a little hard work; that has never been the issue. I'm already dreading possibly having to work the night shift and be on my feet for over 12 hours without getting a break, and not being able to devote as much attention to each of my patients as I really should. I am starting to learn more about the corrupt politics and crazy stress that come with nursing as I get further in my program, and I am starting to worry that I am wasting my time and money on school. Any thoughts? Should I finish my degree and try to find a specialty that I can stand, or should I explore some other options? I am interested in switching to dental hygiene or occupational therapy. Still in the health field, but perhaps a little lower stress (not to say these jobs aren't difficult) and a more flexible schedule. I'm a strong believer that truly good nurses feel a calling to the profession, and I am grateful for these nurses. I'm just not sure if I'm one of them!