Thinking about leaving nursing school

DJB1966 · Mar 22, 2016

Follow your heart and your life desire, because you only get one life to get it right. If your heart is not in nursing and you do not feel it is your calling then I say consider jumping ship and follow your passion. When you are old and retired from whatever you choose to do in life, make sure that you can look back and see success in what you did and not regret from what you did not. I would discourage using "money" as your guide (I admit it is important for survival) because it is not the end all be all. In my 24 years of nursing I can quickly identify a "nurse" who came to the professional via a calling /internal desire vs. one who simply followed a directive of his/her parents, family, or counselor. If it is not your passion it will show in the care that you provide your patients, your attitude toward your job as well as your co-workers. Follow your dreams and enjoy your life journey.

Nursemiriben, LPN, EMT-P · Mar 22, 2016

I have several friends with MASTERS in psych making 15 dollars an hour. It is a flooded low paying fueld. Sociology jobs are usually 11-14 dollars an hour with emotionally difficult work. I think people who said psych nurse were really onto something. I will say though, nursing school can become very difficult very quickly if your heart is not in it. It takes a lot of time and commitment.

sychnurz · Mar 22, 2016

I had the same interest in psychology, and had many psych class credits by the time I went to nursing school. After graduation I started working a locked adolescent psych unit and never looked back. I did some prn hospital medical work, but always left more convinced that I'd chosen the right path in choosing psych nursing. I work in a field that I love, and if I'd wished, I could have gone on to take more classes and change tracks and become a psychologist. There are always options, it just depends on what you want to do and how you want to achieve that. Follow your heart, you'll do exactly what's right for you! Good luck!

Beve57 · Mar 22, 2016

I think if you know this is not what you want to do then don't do it. True nursing is a calling. It breaks my heart to see s nurse who apparently hates her job. There are too many out there that should have glfollowed their instincts and left long ago and yet they continue to do their jobs giving the bare minimum. It is sad. I hope you think Joe you would like to have someone take care of you that hates their job. Good luck

Prok0044 · Mar 23, 2016

I know that your interest in psychology or sociology is related to motives behind people's behavior, but I want to posit two questions for you that have yet to be answered after reviewing this feed.

1. What is it about nursing that you do not like?

2. What is it that you want to do with people, in other words how limited do you want to be in your scope of assessment and treatment? (e.g. assess , diagnose, treat, coordinate care)

Which assessments? (clinical interviews, symptom inventories, IQ testing, personality testing)

Which treatments? (psychotherapy, medication management, psychological/psychiatric assessment, all of the above)?

I have a Bachelor's in Psych and a Master's in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in health and neuropsychology and have a couple years working in the psych field as a case manager and psychometrist and have worked with social workers, therapists/counselors, clinical psychologists, clinical neuropsychologists, RNs, Psych NPs. I am currently finishing up an Alternative Entry MSN program to become a Psych NP and am working at a child/adolescent psych residential treatment facility as an RN for a little over six months now.

Comments associated with question 1: My experience and understanding of a psych RN's responsibilities and duties are as follows, at least in the inpatient setting (both residential/chronic care and acute care); You are responsible for overall patient safety and the maintenance of the therapeutic environment/milieu. Your duties are to see that MD orders are carried out and documented which include med orders/administration, precaution orders, restraint/seclusion orders and medical consults coordinated. Your face time with patients can be as much or as little as you want depending upon your specific work setting. You do not diagnose or solely develop treatment plans, however, you are able to communicate your observations or suggestions concerning patients to the rest of the treatment team (psychiatrist, NP, therapist, case manager, etc.). In terms of decision hierarchy/liability, the psychiatrist or NP is at the top of the ladder. Further, as a psych RN, unless you are in some sort of specialty unit, you do not perform many traditional bedside nursing skills like start IVs, insert catheters, monitor lines/drains, etc. Really the only nursing duties that I perform on a regular basis is med administration (mostly oral, limited IM), nursing assessments, and the occasional lab draw bc my facility does not have phlebotomists. So, if you dread med surg and the duties that come along with it, psych nursing may be for you. I completed the RN portion of my nursing education in 3 semesters and I am not going to lie, there were many days that I dreaded working at the bedside during adult health clinicals and am glad that those are over.

