Should I have changed careers? RVT to RN in Alberta

[DogLady]

Hello! I'm another nursing student worried about my career change ? I'm 29 years old and in my 2nd year of nursing school (bachelor program) in Alberta. This is my second career, I have worked as an RVT (registered veterinary technologist) for the past 5 years. I worked in emergency, primary care, and at a dental specialty clinic. I loved so many things about being an RVT (the animals!!!), the job can be really cool, I had so much autonomy, I took extra education and was getting a lot of experience in advanced anesthesia. However, even with a higher responsibility job (that included working 14 hour days, advanced cases) I was making $22 an hour, which isn't great in AB. In addition, no one knows what an RVT is! You don't get a lot of societal respect or recognition for your work, and there's a limited career path. Veterinary medicine lags behind human medicine in a lot of ways. There are so many things to love (the animals!!!) and also many things that are not so great....... SO! I am in nursing school, fast track program so I will graduate in two years exactly. I worked for 3 years getting college pre-reqs to apply (while working full-time - it was a big effort). Of course, now that I'm here I am really questioning why I am here and what I am doing.

The economy is in a sorry state in Alberta, our new conservative government just announced lay-offs at AHS. I've been working casually as an RVT and I'm remembering what I love about it. I was in a really great job before I left and now I feel like I made a mistake going into human nursing. I love a lot of parts of nursing school so far, though the first term was community focused and not really my thing. I'm doing well and I have a 4.0. Still, I feel like it's pointless (especially with the political climate), and I'm worried I made a mistake. I'm 10 years older than everyone in my cohort and it's really hard to relate to anyone. They all live with their parents and are in such a different situation.

Thanks for reading this, if anyone has any advice on making a career move just generally and what got them through (especially in a tough economy) that would be lovely ?

[Wuzzie]

Two words...veterinary school.

[DogLady]

2 hours ago, Wuzzie said:

Two words...veterinary school.

Ha ha that's what one of my teachers told me during evaluations... I actually love nursing, I love direct patient care and all the emotional and technical aspects. I've never had an interest in being a doctor or a vet. There are many reasons I wanted to get out of the veterinary field, I feel like I love animals too much to work as an RVT. It's hard to see all the neglect and the few abuse cases really stick with you. I had too many ethical issues working for a corporation that's both trying to make money and provide healthcare... it gets tricky. I was hoping to hear experiences of people who moved from a different career into nursing.