im about a month into my junior year of a 4 year rn program at my university, and honestly, ive never been super interested in nursing, but i knew it was a needed job with good pay and oppurtunities, so i applied to nursing school, and did great on all my pre reqs. but now that im really in the nursing part of the program, im kind of regretting going... i dont think that i have the personality for nursing, the sweet caring compassionate character, even though my intelligence level is good enough for the workload. i dont want two years of my life to go to waste by dropping out and possibly not getting a good job later on in life, but im just not sure how ill get through clinicals, classes, and life with a job that i dont think i like at all. did anyone else feel this way? ive talked to several of my peers, they all agree that nursing school is hard, and the information overload is crazy, but i doubt that they feel how i feel... which is that i cant stand nursing. any suggestions/thoughts/comments?
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP! i really appreciate the advice everyone has given me, ive decided that ill just try to stick it out and do my best in the program and then if THAT isnt good enough somehow, then ill consider switching my major. to those of you who asked, yes there are certain areas of nursing i would definitely not mind working in such as psychiatric care, maybe L&D or a business oriented job, and i want to keep my options open for the future so i can support myself and still find something i love to do. Thank you again!
I am so glad that you posted this. I am actually waiting on my acceptance letter and I have a million fears and THAT is 1 of them. What if I go all the way through and HATE it? I am so glad to have somewhere to go where there are professionals available to listen and give words of encouragement.
I feel the same way because I always wanted to be a teacher... Since I cant pass some tests I tried nursing and passing. However, I really regret going so I advise anyone that decide to go to nursing or any program. To do it if its in your heart not becuase of money. You will be miserable like I am.
you can still teach, consider the vocational education end of teaching...cna's, ma's, lvns etc. dont let a CBest or any other MSAT or anything else keep you from teacing
Me too..I saw nursing as a way to get to nyc. Having already had a degree, I impulsively applied to Accelerated BSN programs, graduated last August. Turns out the economy sucks for nurses in nyc..the irony lol. Owell, no education is wasted, met some lifelong friends. I'm applying for psych jobs, you don't have to go bedside, I know I'm trying to avoid it.
Hey everyone! I guess I never realized that I had so many helpful responses to my post, or that I was the only one who felt that way about nursing.... Life has a funny way of working out though, 2 years, LOTS of hard work, clinicals, blood/sweat/tears/etc later, I graduated with honors and got my license this past July! I slowly came to realize that I couldn't have picked a better job, and I'm now searching for a new grad position, I can't wait to finally begin my career as a nurse. My experience helped me learn more about myself and I'd recommend serious soul-searching and support systems to get through tough times, especially nursing school. Thank you all!
PS forgot to add, I'm still not a 'soft and squishy' nurse, BUT I did have my senior internship in the emergency room and it was the best clinical I had! I think I'm going to aim for critical care nursing, and I definitely do not want L and D or psych anymore as specialties (though all nursing is psych nursing ). If anyone reads this 2 years later after posting their own uncertainties, give us an update on your confidence progress
I can see myself only in an emergency department as an entry-level position. I don't like working with patients enough to see the same needy ones for long periods of time. Sure, I know some get hung up in there and others are frequent flyers, but I don't want to spend eight hours or more answering the call light of some needy person. I don't have the patience or compassion for it. "Treat 'em and street 'em" fits me. I'm problem-oriented. I like to figure something out, deal with it, and then wash my hands of it. Critical care would be ok with just one patient, but having to hover over two to three would get to me. I think I could get used to dealing with one person for a shift.
I got into nursing school wanting a career change primarly (although I'm not sure I want to change anymore), but I also wanted to learn something interesting to me. Health, physiology, etc. has always been interesting to me, and nursing school includes some of that albeit not as detailed or explanatory as I had hoped for.
Long-term, I think I'd like psych, addictions, or something along those lines. I certainly like the material and what little rotation I've had in that capacity. I'm kind of used to dealing with people having those problems, but I don't think I'd like working in the capacity of a basic RN so I'm looking into the idea of being a Psych NP. It also seems to be a sound business venture.
The plan, as of now although subject to change with all of life's curveballs, is to finish school, find some type of ER job (full-time) or pick up some random part-time nurse gig and keep on doing what I'm doing full-time, start taking all the master's courses online that I can take that don't require 2000 hours of work, and once I finish those courses I'll probably have gained 2,000 hours over that period.
im about a month into my junior year of a 4 year rn program at my university, and honestly, ive never been super interested in nursing, but i knew it was a needed job with good pay and oppurtunities, ......... i cant stand nursing. any suggestions/thoughts/comments?
Get. Out.
Nursing is a hard job and if you don't like what you are doing, they simply won't be able to pay you enough or provide enough opportunity to make you happy.
So starting right now, think about what you are interested in - what do you WANT to do? Start working toward that. If it means dropping out of nursing school then do that.
The last two years of any program are tough. No one expects you to be Florence Nightingale, but you should at least be able to stand it!
Specializes in ICU, Intermediate Care, Progressive Care.
To the two posters above me-- this thread is from 2 years ago, the OP just posted to say that she stuck it out and is glad she did. :)
To the OP--congratulations and I'm glad that things worked out for you. I think we all have those moments of doubt, but you pushed through and it sounds like you're excited for all the opportunities to come.
Thanks miss jamie, i am very excited, as soon as i get my 1-2 years of experience im hoping to be a travel nurse somewhere awesome like hawaii or california, another great perk of nursing :)
Val_998, BSN, RN
30 Posts
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP! i really appreciate the advice everyone has given me, ive decided that ill just try to stick it out and do my best in the program and then if THAT isnt good enough somehow, then ill consider switching my major. to those of you who asked, yes there are certain areas of nursing i would definitely not mind working in such as psychiatric care, maybe L&D or a business oriented job, and i want to keep my options open for the future so i can support myself and still find something i love to do. Thank you again!