I'm starting this thread to hopefully connect with other nursing students who are pursuing this as a second career. What did you do before? Why are you making this switch? Why now?
I am 32 years old, female, former high school English teacher. When I started college at age 17, I didn't know what I wanted to do - I couldn't imagine choosing a career to stay in for forty years when I was still a teenager! I wanted to take a few years off school and continue in my retail job at the time, but my parents demanded that I attend college. My dad had his BS from Purdue in Elem. Ed., my sister had her BS from Purdue in Elem. Ed. and I had to follow suit. (say what you will about free will and choice, but I was 17 and living under my father's roof - he had a lot of say-so over my decisions) I convinced my parents that I didn't want to do elementary school and I loved all aspects of English (language, writing, literature, etc) so I earned my BA from Purdue in English & Secondary Education. I always knew I wouldn't teach forever, but I gave it my whole heart for ten years.
Now, I am back in school taking advanced A&P, Med. Term., and Personal Wellness while waiting to see if I get into an ASN program for Spring 2012. I checked into the BA-to-BSN programs, but it is actually faster where I am (Northwest Indiana) to get the ASN then transition to BSN, which I will do pretty quickly after ASN completion.
As a 17 year old college freshman, nursing never entered my mind. It's just happened over the years that I wound up taking care of ill family members (grandmother with breast cancer and Alzheimer's, aunt with breast cancer, mother-in-law with breast/throat cancer, aunt with hypoglycemia, grandfather who lost both legs, etc) I don't actually know how I wound up being the person to take care of all these relatives - I'm just a generally responsible person who does the things that need to be done. I felt overwhelmed at times - remember I was a full-time high school teacher all along. I thought I would be relieved to not have these extra care-taking responsibilities. I was very wrong. Everyone has passed on except my grandmother, and I eventually had to place her in a care home. I was not prepared for the extreme feelings of uselessness I experienced when I had no one to take care of and it hit me smack on the head one day, clear out of the blue: I need to be a nurse and take care of people every day.
So, I realize this is a bit long, but I wanted to put it out here who I am and why I am making this career choice at this point in my life. Hope to hear your stories as well!
