Realizing that Nursing is Not for Me

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello,

I received a BA in psychology in hopes of becoming a clinical psychologist. After I graduated, I got a job working on clinical research trials at a wonderful hospital in Nor Cal. I really enjoyed being in a hospital and after speaking with the clinical staff, I believed I could really enjoy a career in nursing. I must admit I also liked the idea of working on my feet rather than at a desk and not to mention and I really want to work with patients. I shadowed some nurses and decided to go for it.

I decided to get a CNA certificate and applied to the same hospital as a CNA, per diem. After my first CNA orient, I was a wreck. I had a major break down and realized that I do not want to be a CNA and do not want to purse a future career as a RN. It was overwhelming and I felt like my CNA training in a skilled nursing facility did not prepare me for acute care at all. Also, I do not like working on the hospital floor setting. You never know what can happen and that stresses me out. It is also very fast paced and you must get in and out of each room as quick as possible. I would rather get to know my patients on a mental health level. I believe my first instinct to be a clinical therapist is more for me. I need to take my time in my work and need a calm environment. I have very bad anxiety. I know I don't want to be a RN. However, I just completed my first orient and have four more to go. It is per diem so I could work as a CNA while I explore other career options. However, the thought of doing this for a long period of time stress me out. I truly hate it and know I will have some much anxiety every day going into work and I don't want to waste anyones time and money. Ideally, I would like to quit the CNA job (esp. because i know I don't want to purse RN) but I don't want to burn any bridges. Is it best to stick it out even if i'm miserable and will potentially do very poorly or should I quit now?

Please help, feeling very upset and lost,

- Sophie

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

If you know in your heart nursing isn't for you, then follow that gut feeling. While it's true being a CNA is not like being a nurse, the things you mentioned that bother you pretty much come with the territory.

There are nursing jobs that are not filled with multiple stressful factors and unpredictability, but that will complicate your job hunts at times you may not have the flexibility to devote the time to it, and gritting your teeth taking a hospital position merely for necessity-- not good at all.

You may also hinder your ability to advance in salary and promotions compared to choosing a career where most available jobs would be acceptable as a whole.

No need to feel bad about doing what's right for you sooner than later.

Hey there! Fear not. Sometimes nursing is really not for everyone. BUT that being said I think there is something out there for almost everyone. I myself am not one for adult nursing/CNAing I found out, and that's OKAY. Not everyone is. I just landed a job in the NICU and am beyond excited. You just have to find what you may like. Have you thought about working in a med-spa or plastic surgeons office? I LOVE that idea and hope to work with both babies AND part time in a med-spa. Its going to be okay. Take some time to think about it. I gained experience on a med/surg/orho floor because at the time that's who would hire me, trust me, I had my share of mental breakdowns but you get through them. :)

Hope that helped! Feel free to message me.

-Racheal

I would have quit too if I had to work as a CNA before starting nursing school. A lot of nurses would not be able to handle a day in the life of a CNA. Just like a lot of doctors wouldn't be able to handle a day in the life of an RN. There are so many different areas of nursing, too. Psych nursing is *totally* different than a medical floor and can still be in a hospital setting. Get a masters and you could be a psychiatric nurse practitioner and work in an office and Work one on one with patients. (You would have to make it through nursing school first of course but you only start off with one patient, later get two, and usually at most 4 when you're near done with the program).

I think one bad day might not be enough to be sure but if you are sure... managers would want to know as soon as possible if you're still on orientation because they're paying you to be training so it's a waste of money. If you're off orientation, they would probably be annoyed but the absolute least you can do is give a couple weeks notice.

I think that particular hospital would not hire you again in the future if you quit before at least a year but if you hate it that much then what can you do.

Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

1). Well, now you know about one thing you do NOT enjoy in life. This is OK. It is actually much better than to realize the same after you invested more time and money into it.

2). Everyone in nursing (as well as in every other area of human occupation) knows that there are people who might like this particular area but just not created for actually doing it. Again, it is a common knowledge. You won't be the first or last one making this decision. So, if you found CNA job not to be your cup of tea, just withdraw now. It won't make you looking bad.

3). That being said, if later on you would like to continue to advanced clinical nursing, you always can go through Psychiatry/Mental Health NP program, direct admit or through accelerated BSN. Your experience as clinical psychologist would be appreciated there. Just gain more exposure and see more mental Health Professionals working before you make such a big decision.

Hello,

I received a BA in psychology in hopes of becoming a clinical psychologist....

I would rather get to know my patients on a mental health level. I believe my first instinct to be a clinical therapist is more for me. I need to take my time in my work and need a calm environment. I have very bad anxiety. I know I don't want to be a RN. However, I just completed my first orient and have four more to go. It is per diem so I could work as a CNA while I explore other career options. However, the thought of doing this for a long period of time stress me out. I truly hate it and know I will have some much anxiety every day going into work and I don't want to waste anyones time and money. Ideally, I would like to quit the CNA job (esp. because i know I don't want to purse RN) but I don't want to burn any bridges. Is it best to stick it out even if i'm miserable and will potentially do very poorly or should I quit now?

