At my high school we have health science classes. I took principles of health science, medical terminology, and CNA. In 9th grade and 10th grade, I wanted to be a doctor, but then I started reading about how many doctors said don’t go to medical school and that they regret it. I’m very interested in medicine, biology, pathology, and things like that. So I thought being a nurse would be a better idea. I researched it and I really love the idea of OBGYN , oncology, and some other specialties. I also like how you can easily switch between them. But when I took th CNA class, I didn’t like preforming the skills at all(skills are like nail care dental care etc). It made me feel so embarrassed but maybe it was because my teacher was intimidating. We went to a nursing home for clinicals. I hated working at the nursing home because I always felt unsure and incompetent. Also it was insanely depressing and two of the residents died that I was working with. It’s a really stressful job too. So all this made me question nursing and I’m not sure if it’s the best career for me. I’ve always been interested in business. Every single time I do those career questionnaires, it tells me to be an accountant or actuary. So I’m also interested in accounting. I’ve taken one class in high school over accounting and I loved it. It was right after my CNA class and it was just so much more less stressful. My teacher said it was only the first chapter of a college class though so very spread out. I’m also considering computer science as a degree. I absolutely love computers but I don’t know much about them. I’ve always been interested in programming. I was thinking about doing a computer science and accounting double major. I could go back to nursing through an accerlated program. But what if nursing is really what I wanna do? Should I do nursing if I’m also interested in other things?
You can plan on going into health care administration. You would be on the business side of running a hospital or other medical facility. They need people who are trained in management, accounting, marketing and other business fields, but who also must learn a lot about the health care industry, regulations, professionals, etc. There are some degrees that focus on this specifically, but you can also just study a business major and pursue your internships and jobs at health care facilities.
@mommyrocks For me i’m not really interested in administration. Plus I feel it would be sort of strange to have a 22 year old being the hospital administration haha without any health care experience. Health care administration would be cool if someone were a nurse for a long time then went back to become an administrator. I could work in accounting at a hospital though, but you’re still not working with health just around it. The main reasons i like nursing are that it’s a hands-on job, deals with science/medicine/health, and flexible job(different specialities and career opportunities.
I would think you’d have to like helping people to be a nurse. Science aside, that’s essentially the basis of nursing.
In some of the tours we did of nursing programs this summer they talked about passion - they want people who want to be nurses, who would be nurses even if the jobs weren’t growing like crazy.
I am not sure a CNA course would give you the best exposure to nursing. Have you tried candy striping, or shadowing a hospital floor nurse? That might give you a better idea of what nursing is and isn’t, and whether it’s for you.
Good luck!
@bearcatfan Yeah I like helping people I just didn’t want to seem too cliche. I was in the hospital with my mom for like 3 months so I saw a lot of what nurses do. I don’t think I like bedside nursing, but I do really like the specialities like oncology and ob. Also, I’ve thought about considering to be a doctor again but idk. It’s a very long time investment and very different. There’s obviously a lot of opportunities for nurses but once they reach a certain point they can’t move up anymore unless they become an NP. Something that put me off of nursing was I heard a lot of them have PTSD. Idk it’s really hard to decide. maybe I like them all equally but how do I decide what I want to do?
The nurses in oncology and OB do bedside nursing. They clean up messes and give baths (sometimes its the NAs job, but sometimes the nurse does it, too). If you do not like the hands on care aspect, which is not at all glamorous, if you can’t make a patient feel like there’s nothing you’d rather be doing than helping him brush his teeth or measuring his output (and that is hard to fake), you really might want to consider another field. There are areas in health care where you can provide care without getting down and dirty the way a nurse does. And can I ask so what if some of the advice you are reading says don’t go to medical school. Do YOU want to go to medical school? Obviously, many, many people do. Many, many people feel like it’s a worthwhile profession. If that’s where your talent lies, don’t take that path off the table yet.
@ordinarylives I was thinking more like oncology in an office. Like with the doctor and you take blood counts. Or in surgery or in chemotherapy room administrating drugs. And with OB I meant labor and delivery basically helping with delivery babies. It’s not that I can’t do or hate cleaning, giving baths, etc. It’s just I don’t specifically want to do that all the time. Oh and what I consider bedside is like if you were admitted into the hospital and put on the 4th fourth then the nurse that you get that’s a bedside nurse. The job really depends on your condition. Someone with incontinence and a catheter vs someone with dehydration. I really don’t like geriatrics either. I would never want to work in the nursing home; the nurses there didn’t do patient care but just admin meds because nurse aides aren’t allowed to. I would like to be a doctor but I don’t know if med school is worth that desire. I’ve been thinking about it again. The main reason I think I don’t want to be a doctor is because I don’t think I will be competent enough.
But a little while ago, tonight, you said accounting, CS, or…engineering. Are you a rising junior? Why the rush to figure this now, with no test scores, no real math or sci ECs?
You need to either like dealing with sick, cranky, or elderly folks and their needs and messes, or find another direction. Get a guide to health occupations. That info is even online.
Admin doesn’t require nursing experience. You may be confusing admin/management with being lead nurse, msnagung them.
Look at your options further.
@lookingforward I’m a senior. And I am considering eliminating nursing but I was wonder about others who have had experience as a nurse. At my school we dont have math/science clubs and there’s no research opportunities. There’s other things in nursing like working in an office or surgery. I’ve researched nursing a lot and I’m still unsure of it. Admin doesn’t require nursing experience. But requires healthcare work experience. Why would they hire a 22 year old to become an administrator without any valid work experience?
