What college should I go to for a career in nursing?

Should I choose Nursing as a career?

• I am considering doing a 2 year A.A.S. degree program at my local community college to become a registered nurse. I want to specialize in neonatal care. I am desiring to be a nurse mainly because I think it would be self-fullfilling to help people, I have an interest in health, and the pay seems to be decent to live and support my children. However, I have heard many negatives about Nursing as a career choice. I have did research online and found many nurses who completely HATED their job. Most said that the stress and long hours wasn't worth the pay. They complain that the job 'consumes' their life. I am struggling with the decision whether to go into the field or not. I am the kind of person that wants to have plenty of time with family, friends, and children in life, and I will not go into nursing if it takes away too much time from my husband and children. I'm not really into the idea of working more than 10 hour shifts, weekends, and holidays. What should I do? Should I go into nursing? If not, what would be a good field to go into?

• Answer:

  I think you should go into nursing. The medical field needs people like you...who truly want to do it and help people, and have the interest in health. I am not a nurse but I have relatives and friends who are. There are so many options these days for nursing...but I would think because they are in such demand that you can almost expect longer hours than what you wanted. If you take something part-time, you should still be able to have a life on the outside. But, getting off weekends and holidays are almost out of the question, except if you work at some place like a surgery center, or specialty office (gynecology, allergy, etc) which is closed on weekends. As for those who hated their jobs, I have heard that many nurses are not only the pressure of what they do, but they have the added pressure to move up in the field. I have heard this from almost every nurse, with the exception of a few who choose to stay where they are and not feel as if they have to constantly move up in position. Good luck with your choice!