Comments concerning question 2: Once I finished my undergrad, I knew that I wanted to be mental health provider. My ultimate goal was to become a clinical psychologist and then possibly pursue prescriptive authority because I knew that eventually, I did not want to limited in my mode of treatment. I couldn't get into any clinical psych programs even after achieving a 4.0 GPA in my clinical psych masters because, as was mentioned previously, they are ridiculously difficult to get into! Much more selective than med school. I discovered the alternate entry path into nursing towards the end of my Master's and have not looked back since. If being a psych NP is in your future, I will, however, suggest you do research into potential programs as to how much general primary care courses they have you take. I will now provide you with my basic understanding of the educational levels and duties of a Psych NP, Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Psych NP - Master's or Doctoral level (PhD or DNP); Assess patients using clinical interviews and basic symptom inventories, diagnose psychiatric disorders, treat with psych meds and psychotherapy. Level of practice independence varies by state. Most states have some degree of "supervision" of a MD that varies state to state but more and more states are allowing for independent practice for NPs.

Clinical Psychologist - Doctoral level, PhD or PsyD, and post doc, education has a strong emphasis on psychopathology, assessment, and research; Assess patient using clinical interviews, basic-advanced symptom inventories, IQ testing, personality assessments, etc. Diagnose psychiatric disorders, treat with psychotherapy. Prescriptive authority is very limited, as mentioned before, but exists in some states with large rural populations.

Psychotherapist - Master's or Doctoral level, education focuses on psychotherapeutic/interviewing techniques and less in depth psychopathology. Assess patient using clinical interviews, basic symptom inventories. Diagnose psychiatric disorders, treat with psychotherapy. No prescriptive authority.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Master's (MSW). Assess patient using clinical interviews and some advanced assessment techniques, not as advanced as Clinical Psychologist. Diagnose psychiatric disorders, treat with psychotherapy, coordinate care.

Out of these disciplines the Psych NP is the best investment because it requires the least amount of education (2 years Master's) and makes the most money. Clinical Psych requires 4-6 years and then a year or two post doc fellowship and make more than a LCSW or therapist but less than a NP. The role of a LCSW is more diverse than a psychotherapist and pay is a little better, unless a psychotherapist has a doctorate.

I would suggest that you hold on to experience your psych rotation because it is one of the least "nursey" rotations to see if that is something that would interest you. Otherswise, I would suggest shadowing various disciplines in the mental health field. It is true, you would be limited to either research assistant or case manager if you had a bachelor's in psych or social work.

Hope this info helps!

AnArtist · Mar 27, 2016

Our psych rotation was very different from our other clinicals. Have you thought about shadowing? Then you could see what it is like in an average day in psych nursing, psychology, and sociology jobs.

timeis · Mar 27, 2016

I was a psych nurse for awhile and managed a residential facility. I worked daytime hours. The job consisted of admission physical exam, med reconciliation on day of admission, holistic assessment within first 48 hours, discharge planning, case management. Meds. Patient teaching. Monitoring patients reactions to any med changes. Pulling charts for patients to see psychiatrist. Basically the usual nursing duties. Some of my patients did have TB, HIV, HCV which I managed through their primary care physician.

Steffy44 · Nov 27, 2016

Thank you that made me feel better. If I do become a psych nurse, then I need more info on how the job is. None of my teachers have psych experience.

i have a very good friend who started out as a psych nurse and is now a NP in psych. It takes a special breed to do that job. Why not combine your passions. Work as a psych nurse while acquiring your NP!

Dragonnurse1, ASN, RN · Nov 27, 2016

if you do not mind continuing your education in Psychology then change now. If you already know that nursing is not for you do not waste your time with it. My son was trying to go to nursing school and I had to point out that he was miserable in classes and therefore he would be more miserable being an RN. However check out the forum for psych nursing first then decide for yourself. Nursing is one or those careers that you best be happy with or you will be miserable once you start working.

Ramireex · Jan 12, 2017

Yes, get out of Nursing. Don't waste any more time pursuing a Profession that is not right for you. Nursing is a challenging, high stress environment and honestly, if you don't have the passion to do what we do, then an amicable parting is best before you make yourself and your patients miserable.