Wanting a New Major Before Starting Classes? Please help!

[JaFaBa]

I went to vocational school for my junior and senior year of high school and also earned my STNA. At first I thought I really wanted to do nursing as a career. My family pushed very hard for it. But the more in depth we got, the more I started to think that perhaps nursing wasn't for me. I started working as an STNA about two months ago and I hate it. I hate the bedside care. It makes me feel so awkward and uncomfortable. I hurt my back caring for a resident and am currently on restrictions (no bending, squating, twisting, climbing, or pushing/pulling/lifting over 10 pounds) so I have been working with the social worker at the long term care facility where I am employed. I absolutely love it. She is in more of an office setting, no bedside care, and she still works with the patients. I think social work is really what I want to do.

I was supposed to start my first semester of my BSN program at the end of next month. I have not given the college any money yet, but I have scheduled my classes. Today I tried to talk to my grandma and my mom about changing my major before even entering college. My grandma hung up on me and refused to tell me she loved me. My mom says I'm making an awful decision. They want me to stick it out and gain more experience. My question is why should I go to and pay for college and waste all that time and money on something I don't even want to do? I can easily get into another college near where I live that has a great social work program but my family is so dead set against it. The nurses I work with are encouraging me that if I don't like the bedside care, I seriously need to reconsider and get into something that I do like. I am at a total loss. What should I do? Do what I want and study social work, or listen to my family and just suck it up and go to nursing school?

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Do they hire BSW in your area or is the minimum MSW?

Is your family paying for your education or are you?

[Samm06, BSN, RN]

I'd say go for what you truly have passion for. If your family sees how successful you are in school in the major you enjoy, they will come around and (hopefully) support the decision you made on changing majors to social work. Right now it's probably difficult for them to see you wanting to do something else with your life than what they want for you. Just let them know that it's your life and you want to make something of it with a degree in the field of study you enjoy.