I’m going to be frank. I know a lot of nurses, admire their work, and vol at a hospice. It often seems like a calling, for them. They may not like some aspects, but they enjoy the role. It doesn’t sound like you do. ?
Nowadays, many we think are nurses in med offices are really med techs. The admin we’re speaking of doesn’t always “require” hands on med experience, per se. It requires knowledge of hosp or clinic operations, regulations, financing, insurance, budget and project mgt, etc. Eg, you could work in the healthcare admin world with straight accounting experience. Or other roles, with the right background and then on the job training in their specifics.
You might like social work, which comes in many flavors.
You could also do the math-sci in college and decide on nursing later, these sci courses would qualify you for a post undergrad RN program.
If you study publuc health, all sorts of doors open. Includes govt orgs, non profits, advocacy, educational programs and more.
“Why would they hire a 22 year old to become an administrator without any valid work experience?”
As you go through college, you’d build a starter resume. It may be volunteer or summer work. It would be honing your skills at work tasks. 22 year olds get hired all the time. Hospital admins are the corporate side. You wouldn’t start as a supervisor.
@lookingforward Also another thing you may not know about nursing is that they have accelerated BSNs. If you already have a bachelors you can go get one of these and it takes about 12-18 months to get yours BSN. Nursing is basically just clinicals and some science classes too like anatomy, bio, etc. Much better than trying to go from nursing to another degree. When I was at the nursing home, one CNA was telling us about how when she worked at a hospital they were trying to get her to go get her RN. They were going to pay for it. I can’t remember why she didn’t do it though. But a lot of hospitals will pay for students to get RN, MD, etc as long as they sign a contract saying they will work for the hospital. Honestly, I don’t know if nursing is right for me at all though.
Right. The point is you don’t need to enter a nurding program initially, if you aren’t sure.
@lookingforward Looking for nursing schools is difficult because the ideal program is a direct entry program
If you’re sure. You don’t seem sure. Lots of people do it post grad.
There are a lot of pathways to nursing. And I’m certainly no expert - just a parent whose daughter plans on a nursing degree, and who has looked at a lot of curriculum guides this summer while touring.
Speaking only to the programs I’m familiar with (all of which are direct entry): Every student does a variety of clinicals, from OB to geriatrics to floor work. You can’t skip any. Sure, some are better than others. Every program we’ve looked at starts the students out in a nursing home. Unless you are pretty lucky, your first job out of school is generally in a hospital (which thrills my daughter to death). You could branch out into forensic nursing, school nurse and office work, but most of the jobs especially out of school are floor nursing and you work your way up from there. Like any profession, you gotta pay your dues.
It is certainly harder to get into some programs if you don’t go in as a direct-entry student. But it’s best to be sure that this is what you want. And I guess none of us can help you make that decision. It sounds like, if you have this much doubt, you might want to think about it more.
@bearcatfan Yeah all nursing students do clinicals in a variety of things like ob, bedside, geriatrics, psych, etc. Ob/ labor and delivery are really competitive for new grads. But it’s possible to get hired as a new grad but just a lot more difficult. Usually people start off as bedside nurses or ICU/ER nurses. I’ve thought about it a lot. I think I will always have doubt until i got into the classes but idk if it’s worth the risk especially since nursing programs are so atypical- if you get into a 2+2 program you don’t know if you’ll like it until junior year. A lot of schools don’t even have nursing programs where as almost every school has a computer science or accounting program(except liberal arts)
what @lookingforward said. A lot of those doctor’s office personnel are med techs, not nurses. Why? You simply don’t need the same skill level to take histories, perform the blood draws, and order labs with the doctor a few doors down. If that is what your want, the med tech route would be faster (2 year program) and cheaper (probably at a cc).
You’re right @validation you don’t get into nursing classes until junior year…kinda late to switch majors if you don’t like it. I think you’ve had enough experience as a CNA to know if this is something you’d like. You’re not crazy about geriatric care? Well, the biggest consumers of health care are old people. Hard to get away from them.
Your desire to question your options so thoroughly and pursue opportunities to related to the field are praiseworthy. I think your careful consideration about all your future prospects is really going to pay off for you. I suspect you believe that nursing probably isn’t the best fit, and I hope you found the validation you needed to move away on this board.
@ordinarylives Why wouldn’t they just get RN at a cc and take 2 years instead of doing med tech? I don’t think being a CNA gave the insight to know whether or not I would like like labor and delivery or some other speciality. Also, you can get jobs not involving geriatrics like a job at a children’s hospital, labor and delivery, surgery(there will be old people but you aren’t really interacting with them), etc. I think I’m going to mark nursing off my list unless something changes my mind though. I could always go back to become a nursing I suppose. Or go to med school. I kinda wanted people on here to say don’t do nursing because of x.
Well, because an RN at cc is rarely a 2 year program. You will generally take your pre-reqs year one, apply for admission, and then nursing years 2 and 3. They delay is because programs are impacted at many, many community colleges - there can be waiting lists that further delay entry. The med tech program at my local cc is 3 semesters. You can be done in a calendar year and get to work. It also doesn’t appear to have a waiting list. Might also be simply a matter of personal choice.
I’m glad you’ve narrowed your choices for now. Good luck.