Those Of You Who Have Become RN's..

crashcartqueen, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2015

Well, you ask some loaded questions! :yes:

Nursing school is a journey, everyone's experience is different based on many factors (home-life, having to work, children, etc) but it is challenging regardless. I worked while I was in school full time so my hardest challenge was time management. Classwork wise, I struggled the most in my third semester in OB/Peds. I loved the clinicals but I found the material to be very different from med-surg material and struggled to get the hang of it at first.

Being organized and detail oriented will be a huge PLUS for you during school. When trying to balance school and work/home life organization is key. Attention to detail will be important in school and the working environment... and if you are really detail oriented maybe the ICU might be for you! I am an ER nurse, so I am detail oriented but in a more problem-focused way. In my school clinicals I had zero interest in the ER until I was there for my senior preceptorship. I thought the chaos and business would overwhelm me but I found that is what I love. Be open minded when you go to clinical, you never know you may find your niche. Not many RN's these days end up in doctor's offices (mostly as they would rather have LPN's or MA's so they can pay out less, crappy but reality), BUT those jobs are out there if that is what you really want. Many of those jobs for RN's require acute care (hospital) experience to qualify so in the mean time I would start looking into the hospital world too so you can get an eye out for clinical spots! L&D is an awesome specialty and if I wasn't in ER that would probably be my second choice. Same with peds, although I get my fair share of peds in the ER.

Congrats on starting the process! Don't let your nerves get the best of you. It will be tough but if you have a great support system it will be much easier! Believe in yourself and love what you do and you will find success! Good luck!

Dranger · Aug 15, 2015

What was the hardest part of Nursing school?
Do you enjoy your job?
I'm a very organized and detail oriented person.
I love the hospital/doctors office setting.
And I'm looking to work in either Labor and delivery or Pediatrics.
I have 2 kids under 3yrs old,
and I'm beginning my prerequisites, doing all that I can online up until they are in some kind of school, to avoid daycare.
I start in less than 2 weeks, and I'm extremely nervous.
Any motivating words or helpful information would be great.
BUT I also want to know the truth about how hard, and time consuming Nursing school can be. I honestly don't know much about what I'm getting into. Thanks.

Which is it? Hospital or doctors office? Both are very different.

Labor and Peds are the most sought after jobs by new grads, very competitive.

Nursing school for me was time consuming with all the busy work but fairly easy material wise. I enjoy the ICU but my mind has already shifted after a few years to the APRN/NP setting so I will soon leave bedside nursing behind. Some people can do it their entire career though and that's perfectly fine, just not for me.

ICU nurses are VERY detail oriented which can alarm some newbie ED nurses with our questions. It's a fast paced environment where you need to use your brain (not push pills and take vitals) and you need to be okay with stress.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Aug 16, 2015

I'm not sure what area of the country you are in, but in our area, none of the hospitals hire new grads directly in to L&D or Peds. You have to have experience as an RN first.

Going through nursing school will eat up the majority of your time. I can't imagine going through it with little ones. It's do-able, but you aren't going to be able to be as hands-on as you'd probably like to be. You can get through it, though. Many of my classmates had babies, toddlers and young school age children during the program. You'll need to manage your time well. I was lucky that my kids were all high school age or older when I decided to go back to school, so they were pretty self-sufficient.

As far as specialty, sometimes it's just luck where you end up. Go through nursing school with an open mind and see what you really like before you set your sights on one particular area. When I first started, I thought I wanted to work in the OR or ER. After doing a rotation through them, I found the OR to be very routine & kind of boring. But I *loved* the ER and now I know that's what I want to do. My hospital is a level 1 trauma center, so they do not allow new grads to work there until they've had 1 year of experience in critical care and then a 1 year ER fellowship. So, I'm working in a neuro/trauma critical care unit, gaining experience until I can apply for the ER fellowship. I really like the unit I'm on. I could see staying there or doing ICU in lieu of ER. I would have never thought of neuro until I was placed there for my nurse residency. So, you never know where you're going to end up.

Working in a doctor's office will more than likely be very low pay. Most only hire medical assistants instead of RNs. You might find an ambulatory surgical center that hires RNs, but most require experience in a hospital first.

Good luck on your nursing school journey :)