Should I drop clinicals?

[acbamy55]

Hi everyone,

I am in my second year of nursing school and will be starting my first clinical in two weeks. I have been on the fence about nursing since I even chose it as a major in high school. I figured I'd pick something health-related, since that interested me, and something that would have good job security and the potential to make good money. So I chose nursing. All the wrong reasons to go into this field. I am now regretting my decision and would like to switch to either dental hygiene or occupational therapy, as I have shadowed both and loved them. I have realized that nursing is just not my cup of tea. I hate charting, I hate being responsible for relaying messages between doctors and other members of the team, I am a little queasy around bodily fluids and forget dealing with someone in a lot of pain or god forbid dying. I see some of my friends doing their thing in lab and they are fantastic. I hope they'll be my nurses someday! But I just don't see that in myself and I've finally come to terms with the fact that nursing is simply not for me.

I dread going to class every day. My professors know my heart isn't in it, and are trying to weed me out. One of my professors even made me cry the other day, which was super embarrassing. I am not doing well in my classes because my brain has already checked out, and I get nervous every time I think about simply going to lecture, never mind lab! Our clinical is in a nursing home and is worth only 1 credit, and takes place for most of the day on Fridays. I could drop this class and still be above the minimum credit requirement to get financial aid. The only pro to staying in clinical is that I would earn my CNA license at the end of the semester, but now I'm not even sure if working as one would be worth the few extra bucks per hour (I already have a fairly good job that is not nursing related).

So what I'm asking here is, is staying in clinical worth it? Should I stick with it to see if maybe I would change my mind about leaving the program? Or risk losing my sanity from having so much anxiety over it?

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Try to find what you love to do (vs. for the money), and then do it. If your heart is not in nursing, then go follow your dream (which is not nursing).

[Kuriin, BSN, RN]

So quit and go into something you enjoy. Seems easy enough.

[acbamy55]

The problem is, I'm smack in the middle of my semester. If I drop my classes now, I will have a "W" (for withdrawal) for all of my course grades. I emailed my adviser and asked if I could make an appointment to talk about my options, but she hasn't replied and it's already been a week.

I do know that I need to switch majors, and I wish I could do it now, but my main question is, should I tough out clinicals or opt out of them now before they've started?

[windsurfer8, BSN, RN]

Quit. And don't blame others for "making you cry". You are an adult.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

You know the answer already. Get out while you can.

I must also say that there is some pretty nasty work ahead of you if you go into dental hygiene, but you won't have to deal with a lot of the politics you've already mentioned you dislike. Good luck.