Scared of becoming a nurse

Nursing Students General Students

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So..heres my story. I always wanted to become a nurse. I love that the job is so versatile and I can go pretty much anywhere in the country and always find a job. I was accepted into 4 different private colleges, all community colleges by me I was put on waiting lists. I went to a really expensive private college and failed patho. I then found this site and saw the worst of the worst. People were scaring me into not wanting to become a nurse. I then got a job as a patient sitter at a hospital. All I was in charge of doing was sitting there watching the patient and I WAS SCARED! All of the nurses were so mean to me. They were all saying why do you want to be a nurse? You are so young there are so many things you can be besides cleaning up after people. This is a stressful job you are so young and can do whatever you want. So, I left the expensive private nursing school. I felt I was wasting my parents money. I studied for patho intensely but, if I were to go out on a Friday night with my boyfriend to say oh a dinner and movie I'd feel SO guilty! It just didn't seem fair. Now, I'm back at a community college and all pre-reqs are completed and I'd love to get in the ADN program but it doesn't seem to be working. I have a 3.6 gpa and it doesn't seem to be cutting it. If I were to get it, I'd only have 30 credits to graduate and all would be part time semesters which would dramatically lighten my load.

Can anyone help me? Do you think I'm cut out as a nurse? I am really scared of messing up on patients, I mean its their lives were talking about. I know we all learn but I'm overly scared. I can probably apply to another school but I'm scared to give it another shot, I know so many friends who have become nurses and I REALLY think I can do it. I just am scared of wasting my parents money, although they support me 100%. I also am scared of everyone saying like nursing school students can never go out and they lose all their friends. It sounds bizarre but its coming from actual nursing students, so is it true? I've been thinking about teaching, a few friends are going into teaching but I've always had my heart set on nursing in the med field, it seems so much more interesting. But, some people claim nursing is yet the worst job, and physically and emotionally demanding that I don't honestly know if I'm ready. But, I just turned 21 and its been my dream throughout high school, I dreamed of being an OBGYN nurse, I'm fascinated with it all. I talked to my counselor she tells me nurses make no money for the BS they put up with and their not "professional." A teaching job she claims is "professional." If that makes sense? I live in Northern NJ, BErgen county and its a very expensive county to live here. A friend of my moms, went back to school at 40 years old and she passed with flying colors and became a nurse here and was making 80k her first year. But, now shes going back for school nurse and wants nothing to do with the hospitals and is going to take a big pay cut. So is nursing really what I want? MANY seem to be running away from it...? advice? :heartbeat

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I think you need to stop listening to all the negatives. If you want to be a nurse, then do it! Every profession has its good and bad parts. Why are you allowing everyone else to determine your path? Your life is your descision.

best of luck to you!

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Well, I'm kind of scared. I mean, I hated being a patient sitter it was the scariest thing and I was with the most dangerous patients who needed to be watched 24/7, does that mean I'll hate nursing? I don't know. I'm young and I feel horrible wasting my parents money if this isn't for me. I also work part time but have all the time in the world to do whatever I want. I like to go to the gym and hang out with friends and boyfriend some days even if its like just out to lunch and I remember someone on here was like well kiss that life good bye because entering nursing school is like being confined to only nursing school and you have to commit your whole life to it. Granted, yes nursing school is going to be hard, but that hard? I personally don't want to give up 2+ years of my life for nursing school to come out to a job that I hate.

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Specializes in Infection Control, Employee Health & TB.

I would have to agree with matilda123, what you do with your life is your choice. I also agree that I have come across many nurses throughout my clinical rotations that hate their job. And to me that is sad... there are so many options if you were to become unhappy in the job that you are in... I don't understand why you wouldn't get out! At the beginning of my second semester in nursing school, my instructor went around the class asking us why we wanted to be nurses. After we were all done, she made a point to say that if you are going into this for the money and the glory, you will be miserable within years of landing your first nursing job. If you are going into this to positively impact another person's life by the way you care for them, you are going to love it. It was only after she had said that to us, that I recognized those nurses that LOVE their job. It is so easy to see now that I have tried my hardest to work closely with them througout my clinicals and it makes a huge difference! You will find it is those nurses encouraging you to follow your dream. So do just that... good luck!

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Thanks for your reply. I understand its my life and I should choose, I'm having such trouble though. I am terribly scared of losing friends during NS because of its demand and just not feeling myself like I was when I was in the private 4 yr BSN program. If I went out Friday night with a friend, I'd have a patho test that following tuesday I'd feel SO guilty I'd have to go home AND I'd still do bad on that test. I'm also scared of hurting a patient or giving wrong meds, etc. I don't know what to do. i Know there are people who worked full time during this program and I just can't seem to see how. I can barely live a normal life when I was in the program and I'm 21 years old with no bills and a 15 hour per week waitressing job. Maybe I'm not smart enough.:banghead:

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Specializes in Infection Control, Employee Health & TB.

