Was the Nursing program your first choice?

TheCareerStudent · Mar 14, 2011

I originally was signed up for XRay too. But then after volunteering I realized that there was too much down time for me. I got bored. So I started to look into nursing and now I can't imagine doing anything else. I wish I had discovered it sooner, like before I got a Bachelors in another field! I love nursing school, yes I think I am a minority in that respect.

I definitely recommend Volunteering and Shadowing!

chinacatSN · Mar 14, 2011

You could get your CNA and work as a CNA for a couple months before you decide. If you don't like being a CNA, your probably won't like nursing very much. Try working as a CNA in a hospital, not a nursing home, as you'll see more things going on and see more of what the nurses actually do - if you find yourself fascinated about what nurses do then go into nursing. If you're bored or not interested, then you know it's not for you.

I've known I wanted to be a nurse since I first began working as a CNA. I finally got around to going back to school after I had my first child. Nursing is a challenging field to get into, and NS makes it more difficult, but it's worth it.

Find out how your school chooses those who get into the program, too. My school bases everything on grades and GPA - which is good, because at least those who get in earn it, they're not just handed it because they got there first.

Good luck making a decision!

Emilynn09 · Mar 14, 2011

I'm so undecided. I signed up at my college for the Radiology program. After talking to several of my friends that are nurses I decided against it. They convinced me that there are not any jobs for radologist. I then decided maybe I would try the Phyiscal Therapy Assistant program. Same thing, after checking hospital websites, there are not that many jobs out there. Everyone that I have talked to has told me to do the RN program. My area still has lots of jobs to choose from. I'm just not sure I'll be happy being an RN.[/quote']
I started off as a nursing major, and then was convinced that it was too hard for me to accomplish so I changed my major to business. I got my degree in business from a prestigious college in my state, got good grades, loved school, was involved and thought I'd find myself a great career in the business world.
WRONG!
I should have stuck with nursing. For YEARS I regretted never pursuing nursing, and finally in my late 20s I decided that I needed to act on it and go back to what I originally wanted to do, regardless of how hard it was. I will have just turned 31 when I graduate from nursing school.

JModz · Mar 14, 2011

I have to say flat out that nursing is not a career you should just kind of 'fall' into. It is very demanding and if you don't find any enjoyment in it, you will not have done yourself or your patients a favor by becoming a nurse. It can be a very rough road for those who get into it for the wrong reason. I'm definitely not trying to steer you away, I LOVE being a nurse. I definitely agree 100% with getting your CNA first and working in a hospital because then you will truly get a better idea if this field is for you. I was a CNA first and not only does it open your eyes to the hospital environment, it also gives you a multitude of experiences that are SOOO helpful once you sart nursing clinicals. Not to mention if you become a CNA, then SNA (student nurse) once you get past your first clinical rounds- you make more $ than a CNA, AND it usually helps you have a "foot in the door" when you're ready to apply as a RN.

There are many CNA programs out there, some you can complete in as little as a month- some are a semester long & then you take the state certification test. The program I took cost roughly $700 and was a semester long. It's worth it, before you invest more time and money into a field you're unsure about. Good luck! I hope this helps. :nurse:

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Mar 16, 2011

It is true that there are limited x-ray tech jobs out there. My brother is an x-ray tech and he was fortunate enough along with a few 3 other classmates to find a job. the remaining 90% of his class still cannot find jobs (and they graduated in May 2010).

I would shadow a nurse and see if you are interested. It is hard to get a nursing job nowadays, too, so don't think that by becoming a nurse you will automatically have a job when you graduate. The job market goes in cycles and this has happened before, but it hasn't been this bad. The problem is that a lot of people are deciding they want to go into nursing and a lot of colleges are putting out a high volume of grads with nursing degrees and there aren't enough jobs for all of us! But again, do not let that discourage you if you want to get into nursing. I just don't want you to have a false perception of the nursing job market. :)

