Should I quit nursing school?

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I'm in my second semester of an ADN program and just started clinicals in the hospital this semester… and I'm thinking of quitting. I have no problems with the material and do well on the tests, so I have no fear of failing, which makes the decision all the tougher to make. I hate clinicals. I hated clinicals last semester and considered quitting then as well. I'm trying to figure out if I legitimately am not cut out to be a nurse or if I'm just being emotional/stressed/etc. I feel miserable on clinical days and sometimes the only way to get through the entire day is to tell myself that I really could just walk out of clinicals and never return (obviously I wouldn't, but knowing I could” helps me cope). I would like to be an OR nurse (already have 3 years OR experience), but I don't know if I can get through the clinicals to become one. Plus if I can't get an OR job immedicately, I don't know if I could work on the floor until I get one.

Here are the red flags” that make me think I should not be a nurse:

- Being introverted and shy, talking to people constantly is exhausting and sometimes gives me the worst headaches I've ever had

- I'm not excited about clincials/being a nurse as I see the other students are. Shouldn't clinicals be the good part” of nursing school?

- I can't think of a really solid reason I want to be a nurse. I think the pay and job security are attractive, but is it really ok if that's my main motivation?

- I don't have a big heart for patients. I know I'd be good at the critical thinking aspects of nursing and I honestly believe that's the more important part of being a nurse, but I don't really care that a person has COPD after smoking 40 years or that a noncompliant diabetic has sores that won't heal when they won't follow their treatment regimen. I feel like if I'm this disillusioned already, it would only be that much worse when I graduate.

- Everything within me is screaming that this isn't right, that I'm doing the wrong thing.

Maybe part of my hatred of clinicals is that I'm not staff and we're only on each floor for a few days, so I'm not a part of the culture and feel very much like an outsider. I feel very uncomfortable when I'm not working with my assigned patient(s) because I want to be busy and look competent to the staff, which I'm not sure I always do since we are so limited in the number of skills we can do without an instructor (who has to give her attention to 10 students spanning 5 different floors, so I barely bother asking her to observe my skills because it takes so long the nurse does the skill anyway).

I do have a good, steady job that I enjoy (though it can be repetitive and boring), but it makes half as much as nurse, which is the only real thing keeping me from doing that for the rest of my life. It's hard to make the decision to quit when I have nurses at work saying I would make a great nurse and when I'm doing so well on the exams. I've never had a clinical instructor who was concerned about my performance. I'm doing fine, but I just can't stand it. Should I get out while I can?

Or nursing is nothing like clinicals or floor nursing. Maybe one day you will go back.

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Specializes in Nursing Ed, Med Errors.

I think this is akin to marrying someone because he/she is an honest person with a job who doesn't hit you. It will become very difficult to negotiate the waters if you have no passion for this cause, it isn't your calling/vocation. Actually, it's hard to do both when those factors are indeed present. Compassion for the patient is utmost and is the basis for professionalism, putting the patient and his needs before your own.

I would get out now and find something which suits you better.

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There's nothing wrong with self-awareness. Liking sick people is not a requirement to be a good person. Not everyone is a people-person or enjoys service professions. There's nothing wrong with that. And a lot of people are motivated by money. Nothing wrong with that either.

Can I like that a 100 times? Such cynical dismissal of nurses or nurses-in-the-making who have real struggles with the profession is the reason many cower from being open about it! There are some perfect nurses who are easily offended by the experiences of those who wander out-side of their perfect nurse box. AllNurses is for ALL NURSES. Thanks Double-Helix. Glad the OP is getting many more understanding responses and suggestions that are more likely to be helpful!

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Specializes in public health, women's health, reproductive health.

You've already made your decision to leave nursing school and I wish you the best. I hated clinical rotations, too, when I was in school. I had a couple of really tough instructors and I dreaded clinical days. I also disliked my first nursing job, which was nothing like clinicals, btw. Then I found a job that was more suited to me and I started loving being a nurse. There are a lot of different types of nursing jobs, some of which are not in hospitals. If you decide to go back to nursing school one day, keep in mind that it is temporary, no matter how grueling it can be. And you don't have to be a hospital floor nurse once you graduate.

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I actually liked nursing, once I found my niche.

Yes, that is the key to enjoying nursing. Finding your niche.

OP, you are fortunate to at least know that you enjoy the OR. If you can, request a clinical rotation at an OR.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to work on the floor before going to the OR. There are OR fellowships for new nurses - your previous OR experience should help you get into one of those fellowships.

Side note:

You may come across stories of nursing students finding their niches during clinical rotations. Well, good for them. For other nursing students and new nurses in general: it may take years to find your niche. So, what? If you manage to graduate nursing school, and even pass the NCLEX, there is something in Nursing that suits you.

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Thank you OP for starting this thread. I hope you end up where you are happy and feels right in your gut. I came SO close to not starting/quitting my 2nd semester due to many reasons. One is that I am in a "self directed program" in which besides clinicals and one overview per course, we then go on to learn the rest of the material and procedures ourselves. It can be a very isolating program if you are not one of the younger students who make friends easily, which leaves you alone with your fears, concerns and confusion !

A few threads here on A.N.,this one in particular, coupled with a VERY encouraging clinical instructor who basically wouldn't LET me quit are what is keeping me going. I always knew I was an anxious person, but I never realized what a perfectionist I was. Once I gave myself "permission" to quit, I realized that there really was no way to go but upwards from there and I might as well take it a day/week/month at a time.

The irony is I have done better on the theory tests than anyone in my class, but I feel SO unnatural in clinical and because they demo a procedure ONCE, like; "Here are the 38 steps to not kill someone, in 10 minutes, now go home and watch youtube videos and come back when you are ready to test out". :o

I am an older student and in this only to do Psych nursing so hopefully I can stick it out. Thanks to all who contributed, you never know who out there is reading and ready to throw in the towel until they read YOUR words

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Specializes in ER / Full time student.

So, did you quit?

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11 hours ago, Kathryn Hewett said:

So, did you quit?

Yes, I did. I now have a bachelor's degree in accounting, which is a much better fit for me.

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