right career path?

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 15, 2010

You never know until you give it a try. Life is like that -- full of chances you have to take.

Look for a way to give it a try before investing too much money on your education. Volunteer in a hospital to see how you feel about being in that environment. Maybe work as a CNA while you are in school. Those types of experiences will give you clues as to how you will handle that type of work -- before you invest in a complete nursing education.

Also ... there is another thing about life. Sometimes, you just have to be strong and "push through it" when you are uncomfortable. Not everything worth having in life comes easily. You may find that you feel uncomfortable at first and be tempted to quit. But people who quit every time they feel uncomfortable never accomplish anything important. "Life's winners" are the people who keep going even when they are uncomfortable. They aren't born comfortable with everything ... they learn to be effective even when they are uncomfortable. As time passes, the become comfortable with more experience at whatever is new and frightening.

Nursing will put you in many uncomfortable situations. Even the best nurses are uncomfortable at times. If you demand that you always feel comfortable in your job, then nursing is not for you -- but then again, there aren't many careers that can guarantee that you will always be comfortable.

deetrain · Oct 18, 2010

Great advice... :nurse:

sophie<3 · Oct 18, 2010

I agree with the advice llg gave you...I am also in the same situation. I am not VERY shy..actually, in my everyday-outside-of-nursing life I am very social, have lots of friends, and feel very comfortable. But somedays at clinicals, when I put on my "Nursing Student" uniform and nametag I feel very much like a "student". I think some of us go in expecting to handle things as well as the nurses do, but because we are a student we are expected to be nervous and uncomfortable at times. We have a lot to learn and it all comes from experience. It can be intimidating to walk into a room and introduce yourself as a student...I always wonder if the patient is nervous that I don't have a lot of experience, but I imagine they would be much more nervous if I ACT nervous too. So I try my best to make them feel comfortable, even if I am not.

I sometimes wonder if nursing is for me, if I have problems touching and talking to clients...maybe nursing isn't a good idea after all...BUT not EVERYDAY is like that. Some clinical days I feel confident and enjoy talking to my patients. I think the anxiety still lives deep within me and in certain situations it will show its ugly face again, but I can tell I have grown a lot from Day 1. If you think that your anxieties are something you can overcome and work on, then push forward! Don't give yourself the option of quitting...when faced with an uncomfotable situation, do what I do and fake confidence. You won't believe how much it helps to go in and pretend like you aren't nervous and shy. Before long, it will bother you less! keep your head up and push forward...nobody said it would be easy, but it will definitely be worth it :)