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2011

Honestly, no, nursing school was on down the list of my interests. However, I'm a pragmatist so I took what I could get with the least disruption in my day to day life. I'm a non-trad, career changer, second degree guy. In hindsight, if I were graduating high school this year I'd bust my tail and go to college, finish, and go to medical school. I graduated with a class of 60 people and three of them are doctors now. I had the same stats as them, but I got lazy. I finished college early, started working although I liked what I did (and do), and I became a paramedic along the way to quench some thirst if you will. That didn't do it entirely, but I got preoccupied with my career and eventually stopped paramedicking. I had the prereqs so on a whim last August I called up the local nursing school (my alma mater) and said, "Hey, tell me something about this new BSN program." Two hours later I was admitted. I didn't really have time to think much about it. At the time I wanted to go to PA school. It'd take about the same amount of calendar time, but I'd have to wait, move, quit working, and probably go out of state which are three things I'm not doing at this point. Anyway, that ship sailed and here I am making the best out of it. I get moody and irritable about it all, but in the end I like learning what I'm learning. It's feeding the hunger. Now what I'll do when I graduate....no clue.

Then again, if I'd been conceived with the gene for normal color vision I'd have done something entirely different and wouldn't have even given the idea of working in the healthcare community a second's thought.

lilhealer · Mar 17, 2011

I wish I had looked into nursing a long time ago because I think it will be far more rewarding than the awful and boring work I was doing before. I'm in school now, and although it is very daunting, I think I will really love it once I get the hang of it.

As for finding jobs, it depends on where you are willing to go. If you have the flexibility to get up and move anywhere, look to places where they don't have a large population pool to find nursing help. A community hospital in the middle of nowhere may be a great place to get your feet wet.

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2011

Hi! Nursing was always my first choice. Just wanted to add my mom is an x-ray tech and has never had hard time finding a job. You have to remember if your looking for job openings don't just look for x-ray tech, you also have to look for cat scan, mri, and mamm tech openings as those are also all x-ray tech positions.

I didn't have a major when I first started school but worked part-time as a loan officer and thats when I found nursing. I hated hated hated business and have always loved science so one day it kinda hit me and stuck..No one knows for sure if its for them, you just have to take a chance and see.. But I also agree with one of the posts above taht its really not a career you can just be "oh well i guess its okay maybeeee ill learn to like it" I say this cause well its nursing...that says enough

RKpianoman, APRN · Mar 17, 2011

Shadow and volunteer as much as possible! One of the hospitals here has a Health Careers Development Program where you choose what professions you want to shadow, and you do about 40 hours of shadowing in various departments across the hospital and then a few hours of volunteer work with the children's hospital. It was great to follow nurses all over the hospital. Just call your local hospitals and ask for "Nurse Recruitment", then ask if they have opportunities for shadowing.

Nursing wasn't even on my list of options when I started college; I was in Bio. Engineering and planning on environmental work or maybe med. school, but a family member had a lengthy hospital stay, and I was able to talk to a lot of the RNs and shadow an RN in the PACU. I was impressed with the bedside caring, and really feel like that's where I need to be for a few years. Maybe med. school later, maybe not.

You just have to get out there and find out as much as you can about different things, spend some time thinking about it, maybe even work part time and knock some core-classes out at a community college while you shadow and volunteer with different types of professions. There's really no rush in the grand scheme of things; just spend time finding the best fit for you!

Sugar-Phosphate · Mar 17, 2011

I started out with a biology major, and was working in a micro lab where I was doing research to increase antimicrobial growth in taiwanese cold noodles. I loved this job, the only downfall was I was starting to miss people, and I knew I wanted to get into the more infectious part of humans (rather then the prevention, the treatment aspect). After looking into my options I knew I could not at this time get a PhD, and start a family.

After much research I realized the hospital is what I am missing, no offense to anyone who doesn't work hospitals, and knew the chaotic environments are what I needed. So I decided I would start nursing eventually getting into infection control and outbreak regulations (far distant). The through of working emergency makes me giggle with excitement, chaos, stress, the odd down time (not enough to get boring), and seeing all my little bugs emerging. So exhilerating.

I know now nursing is for me, and it was what I was missing in my life.

Originally when I was younger I thought I was going to take up elasmobranchology, but headed more towards infectious diseases.

Who normally gets excited about norwalk or C. difficile outbreaks ( and yes I have seen them both).:w00t::monkeydance:

allnurses Guide · Mar 17, 2011

Nope.

Dental hygiene...

lol