Should I get a minor or just be a nursing major?

Published

I hear nursing school is really hard, so I was wondering if I should only be a nursing major or if I should get a minor in something as well. If I do get a minor what should I minor in? Please don't say psychology or spanish though, because I really don't want to minor in either of those disciplines. Although I do want a minor that will help me be a better nurse.

I want to be a rural family nurse practitioner. My hobbies and interests are nursing, martial arts, religion (mostly Sikhism), and farming. I hope that gives a little bit of an idea about what kind of minors I may find interesting.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I like the idea of getting a minor. It's good to develop expertise in other fields. However, I think it is a mistake to minor in anything that you doesn't really interest you -- just because you think it will help you as a nurse.

Almost any discipline that you are passionate about can help you be a better nurse -- and can serve as a "back-up" foundation in case a nursing career doesn't work out for you. However, nursing school is hard enough without adding the burden of a 2nd major that you are NOT passionate about.

So ... the choice of your 2nd major, if you choose to invest in one, should be based on your passions and not on a belief that some 2nd majors will "help" your nursing better than others. If you pick something you are truly interested in, it will be a joy to study and not feel like a burden. It will be a subject that you will want to continue to explore and use in your nursing practice. It will also serve as a good "Plan B" if nursing doesn't work out for you. If you choose a subject you are not passionate about ... none of those things will be true.

So ... what other academic subjects are you really interested in?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Ok, thanks.

Aside from nursing I guess my academic interests would be horticulture (mainly the farming aspects of horticulture, not the landscapineg, etc aspects), and religion.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care, Public Health.

I just got my BSN, and a minor in religious studies. For me it made sense, it was one extra class a semester, some of them met other requirements for graduation, and all the classes that I seemed to be really interested in were in that department. In addition im on the path to be a hospice nurse so it seemed like a good way to augment my education to be able to provide culturally competent, whole person care. I will add as a caveat, I had neither job nor children to care for so the extra class was not a hardship. It was the right decision for me though!

Sarah

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

Biology, any foreign language, exercise science, psychology, communication, management, religion, are all minors that might help you in your career as a nurse

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, ED, PACU.

If you wish to contine as a FNP, I suggest minoring in Biology. This will help you in your advance Patho/Pharm classes.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion