Switching from "creative" career to nursing career

[LordOx]

Well hello.

First time posting, but I've been reading the forums for quite a few months now.

I'm a 27-year-old male who's been working as a magazine art director for the past three years. Prior to this current job, I worked designing newspapers. I have a bachelor's degree in visual journalism and photography.

For the past year-and-a-half I've been struggling with the thought of why I'm doing what I currently do. At one point in my life, I wanted to move to NYC and be a top-notch art director. That was the ultimate goal. Over time, though, my priorities, opinions and interests have changed. While I'll always have some sort of place in my heart for media, design and photography -- the fire has gone out for me in the industry. I simply don't see myself doing this anymore.

I'll be perfectly honest, outright I don't necessarily feel that special "calling" to become a nurse. I don't really feel a calling to become anything, really. But what I can tell you is that I absolutely love the idea of helping people, putting others before myself and staying organized and intellectual with continuing education.

I was able to shadow a friend (and freelance photographer) at a hospital where he works in a children's unit specializing in heart care. I enjoyed the interaction he was able to have with his patients and I actually enjoyed the pace of the work (it was night-shift so I don't think it was anything too intensive). The thing that irked me the most was the drawn out charting process that seemed to be more of a "have to do" than a "should do" priority. It seemed like an awful lot of repetitive work that could be simplified if not for rules and regulations, etc.

In addition, something that always resonates with me is that I never had a great relationship with anyone who was elderly or ill. Three of my four grandparents were deceased before I was born, and I wasn't particularly close with the fourth, who died while I was in college. I enjoy thinking about the opportunity to interact with those who need help and those who are older. I feel like I can learn a lot.

As a final note, I'll mention that I've struggled with depression and anxiety in the past. Most of this stems from inaccurate feelings of self-doubt and lack of confidence.

I put all of this information out there in hopes of getting some responses from people who have also switched to a nursing career from a "creative" career. Don't get me wrong, I realize and understand there are plenty of ways to come up with creative and innovative ways to be a better, more compassionate nurse -- I'm simply talking about the industry.

At the end of the day, I've grown tired of caring whether something is blue or red, serif or sans serif, or keeping up with design trends and techniques. While I've associated myself as the creative type, I can't help but start to doubt if such a drastic transition will make me happier. I'm struggling with the self-image part of what a career is all about and what I truly want to be doing every day.

To help myself, I've signed up to take on some volunteer shifts at a local hospital and see if that continues to be something I want to involve myself with.

Any advice? Stories? Experiences? Complaints?

Thanks for your time,

[OldDude]

I think you're on the right track to try and immerse yourself in the industry before you make a commitment. Nursing would be a huge change in work environment; going from a world of fantasy to a world of reality; complete with the smells and visuals of the human body in every imaginable physical and emotional state. Good luck in making your decision.

[Edina]

I'm currently in my 2nd semester on my way to becoming an RPN/LPN in Canada - it's a 2 year program here. I'm enjoying my classes & clinical placements so far & am doing quite well in my studies.

My first diploma 17 years ago was graphic design. I was worried about making the switch as well, but I wanted to help others and was getting tired of the majority of the creative work that really wasn't that creative... I'm still doing the odd freelance design on the side. So far I'm not regretting my decision to go into nursing!

Good luck with your decision!

[BlueDawnRN, BSN]

I have a BA in Dance Choreography and went back to school to be a nurse. I have a close family member who worked for years as a photographer and is now a nurse and is doing really well. Neither of us felt a "calling" for nursing, but made the switch based off of need as well as the desire to do meaningful work. There's no reason why you wouldn't do well as a nurse.

It's good that you were able to shadow your friend and see the not-so-fun tasks such as charting. There are many tasks we have to do that seem to just satisfy the requirements of the Joint Commission, etc. and seem to do little for the patient. When you're in a "creative" career, you have more independence than you have when you work for an institution such as a hospital. You have to follow rules and policies, and even if you can think of a more efficient way to do something your voice often is not heard or won't travel far. For example, there is a lot of redundant charting that we just kind of deal with since we know they're not going to change it anytime soon.

But you also have a lot of opportunity to be creative as a nurse. There's not always a clear-cut solution to a problem, and there's always a sense of pride and satisfaction when you figure out what is wrong with a patient, or how to reduce their pain or anxiety. You're dealing with people, so every day is different. Sometimes interacting with patients can be very stressful but other times it's rewarding.

I also never had experience caring for anyone elderly or ill before I became a nurse. I went into nursing school basically knowing nothing. I had no idea what caused diabetes, for example, or what normal blood pressure is. I didn't know the names of basic over the counter meds. Once I was in clinical and my instructor used the word "carcinogen" and I had to ask her what that word meant and she couldn't believe I had never heard that word before. But nevertheless I graduated near the top of my class. You study and you learn. I don't think prior experience has anything to do with whether you'll be a good nurse.

If you're going to go into nursing school and pursue nursing as a career, you definitely want to make sure your depression and anxiety is under control. School is stressful and I think about half my class dropped out, but only because they were not dedicated. If you're used to getting A's you'll likely be getting B's and C's and that is fine. The first year of nursing career is tough and there will be times when you will doubt yourself but it's something everyone goes through. There are times when my patients were harmed, or got sicker, or even died and I wondered what I could have done to prevent it but you have to learn to pick yourself back up and let it go. There are some upsetting experiences I've had that I'll remember forever even though I've learned to move on. As long as you're up to date with treatment and have a good support system you'll be fine.

Nursing provides a great opportunity to interact with people and help people. However often you're so busy taking care of so many patients, it can be really hard to do what you became a nurse for. You will also get patients and family members who are very demanding, who talk down to you, who are combative, etc., but then you'll have good experiences with patients too. I feel like the fast pace of nursing has changed me in a lot of ways. I can see myself switching to hospice or home care one day so I can have that one-on-one connection with patients that I had hoped for.

I think the best thing about nursing is knowing you have a great skill set that is useful and important. When you tell people you're a registered nurse, people really respect that. I went into it mostly because I needed a better job in order to raise a family, and I wanted to do so in a career where I could help others, and nursing satisfied both. The pay is great, the benefits are also great, and the scheduling is flexible. If you don't like an area of nursing, there are tons of others areas of nursing you can switch to. I think once you get through school, get some time under your belt and find your niche you could really enjoy it.

So yes I've found success as a nurse even though I started off as a dancer. Let me know if you have any questions and best of luck.

[lucy100]

When I went to nursing school almost my entire class were people switching to new careers. There were many people with previous creative degrees and they all did well. I would say the the main reason people wanted to be nurses: stability, pay and schedule. I didn't keep in touch with all of my classmates however, I do know one previous creative major RN who is working on an FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner) degree. I don't think anyone had any regrets about their decision.

[Libby1987]

I shared some of your experiences when I was young except for the creative part and have done well in nursing.

The aspect you've left out but need to seriously consider is that nursing requires you to be able to tolerate and better yet to thrive in a challenging pushed nearly constant problem solving environment. I believe that part comes before the caring helping characteristics. If you can't handle the first part you'll come dissatisfied and possibly unraveled while trying to do the second.