Nursing School: The End.

Yeah. So, nursing school. Hmm. Eight weeks in. Then out.

One day, about a year ago, I thought I would like to be a nurse. What a grand idea! Taking care of people and getting paid well to do it! Flexible hours that could work around a family, if needed. A career that is ALWAYS in demand. Gaining an intimate knowledge of how the human body works . . . and what to do when it doesn't . . .

Yeah. So, nursing school. Found out it wasn't for me.

Last week, I decided to quit nursing school. Why? Wow. Nurses have a really tough job. And it is one that I think God has created a lot of really great people for. I am not one of those people. I thought I was one of those people. I know I am capable of completing the coursework and even of being a nurse. BUT, as I progressed through my first eight weeks of nursing school, I discovered that I was not getting more interested and excited about what I was learning. In fact, I was becoming more and more apathetic about it. I dreaded going to clinical. I dreaded going to class. I dreaded doing my homework. Living with me was pretty much misery during those eight weeks. Know what else? I didn't seem to care. How scary is that? A nursing student who doesn't care . . . just hoping that at some point she would begin to care, cause that is a pretty important part of being a nurse. You know, caring about people and making them feel better . . . ?

I mean, can you imagine? I bet you probably can. I have seen a lot of nurses who probably used to care. But now they are so overworked/understaffed that they are just getting through their shift.

That was another thing. The stress. People are trusting you with their lives. As a nurse, you are directly responsible for keeping someone alive. Um. Yeah, I know. Shoulda thought of that BEFORE applying to nursing school. Have you ever looked at a drug book? I mean REALLY looked at it? Nurses are supposed to know their drugs inside and out. That way, when they give a medication, they know what potential side effects to look for and how to fix them if they happen. Or to avoid them by not giving a medication and alerting the doctor to a potential interaction. That's nice, isn't it? Someone with four times the education prescribes a medication and the person handing it to the patient is responsible for side effects and interactions. Supposedly a "third check". First the doctor, then the pharmacy, then the nurse.

I just don't have a lot of faith in the world of medicine. Maybe that was more of the problem than anything else. How can you pursue a career in something you really don't believe in? It's like a salesperson trying to sell a product that they don't use themselves. It just won't work in the end.

I don't like to quit. Quitting nursing school was something I took very seriously. But after much consideration and discussion, dropping out of nursing school was the right decision for me.