Should I have chosen nursing?

[undecided]

I am in my late thirtes and have three children. I was a SAHM for many years and wanted a career change into the medical field. My first choice was PA but it would take me four years to complete going 3/4 time and my husband and kids probably could not handle me being in school that long . For the longest time, I was trying to decided if I should apply to nursing school. There was a night time program at the county college near my house which I applyed to . I had a straight A average in all my science courses and a B average in my liberal arts degree from Univ. OF Michigan and I still did not get in ( although I never actually got a rejection letter, they just "lost" my paperwork and kept blowing me off). My friends who had no degrees and where getting C's in all thier prereques got in before me. I took that as a sign that it was not meant to be. Also, I have several friends who have been nurses for many years ( 15 +) so I have heard all the downsides of nursing.When I asked them if they would recomend nursing as a career, they were not so encouraging. SOme were very discouraging. I eventually applied to nuclear medicine school and got in.

Here I am 1/3 of my way through the program and now I am constantly questioning my decision. I love learning pathology. I like talking to the patients at the hospital and helping them in any way I can. Unfortunately, I get in trouble if I stay to long and talk to them. It's verry nice when they tell me how sweet I am to them.

I went into nuc med because I heard that there was a tremendous need for new techs andn I would have no problem finding a job. It was also a 12-15 month program once the pre reqs are done. I heard the money was good ( better than any other rad techs like cat and MRI) and it sounded interesting.

Now that I am in the program, I cannot see myself in the field for very long. There is no autonomy. You prepare the radioharmaceuticals, inject them i, explain everything to the patient, take pictures and process them. The Radiologist then decides if the pictures are okay or not. I feel like a picture processer!

I guess I am looking for something more challenging. I also don't know what the job market is like. You see tons of ads for nurses but never any for nuc med techs although I keep hearing from the instructors and program director that all the graduates have found a job upon graduation. I also wanted to work part time and now I am hearing that most jobs are full time

Its so frustrating. I wanted to find a direct entry NP program but there are non in NJ. Everything else would require years of schooling. I just wonder if I made the wrong choice. Where do I go from here???

Thanks for listening.

Monica

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

gee you sound a lot like me! I originally started school years ago as a rad tech, then dropped it because I had to work full time, and the program was too demanding to work and school at the same time. So worked for years,(non medical) and then a friend/co worker said she was going to nursing school at the community college. It had better availabilty for me to continue working full time and go to school(classes were offered off hours), so I said , why not- I like you liked the people aspect and even now I do get caught behind chatting with my patients. But I usually get thanked because they appreciate that I took an extra moment for them. My company then decided to let me go (work went to mexico) and I thought - let's go for it, and I did. I completed my aas in nursing in december 04, also while having a young child and being in my 30's.(started late :) ) Now that I'm working on a cardiac floor, I can say that you will certainly use your critical thinking skills in this field -you will NOT be bored!Are your children older, and is your husband supportive of you going? I think you should go for it. Can you talk to a councelor at that college and try again? I know at the college here, they wont even consider you until you have the pre reqs in such as anatomy, phys, micro, eng, math,psych, soc, etc. Maybe if you spoke to someone directly some of your previous credits might transfer. I would insist on speaking to a counselor directly, or even someone from the nursing program. You've got the grades. Give it a try. Keep us posted and good luck to you.

[duncanRN]

Please pursue your interest in nursing. I am a fairly new RN (have only been out of school for a year) and yes, nursing does have it's downside, but if you get in it for the right reason and don't lose your focus, you will do well. I would strongly encourage you to speak to a counselor at the community college and find out if you have the prereq's needed to enter the program. If you don't, take the ones you need and APPLY! I am sure with you academic record, that you will get in. In two short years, you will be a RN with a good job that it sounds to me that you will really like. Please don't give up on nursing.

I am in my late thirtes and have three children. I was a SAHM for many years and wanted a career change into the medical field. My first choice was PA but it would take me four years to complete going 3/4 time and my husband and kids probably could not handle me being in school that long . For the longest time, I was trying to decided if I should apply to nursing school. There was a night time program at the county college near my house which I applyed to . I had a straight A average in all my science courses and a B average in my liberal arts degree from Univ. OF Michigan and I still did not get in ( although I never actually got a rejection letter, they just "lost" my paperwork and kept blowing me off). My friends who had no degrees and where getting C's in all thier prereques got in before me. I took that as a sign that it was not meant to be. Also, I have several friends who have been nurses for many years ( 15 +) so I have heard all the downsides of nursing.When I asked them if they would recomend nursing as a career, they were not so encouraging. SOme were very discouraging. I eventually applied to nuclear medicine school and got in.