Nursing school is as hard as you make it to be. I am surrounded by nursing students that say you have to sacrifice everything to be successful in nursing school, and I haven't. My best friend in nursing school is a stay at home mom with two boys that are in all kinds of activities and she still has time to volunteer at their school. I'm married, have 11 nieces and nephews that I just can't stop seeing and I work part-time. Both of us do very well in classes by just managing our time well. If you set aside some time every day to study, you won't have to study for 18 hours on the weekends. It can be done!

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Specializes in Infection Control, Employee Health & TB.

"I'm also scared of hurting a patient or giving wrong meds, etc. I don't know what to do."

Don't sweat it! I too had a similar fear, but as you do the hands on stuff you become more confident. But it happens over time. Also, you will not be allowed to administer anything in nursing school to a patient unless your instructor or another nurse is present. Also, I don't know if hospitals where you are offer this, but in your last year of nursing school some in my area offer nurse extern positions that allow you to work one shift a week where you have a patient and are their nurse for the shift. You work closely with a preceptor, but it helps gain that bedside confidence that you want.

By the way, I haven't lost any friends while in nursing school. Those friends that support me, are still there. And I have made life-long friendships with several girls in nursing school. I haven't graduated yet, but I know that they are friendships worth hanging on to!

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Thanks, I really do wonder if I'll end up choosing nursing. I cannot seem to get into community colleges around here and my GPA is 3.6 which is terrible. That only leaves me with 4 yr private college because universities here do not have nursing. I know there is so many opportunities that nursing has to offer with all the specialties alone but I really wonder if I'll like it, just knowing the stress levels and the phsyical/emotional demand of nursing and like the liability in nursing stresses me already and I'm not a nurse. I just feel like if I decide to go into teaching (my second choice) I'd be settling. I mean, my friend shes 22 and just graduated the education program and loved it. Shes now a teacher and makes 48k a year with all weekends, holidays, snow days, summers off and she has really great benefits. Thats just to start. I mean to me, its not all about the salary but its something to factor in.

*But, I've never got to the point in nursing school where I started clinicals, I guess thats why I don't know really if I want to be a nurse. I was in the bsn program and got up to patho class, thats it. besides all the easy little nursing classes about culture and stuff.

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... I think that any job is going to have its pros and its cons. The question is- how big are the cons and how much reward do you get from the pros? Everyones answer to that will be different. Don't let anyone else scare you- life is what you make of it- if you feel you *want* to be a nurse- chances are you'll *enjoy* being a nurse. Even if there are parts of the job you absolutely hate. And IMO you'll never know until you're there. Good luck!

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Thanks, I really think I'll enjoy being a nurse, maybe I'm just scared of not succeeding. I don't know if I'm cut out for this considering I failed pathophysiology :( I studied what I thought was a lot. How many hours/days do you guys study? Are any of yous graduated nurses? Do you regret anything? I am going to try to get into community college since my pre-reqs are done and I have only 30 credits to graduate which are all nursing classes and in a span of 2 years thats only 7.5 credits a semester so it will lighten my load. Its so competitive to get in, they only took 3.8 gpa and up the last two years and I have a 3.6

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I would say that nursing school does take the most of your time if you want to be successful. And the passing minimum are pretty high, 76% at my school. But I think you will still have time to go out to the movies once a week. I would not advise working though. And don't forget that you still have your summers off unless you are in the accelerated program.

You have to decide for yourself if you are going to like nursing or not. You have been to hospitals and clinicals, see for yourself if you like the environment, and what nurses do and if you can do it. The will have to touch people, sometimes homeless people who haven't taken a shower. You will be the one to bath them and wiping their backs. Think for yourself if this is something you would like to be doing.

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

There are negatives to the job sure:

-patients who are having no s/s of pain..but always state 9/10 when they're watching TV, bouncing a kid off the lap, walking around, sleeping...etc.

-patients who come in from some nursing homes with BAD pressure ulcers, hip fractures, raw skin, dirty, etc....and you have to clean them up. It becomes a caring issue. I would rather take care of that...and I don't mind it, as I know it helps my patients. sometimes you find yourself caring and just detaching from the task at hand.

the rewards are beyond financial in my opinion. I believe that EVERY nurse should work as a CNA in the environment they would like to work in after NS. It helps tremendously in my own personal opinion.

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