What you wished you knew when you started NS...

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To make a long story short, I will be starting nursing as a second career. The opportunity to do this was kind of thrown at me and I jumped, without looking. Now I feel (mid-air) like I should have looked before I leaped! I'm only finishing pre-reqs now, but its been so long since I really looked into nursing and what it REALLY is. Pretty much all I go by on now is what I've experienced in my life-giving birth to two children, and a husband who had hand surgery. So tell me what YOU wished you knew about nursing as a career when you started NS.

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Specializes in Home Care.

I wish I'd known that our local Magnet hospital has an "earn as you learn" program for PCTs. I would have gone that route instead of going for LPN then RN. If I was a PCT I'd be working there right now instead of being an unemployed new grad LPN.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

Your likely to read a lot of negative comments here. I suggest you continue on with your nursing education. It's a great career, hard work and very rewarding. I asked a similar question as yours years ago while taking pre-reqs to nursing and got so many negative comments that it made me quit.

I shouldn't have listened but I did and it was a mistake. 15 yrs later I went and got my nursing degree and with no regrets.

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I would have gotten a job as a tech or an aide so I had some hands on clinical experience, I got the job after my first year and it made a world of difference as far as clinical skills and confidence. I also am thankful that I chose my current community college ( about 1500 per semester) instead of the other school I wanted which was 32K a year. I know now that the important thing is the rate at which students pass the Nclex, not the price tag. The more expensive school has a lower pass rate on the boards, so not only did I save myself a ton in loans, I also have a better chance of being successful on the boards.

Check your state website to see if the schools list their pass rate on Nclex.

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Hey,

I agree, I wished I'd gotten some experience of the hospital environment before to see what it was like & to get a flavour of the place. I did do a week's work experience (Work experience in the hospital was very hard to get) but it was on elderly outpatient's. & I'd done more research into it, to get a better understanding of what I would need... E.g. A refresher course in Biology or something like that :D!

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I too choose nursing as a second career. I have only been working for about 8 months so far (and not really in the area I want to), but I have no regrets because I know there is so much I can do with my nursing license. The only two things I wish I'd done differently were 1) gotten a job as a nursing assistant while I was in school (even if only working 1 weekend a month), just to get more familiar with the hospital environment, along with basic care skills (i..e bathing, linen changes while a patient is in bed, etc.). 2) It would have been nice to either do a nurse externship program as part of my schooling (working on a floor alongside a preceptor) or worked as a graduate nurse immediately after graduation while studying for my NCLEX (both of these give you experience with juggling numerous patients and a great, safe way to practice your clinical skills while having a "real" nurse alongside you, so you're not working out on your own). I did not do either of these things when I started working as an RN, so not only did I have to learn the hospital/floor P&Ps, I also had to learn how to juggle 4-5 patients without killing anyone and gain confidence in my basic nursing skills. Although I did go through orientation on my floor, the other new grads who either did an externship or worked as a graduate nurse seemed to have a much easier time transitioning to working on their own then I.

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Specializes in Trauma & Emergency.

I wish that I knew the following

1) Days and nights are spent studying

2) Clinical is no comparison to being on your own

3) You will learn who your best friends/family are when they go out of their way to help accomodate you or just take you out when you need to breath

4) That you will need support. It's really hard to do on your own.

The Biggest thing I wish I knew before I started nursing school:

5) There is no better feeling in the entire world than walking into a patients room & having the family or the patient say "I'm so happy your here today"

or "OH, I can go home now.._______ is here."

6) It really all is worth it in the end..and there is always light at the end of the tunnel

7)Remember to take care of yourself..you cannot be giving to others if you are not taken care of.

8) We watch life begin and end every day. Life is short. Never take it for granted.

9) You could be the patient lying in the bed. Or it could be your loved one. Would the care that you provide make you feel comfortable as a patient/family?

10) Make sure you find your patience..its going to be a long trip.

11) LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Nursing is the most wonderful profession in the entire world. Having the ability to comfort someone in their worst time..or share their joy in their best time is a gift like no other. Therefore..prepare to never be the same again.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY--and welcome to the best job in the world.

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