Soul Searching. I believe it is the right decision but...

[kalin]

Hello everyone. I am a mother of two at the age of almost 35 (in 3 months). My son was born 8 weeks early and he stayed in the NICU almost for a month. He had a shunt surgery due to Hydrocephalus whenhe was two weeks old. It was a very hard time for me and my husband. He is our second child and I had my 17 month old daughter at home during these hard times. His shunt was removed when he was 6 months old. Today, he is a healthy 2.5 old boy who makes me feel blessed. We are so fortunate that after what we have been through he is doing wonderful. Why am I telling you all these? Well...After we came home from the hospital, and as I was taking care of this little premie for months, I started thinking about becoming a nurse. I had to go to the hospital for my son's doctor's app. all the time and everytime I was there i stared feeling that I wanted to be at the hospital:) It sounds weird I know. As a mother who has been through hell I should hate the hospital environment, right? Not me:) So, the idea of becoming a nurse started to make sense to me more and more everyday. Three months ago I lost my job (and I believe everything happens for a reason), and I have decided not to look for another job in my current profession and go after my dream of becoming a nurse. At the moment, I am volunteering at a children's hospital in the NICU department ( that's where my son was and I sometimes go into the room where he stayed:)). I am taking my prerequisites. I do not know when I am going to take the actual nursing classes yet (maybe 2013 or 2014, waiting for kids to get a little bit older)

Now here is my question. I know some of you will say that I am the one who will make the decision but I am going to ask it anyway. Am I doing the right thing? I am changing my career. I am scared. I am 35. I am afraid that I will start going to school and finish it and start working and regret the decision. On the other hand, I see myself there. I see myself being the nurse at the NICU (as I am volunteering I watch the nurses all the time). I see myself successful in being the nurse. It is like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It feels like I found the purpose in my life but yet I am scared because it is a totally different career. I am also scared of all the horror stories that i read here:) But again, the days that I volunteer, I use every opportunity to get into the patients room and watch the nurses. i was at the ER the other day for my son (he had a little accident) and I was there watching them putting the staples in his head. i was watching the doctor as he was removing the staples in the office a week after that. I was watching because I wanted to see how he did it. I was curious. And now I want to volunteer in the ER department as well to see more patients. What I am trying to say is all these things are a good sign right? I am in the right direction right?

Thank you all in advance. I hope somebody will write to me. maybe someone who has been in the same boat as me.

[NMW8809]

I say go for it! You sound like you're genuinely interested in the field and you want to be a nurse. That's huge.

Change is scary - especially when you have two little ones to think about. I think the risk is worth it though. Nursing school is intense enough that you'll know within a semester or two if it's for you or not. If you love it, great! Keep going. If not, then you'll only have spent a few months on it, and you won't have to wonder for the rest of your life whether you made the right decision or not.

I haven't been in the exact same boat as you. No kids, and only 24. But my husband and I moved across the country so I could attend a school I was interested in. It was a huge change - from the midwest to California, he had to quit his job, we had no family/job prospects/contacts - but it turned out to be the best thing for us. I love nursing and California has become home for both of us.

Follow your heart. You know what's right for you :) Good luck :)

[tishluvnc]

Hello,

Well I'm sort of in the same boat. I'm33 will be 34 in April. I have been a CNA in home healt for over 6 years. Im a single mother of 3 kids, the youngest is almost 4. Well 6 years ago I thought I wanted to become an medical office administrator. I fell in love with medical terminology and biology. But, being young I changed my mind and said there was not much future in being a medical secretary.

So I thought hey, How about medical and public health social work. Well, I'm 6 months away from graduating with a BA in sociology with a minor in substance abuse. Unfortunatly, after an internship in mental health it again dissappointed me, I didn't like what they did.I realize social workers spend ALOT of time on the phone.Also, in order to become a clinical social worker it will take me a masters degree plus hundreds of hours of more internship.

So my delima, should I go into nursing? I'm a cna, but have always worked in home health so I've never been around nurses. I think I didn't choose nursing 2 years ago because I was scared of the competition, intimidated by chemistry, and was just scared. I had the confidence to get a BA degree, but did not think I could be a nurse. So I''m at a cross road too, either way I have to go back to school, a BA in sociology is not much any more.

Yes! these post do scare me too. So much that it will have you changing your mind. However, I love science and health so much that I can't see my life without it. A dentist told me life is going to pass weather you do it or not. You can spend your time trying or sleeping on the couch. I'm going to ruffel my feathers and try, I can always go back for another degreed. Good luck!

[DizzyLizzyNurse]

I say go for it! But.....accept that NICU or ER might not be the first job you have right out of school. Many require a year or 2 of med surge experience. Also competition for new grad jobs are fierce so you might have to take a job you don't want to and wait for something to open up. Good luck!! Study hard!

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

Go for it! You sound like you will be a great nurse. You already know you will like it.

Also if you are volunteering in an area of the hospital, know the staff, and they like you, you may just get a job offer there even right out of school.

Good luck!!