mariemonae92

Okay thanks! I was going to add that I know there are some differences as well based on the research I have done, but I will go check out that thread.

So, I have a friend who is currently in a 13 month accelerated BSN with hopes of becoming a CRNA in the future. However, she has recently found out about programs to become an anesthesiologist assistant. She is interested in doing that instead of the nursing program since CRNAs and anesthesiologist assistants do pretty much the same thing. After doing some research on both paths, it seems like she can become an anesthesiologist assistant and just focus on the field of anesthesiology and have to finish the nursing program. She seems to be set on this idea of leaving the accelerated nursing since she only just began her fall semester/second month of the program and focusing on finishing her prerequisites which are similar to those required for medical school, shadow in the field (some AA schools only require shadowing experience to get in) and taking the MCAT. After completing that she hopes to apply in hopes of being accepted. The reason why she doesn't want to complete the nursing program anymore is because she is most passionate about anesthesia. Has anyone heard about anesthesiologist assistant programs? Does anyone have any advice about her decision? Would it look bad on her application if she did decide to leave the accelerated nursing program to go to an anesthesiologist assistant program instead?

I don't think that it is bedside nursing that I'm afraid of. It nursing as a whole. I just don't feel passionate about it like I thought that I would. I have done research on the different careers in nursing before, and I don't know if it is the career for me. I decided to stay in the program, and the Fall semester just started. I thought that the break that we had would have allowed me to regain focus and motivation for nursing school. However, I still feel that lack of motivation and loss of focus that I felt over the summer. I feel like I may need to take a break from nursing school and do some volunteering and exploring of nursing and other careers before investing too much time and money into a career that I'm not sure about anymore.

I'm 23 years old, and I just completed my first semester of the one-year accelerated BSN program that I am in this summer. Nursing is a first career for me because my first bachelor's degree was in psychology, and I did not really work before entering nursing school. I had plans of going to dental school, but I didn't follow through because I didn't have all of the prereqs done and I didn't feel like my GPA was good enough. I thought that I would be interested in becoming a Psychiatric NP, so I chose nursing. Before entering the program I was a little nervous, and I was having second thoughts wondering if I was making the right decision. I even felt that way after orientation, but I decided to go ahead and enter the program to see if I would have a change of heart after a month. However, during the program, I felt like my heart was not in it and I was not motivated. I mean, I did all of the assignments and did good on the exams, but it didn't always seem exciting. It just seemed like work. The homework assignments that we had just seemed like busy work, and it caused me to lose so much sleep. Losing sleep made me even more stressed out, and it caused me to lose focus. I remember one of the students from the graduating class told us that we might have a nervous/mental breakdown during the spring semester of the program, but I already feel like I have had a few in the one month that I have been in nursing school. I was even tempted to withdraw from the program after the first week. I felt so burnt out, but I still continued, and I finished strong. For some reason, I'm still not sure of nursing is for me or if I'm supposed to be doing something else. I have spoken to my family, friends, and one of my instructors about it, and they have either told me to stick with nursing or follow my heart. All of the advice was mixed, but my parents and instructor have tried to convince me to stay in nursing school and get my BSN. So I am still confused about what I should do. I think that some of the reasons that I am not sure are because I get super nervous during nursing school practicals, I feel like I don't have a connection with my classmate (I'm kind of a loner sometimes and I don't put myself out there enough), and I lack some of the life experience needed for an accelerated nursing program since I didn't have a career in a healthcare field before nursing school. I am already getting really nervous about clinicals because I'm afraid that since I was so nervous in the practicals, it would be the same or worse during clinicals. I'm also really introverted, quiet, and a little shy, so I'm not sure if nursing suits me and my personality. Cost is also hindering me. Financial aid covered my summer semester, but fall and spring are going to be more expensive than I expected so my loans will not fully cover tuition/fees/housing, plus there are other expenses that I have to pay out of pocket for supplies (books, etc.) and books are expensive. Sometimes, I find myself exploring other careers including cosmetic science, biomedical engineering, medical research, and dentistry. I love science and the hands-on aspect of these fields. I also think that a lab career would suit me more at times. Sometimes, I think that I should just continue with nursing school, but I am not sure. I only have a week to figure it out. Any Advice???

I am currently a student in an accelerated BSN program. I have just completed my first semester (summer session) of nursing school, so I have completed all of the basics. Before starting the program and throughout my time in the program, I felt like my heart was not in nursing anymore. I am having second thoughts about choosing a career in nursing. Though I did pretty well in my classes, I just did not have the motivation that I needed and it has been hard for me to focus on nursing. The program has stressed me out already, and sometimes I wonder if nursing is really for me or if I'm supposed to be doing something else. I know that the program is very intense. I knew that coming in. This past month has been really overwhelming and stressful, though. I received my bachelor's degree in psychology last spring, and before deciding to enter nursing school, I had plans to enter dental school. I really like science the hands-on aspect of the career. However, I didn't do that well in two of my prerequisites, and not being knowledgeable about post-baccalaureate programs at the time, decided to start researching second careers in healthcare. I knew that I wanted to work in healthcare, and I already had a lot of the prerequisite for nursing school, so I looked into it. I thought that I would be interested in becoming a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner because I liked psychology and I thought that I could use my knowledge in that career. Then I got interested in nurse anesthesia and dermatology nursing. However, I feel like I lost interest in nursing during my first semester. I'm just not sure if it fits my personality. I'm an introvert, and it seems like nursing is a very interactive career, and though I like interaction sometimes and don't want to work in complete isolation all the time, feeling drained just makes me feel more stressed out. I'm not sure if this is a normal feeling for new nursing students or my heart telling me that I am supposed to be doing something else. Sometimes I feel like I should have just stuck with dentistry which is what I originally wanted to do. I have also become more interested in cosmetic science, it would probably be more difficult for me to transition into something like that. I had a talk with one of my instructor, and she convinced me to stay in the program, but for some reason I can't help but wonder if I'm making the right decision by staying. Fall semester starts in a little less than two weeks and clinicals will begin then, but I'm not sure what I should do. I think if I would have done more shadowing or volunteering before deciding on nursing, I would have known what I was getting myself into.