Here I am 1/3 of my way through the program and now I am constantly questioning my decision. I love learning pathology. I like talking to the patients at the hospital and helping them in any way I can. Unfortunately, I get in trouble if I stay to long and talk to them. It's verry nice when they tell me how sweet I am to them.

I went into nuc med because I heard that there was a tremendous need for new techs andn I would have no problem finding a job. It was also a 12-15 month program once the pre reqs are done. I heard the money was good ( better than any other rad techs like cat and MRI) and it sounded interesting.

Now that I am in the program, I cannot see myself in the field for very long. There is no autonomy. You prepare the radioharmaceuticals, inject them i, explain everything to the patient, take pictures and process them. The Radiologist then decides if the pictures are okay or not. I feel like a picture processer!

I guess I am looking for something more challenging. I also don't know what the job market is like. You see tons of ads for nurses but never any for nuc med techs although I keep hearing from the instructors and program director that all the graduates have found a job upon graduation. I also wanted to work part time and now I am hearing that most jobs are full time

Its so frustrating. I wanted to find a direct entry NP program but there are non in NJ. Everything else would require years of schooling. I just wonder if I made the wrong choice. Where do I go from here???

Thanks for listening.

Monica

[2bRn-STAT]

Hi

I just wanted to stress that before you make any more decisions you really need to soul search and find your true calling. I get a sense that you are not really motivated to do anything right now -other than complete a program. Please dont take this wrong-when you say that you have talked to friends and they did not really give a positive feedback of telling you that you should get into the field, you seemed to really change your position on your "dream" that fast. If you are that easily influenced in your decision it would be horrible to get started and then come to this realization. I have heard plenty of horrible stories about nursing -but along with the bad ones come so many of the great ones. There isnt a thing that ANYONE could tell me that would change my mind-I want this, so bad, there will be nothing in my way, and no negative comments that would make me change my mind. Nursing is broad, and there are so many areas to get into. Maybe your friends are stuck, undecided, maybe they settled for what they were first thrown into, maybe they arnt self-motivated and like to whine and complain. Only you know you-you know if this is just another ideal that you are contemplating, but not really decided on, you know if this is a true dream and passion that you MUST complete, search yourself first, you are old enough to know what you want, if you were 18-20 I really couldnt give you this same advice, but as we get older, we know without a shadow of a doubt what we want to do. If being a PA is your real dream, your family WILL sit aside those 4 years and support you til you are done. That is not too long for a family to sacrifice some of moms time for you to fulfill your heart and goals. Just do not forget the time contraints and demands of the actual job after you finish school also. Try your local hospital to see if you could walk along side in a day of a nurse to really get a feel of if you could do this long term or not. You MUST understand the job and its daily functions before you get into another program- or you will be a 1/3 through another program wanting to get out of it.

Good Luck with whatever decision you make-also, admissions counselors know who is for real and who sounds a little apprehensive. If you decide totally to do it- then you go in there with confidence, reapply if you have to, and stay in their faces keeping up with your admissions status. Then they will know that you are just as serious as those girls that were C students. Heart and desire means a whole lot more to a school then a high G.P.A

Good Luck again Monica hope it all works out for you.

[mtnmom]

if you can swing it and have a supportive family then by all means go for it!!!! I went to a year of RT school when I was 18 but had to drop out for the same reasons as you - no money and no parental support, had to support myself. I wound up doing a variety of things until I settled into a career as a paralegal, which I was successful at - but there was always that nagging feeling that I was not "being all I could be". I finally found myself out of a job in 1995 due to a corporate restructuring, and after 2 years as a SAHM was climbing the walls....I lived for the Sunday crossword or any other mental stimulation!!!! I went for it and went to nursing school...my husband thought I was crazy at first but I arranged my own childcare and financing. I graduated at age 40 and have never looked back - and now am starting an FNP prog. 5 yrs. later.

Life is 2 short for "what ifs".

Maybe you can work prn as a nuclear med tech while in school!!! I'm sure that experience will be valuable to you.

Good luck. :)