Please help, feeling very upset and lost,

- Sophie

It's very ironic and very interesting that an aspiring clinical psychologist who now has a degree in psychology is asking for emotional support. I'm not bashing. I consider this a compliment more than anything else. Because, if anything, nurses that are burnt-out would seek help by talking to someone like you, even though you're not a clinical psychologist yet.

I had to look up exactly what defines a clinical psychologist.

"Clinical psychology is the psychological specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioral health care for individuals and families; consultation to agencies and communities; training, education and supervision; and research-based practice. It is a specialty in breadth - one that is broadly inclusive of severe psychopathology - and marked by comprehensiveness and integration of knowledge and skill from a broad array of disciplines within and outside of psychology proper. The scope of clinical psychology encompasses all ages, multiple diversities and varied systems.....

Clinical psychology as a specialty provides services to individuals and families across the lifespan and from all ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as groups and communities.

Problems/Issues

The specialty of clinical psychology addresses behavioral and mental health issues faced by individuals across the lifespan including:

Intellectual, emotional, psychological, social and behavioral maladjustment.Disability and discomfort.Minor adjustment issues as well as severe psychopathology."

Source:Clinical Psychology

If you have an opportunity to become a clinical psychologist, I'd say go for it. Nursing, I believe wherever you are, can be really stressful.

If anything, there may be a few patches of non-stressful nursing jobs, i.e. research/education that you may consider.

P.s.

Give CNA a shot and as you are doing it, observe how licensed/registered nurses handle stressful and non-stressful situations.

If 6 months or a year from now you're still stressed out and miserable, then this time, you may re-consider.

Lastly, if CNA job is already stressful enough. I assure you an RN/NP will be 100 times more stressful. But with enough years of experience and skills you become resilient.

Specializes in ICU.

I think you're getting a lot of great advice from previous posters. Just throwing in my two cents - I'd change your username if you're posting your first name, last name in username and region of the hospital you work at. It just could put you in an uncomfortable situation if someone reads this from your hospital before you make your decision and communicate with management. You'd be surprised, but I've recognized people by their posts on this site even without names. I hope things work out for you! :)

If you're really worried about burning bridges, then perhaps consider sticking it out for a period of time where you could say you took enough time on the job to make a wise decision, (and improve the look on the resume). Two months, or three, would give you the ability to say to future employers that you stayed at this job long enough to see that direct patient care is not for you. Make a plan that includes leaving sooner should a better situation present itself sooner. That is also a good reason for adjusting your timing. Nobody expects you to stay forever if you are miserable, but they would expect you to give it a good trial period before jumping ship.

Nurses are more stressed than CNAs. Quit now and go into mental health. It sounds like you like that more.

Specializes in Emergency.
I am a CNA. I wanted to work as a CNA while I completed my prereqs for RN school. But after starting my orientation, I know that this is not for me.

You just answered your own question. There is no shame or burned bridges in stating the facts that you have laid out here. You dipped your toes in and found it not suited to you, back out now, be apologetic but clear that you found the work as a CNA a realization that becoming an RN is not in your cards. No shame in that, it would be better if more people did that level of self realization before moving into something they don't want to do.

Specializes in Neurosciences, stepdown, acute rehab, LTC.

What happened to the original career idea ? Can you use your psych degree ? With honesty and a two week notice there is no risk of burning bridges. Assuming your cohorts are reasonable. It's hard to feel like a quitter but it's completely worth it in certain circumstances.

Before you quit you should keep in mind that CNA experience will help you in your psych endeavors, as CNA's are on the front lines. Not only do they provide necessary basic nursing care, they deal with difficult patients and families, life and death situations, acute and chronic illness and injury, sad scenarios, surprising recoveries, abusers and the abused, depression, anxiety, addiction...and that's a really short list. If you can try to power through the anxiety of being new and uncomfortable (and are willing to come to terms with the chronic understaffing you are guaranteed as a tech) you may find yourself deriving some satisfaction from the work, as well as learning a lot you can extrapolate to clinical psychology.

Incidentally, working in psych can be very overwhelming as well, from what I've seen. I've known a number of people that went to school for psych for years on end, but then when they had to start dealing with psych patients in a clinical setting they quit school, saying it wasn't what they thought, it was too stressful, not for them, etc... Not wanting to sound downtrodden, but if you haven't, make sure you do some self evaluation and are clear at what people actually do as clinical psychologists. I guess it goes without saying, but it isn't a walk in the park either. All patient care has some common denominators.

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