Will I be able to live my life as a nurse?

I can definitely relate to your post! I majored in English and Philosophy, and got a job at an ad agency right after graduation....and hated it with a passion. I felt like I was in jail! I only lasted for three months in corporate America....that was plenty for me! After that I worked at a daycare for over a year, and am now working as a nanny and taking my last couple of prerequisites for nursing. I, too, suffer from severe anxiety at times. However, I know I want to be a nurse, so I will just have to conquer the anxiety and find a way to deal with it. I'm sure there are tons of nurses out there who suffer from anxiety and/or depression. From what I hear, it's pretty common.

I would suggest volunteering at a hospital though. I volunteer at two, and it's been wonderful. It's definitely confirmed my desire to become a nurse!

I love your style of writing, by the way! "I have a visceral hatred for my current job and its atmosphere of maudlin imbecility...." LOVE it!!! :chuckle

Let me ask you this...would you want you taking care of your sick and/or dying loved-one? Because to me, that's essentially what I would hope anyone who considers being a nurse would ask themselves. Yes, you can find areas of nursing that do not fuel your adrenaline or make you run around feeling "scatterbrained". But in my opinion, nurses need two characteristics to not lose their mind in this job...caring and critical thinking. Nursing wasn't a "calling" for me either. I stumbled across healthcare on my road to being an anthropologist. But I've found such fulfillment in what I do. I can't even describe the feeling inside when a family thanks me for being there during a patient's last moments. Or when my patient who was supposed to die is transferred to the floor in stable condition. Or when an MD thanks me for predicting/catching a change in condition or making a suggestion for treating the patient. Those moments make me forget the frustration with short staffing, overwhelming assignments, the poop and puke, the aching back from turning the 350+ pound ventilated patients. For the most part, I like taking care of people and I like using my brain. That's what makes this job bearable.

If you're intersted in science...but not necessarily nursing, couldn't you be some kind of medical-technical writer? Are you worried about making money at writing? Or do you just not enjoy writing anymore?

Oh, and if you're miserable in TX, why not move back to MA? Life is way too stay in an unhappy situation when you have the power to change it!

Hi there!

When I first entered nursing I was convinced that it wasn't my calling. I figured that I would give nursing a chance anyway and then decide after a year or two if I would stay with this profession.

Now I have been an RN for nearly 5 years and have worked in 5 different areas - med-surg, ICU, ER, rural and now public health. This is my message to you - nursing has SO MANY different areas, that chances are you will find one you like! You can go conventional (hospitals/ clinics) to adventurous (prisons/ rural outposts).

The only area I truly LOVED was rural nursing, but after gathering 500 hours of overtime last year I had to say enough. This is where I felt like a true nurse - being the only RN (with one LVN) in a busy facility. Making critical decisions during each shift, to even running codes by myself. Now I am doing public health on a aboriginal reserve up north and love it (love the 8 hour days)! I never saw myself being in this area, but I wanted a happier work environment, nicer coworkers and decent hours.

I just want to tell you that each nursing job is so different..... but that's the beauty. Who says you have to work to work in a hospital? There are some really adventurous jobs out there! Go to Alaska - go work on a reserve in Arizona - work with women inmates - work as a sexual health nurse - be a mental health worker... and so on. The possibilities are endless!

You will find your niche and therefore be at peace with nursing. Go for it girl - I can honestly say it is worth the adventure!

Good Luck!

Camel

I wish I knew what career you should pursue. It's good you realize you enjoy writing. You remind me of Dave Barry and Erma Bombeck. All I can say is I hope you find your path and some happiness.

You have had a lot of "firsts" recently, as you know, and it's not easy dealing with all of that. I will pray for God's guidance in your life.

Hi,

I am a nurse from New England also lived in the south, but have been a nurse for almost ten years and in multiple health care settings from hospital to nursing home. However I feel that the best thing to do if you are unsure of nursing is like what one of the other nurses said "volunteer in a hospital or healthcare setting" etc. This is probably the best wayt to get a real feel for what you will be doing as a nurse, other than if you became a CNA/LNA or Nurse tech I think. Nurses are very intelligent and caring, I think alot of people do not realize just how intelligent nurses and their support staff are. However, this is the field of caring and empathy, and I think you have to be able to critically think and empathize with all walks of life on a daily basis and truly care about people to survive in this field. (and manage stress definately also) I would definately look into volunteering at a hospital or some hospitals have programs where they let people interested in nursing to shadow nurses on floors & units. Best of Luck to you!

You graduated with a degree, now what to do with the rest of your life? Most of the students in my nursing school had a college degree but no marketable skills; it is a common problem.

You seem to have a pretty negative view of nursing.

Make a project to get educated about jobs in the healthcare field. Many people go to community college for these jobs. Nursing is just one of them. We are aided and abbeted by physical therapists, lab techs, respiratory therapists, child life specialists, radiology techs and many more.

your background in writing will certainly help in the descriptive areas of charting. you can do anything you choose to. it's a matter of how adaptable you are to the circumstances. nursing provides a great variety of areas to choose from. :typing

Just wanted to say hi to a fellow New Englander! I'm also here in Texas and grew up in Amherst! If I had stayed, I most likely would have gone to Umass. I know what you mean about culture shock. I've been in Texas 6 years, but still itch to go back to Ma.

I cant give you much advice about nursing. I actually feel the same way you do about not being an adrenaline junkie. I've been working on a med/surg floor for over a year, and I still get anxious going into work. I may try a different area of nursing before I throw in the towel. I'm a LVN, so I dont have as much to lose if I get out of nursing. However, only time will tell. My advice would be to see if you could shadow a nurse for a day, or do some kind of observation to see what a nurses typical day is like. I think this may give you a better understanding of what you want.

First of all, welcome to allnurses. Secondly, I don't see why you couldn't have a life as a nurse. Only you can control that. Some things that come along with nursing are out of our control, but if you allow things to get you down and stress you out to the point where you cannot enjoy life, then nursing isn't for you because you'll never be happy. I wish you all the best in you decision. After all, the final say so is yours....

Thanks for the outpouring of advice so far everyone! This is indeed a great community:bow:

I second the idea of med tech careers, be it radiology, lab tech or such. One of the advantages I have in my current situation is I've only taken chemistry so far for my nursing prerequisites, and I'll be taking A/P, microbio, and a human development class next semester which I think could be helpful in most health careers, be it nursing, radiology, lab tech, etc...

I've been particularly interested in radiology for awhile, including CT scans and MRI. However, I was somewhat scared off this path by fellow students and advisers who said the programs (let alone classes) were very competitive to get into.

*And another question: after doing a cursory search for radiology programs online, I saw a lot of results from the "dummy" schools that are unaccredited (university of phoenix online and the like). Can anyone recommend some good radiology programs? Preferably in the Northeast? Is there such a thing as an accelerated second bachelor's program for Radiology and med tech careers? I'd like to get some use out of my previous bachelor's. *Also, would I need a bachelor's in this field to make decent money (by that I mean, able to have my own small apartment in a city like Boston?). I see you can also get certificates in Radiology as well...

Thanks again!

I just wanted to add that a friend of mine from highschool got a job at Brigham and Women's as a radiology tech I believe, and she has a bachelors in something non-medical. It might be worth looking into.