Starting To Feel Like Nursing Isn't For Me

[rileowski]

Okay so this will be a fairly long post so get ready!

I have been thinking about this internally for a while now. So currently, I just applied to nursing school and in all likelihood will probably get accepted because of my grades. However, I'm really starting to doubt if nursing school is right for me. I am absolutely FALLING IN LOVE WITH SCIENCE. I love everything about A&P and want to learn as much as I can about it. I spent a lot of my own time studying even when I don't have to. I just like learning! My prereqs are fun but I want to get even more in-depth with the material. This is why I am struggling with nursing.

I originally wanted to be a nurse because I'm caring and like helping people. I've always liked going to the hospital and seeing health professionals caring for patients, and even though I haven't starting nursing school yet I know how hard nurses work and have enormous respect for what they do. It's a lot more work than what people think. I'm just worried about not being satisfied with nursing school because of how much I love science and how much more I want to learn about it. Additionally, getting a BSN is going to be extremely time consuming and extremely difficult. Should I really go through that if my heart isn't fully in it? My original plan was to get a BSN, then go back to school and either become a NP, PA, or get my masters in biology and start teaching A&P and Biology at a community college. I wanted to do that so I could get real clinical experience before I started teaching. However, I'm really thinking this path is not the right path for me.

There are things about nursing that appeals to me like critically thinking, learning about diseases, flexibility, opportunities, etc. I just don't know if going to nursing school is worth it since I want to eventually get a master's in biology and likely a PhD. I don't know if nursing school is worth it since I want to become an educator and possible researcher.

I was looking into getting a bachelors in biomedical science instead of a BSN and all the courses make me so excited (anatomy, physiology, cell physiology, immunology, genetics, neuroscience, embryology, histology, biopsychology, nutrition). Just thinking about taking these courses now makes me excited. It would take me an extra year of CC to get all the prereq courses completed to get accepted into the program but all those classes seem so interesting to me.

In both of my A&P classes, I couldn't stop thinking about me being in the professor's position and what I would do differently to teach the material. Being an A&P professor (or biology in general) seems like the perfect job to me. I don't think there is anything I would like better. Plus I think other careers like in research would be interesting as well.

I think I already know what is right for me but I would love to hear your opinions about it, since you're all either in nursing school or working as an RN. Are you burnt out working as an RN? Are you satisfied? Are a lot of your coworkers satisfied? Would you do it all over again? Do you think nursing school is worth it for someone like me?

Any comments or thoughts would help. Thanks for getting through all of this!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

It sounds as if you've already made up your mind about what is right for you. Go for the science!

[beekee]

I totally agree: follow your heart. It sounds like you have thought this out well. The only thing I would add, is that there is an amazing need for nursing instructors. If teaching is your goal, nursing would provide many options. But, that does you no good if your heart is not there.