Should I continue nursing school?

[lovlina]

Hi, everyone! I was hoping to get some advice about what decision I should make about nursing. I am in a BSN program currently, the first year was pre-nursing and the last 3 years are in the nursing school. I have completed both my pre-nursing year and the first year of actual nursing. I am currently finishing up a clinical rotation in med/surg, and I have been having some doubts recently. I am successful in lecture and I like the material that we are covering. I am actually getting some good feedback about my nursing skills in clinical as well. So I am doing pretty well, but I just don't seem to be enjoying myself in the clinical setting. During the most recent clinical, I found myself very overwhelmed by the amount of work and I barely had enough time to finish my charting. I came out of that clinical thinking, "maybe nursing is not for me." I did not get into nursing because it is my passion or something that I love. I decided on nursing because I wanted a medical profession that did not involve 8 years of school but could still earn me a decent salary. I have found that I don't entirely enjoy patient interactions. I am more content while sitting at the nurse's station on the computer than I am while in the patient's room. I am trying to be honest with myself in understanding if this is truly the path I want to take and the career I want to dedicate my life to. So far, the clinical work has been physically and emotionally difficult, and I know it will only be more challenging from here. I am contemplating switching majors at the end of this semester. I have considered pre-pharmacy and then entering a PharmD program. I enjoy pharmacology and do not mind the school work. The only issue is going to school for another 4 years past the bachelors (most schools are switching to a bachelor's requirement) and how much a PharmD program costs (A LOT).

I had these doubts at the beginning of the semester and almost left the program. Then I decided I will have many career opportunities and got past those doubts. They are now back.

Do you think I should continue on with nursing? What if I am just not cut out for nursing? I have a gut feeling that this is not for me, but I am afraid to make that decision..plus I have already come so far. I am completely lost.

[Evening_Primrose, ADN, RN]

Of course, only you can figure out if you should stick it out or not. Pharmacology would definitely be a lot more years of school, so you need to weigh that.

For me, one of the most attractive things about nursing is that there seems to be a wide variety of jobs available. Maybe working in a hospital isn't going to be for you. You might end up working as a school nurse, which seems to be an entirely different vibe. I have a friend who went straight from passing her boards to working case management behind a desk at an insurance company. She's worked there for 5 years now and besides clinicals during school, she's never worked face to face with a patient.

Keep in mind I'm just thinking out loud here, I'm going to start nursing school this fall so you're ahead of me. Hopefully some nurses will come in and give you some advice or ideas. Best of luck to you no matter what you choose.