I'm about to graduate from nursing school, but I don't like nursing!?

I wanted to drop out at the beginning of my Senior year. My mother told me to finish it, so I am. I'll have my BSN and graduate w/ high honors. The problem is, I hate hospitals. I've externed for two years and have went to the bathroom and cried many, many times. I cry on the way to work sometimes. I have panic disorder and I've had to have someone come and pick me up from work before. Everyone says you need 1-2 years of floor nursing experience before you go somewhere else though. I thought about going to graduate school to get my master's degree to become an FNP and become a school nurse practitioner, but I was told I need to have an active license and 1 year of experience to apply to graduate school. I really want to be a teacher. And I'm debating on just going back to school and getting a bachelor's in elementary education. I didn't have to pay a cent for my bachelor's in nursing because of scholarships, but I would for this one.

Having a degree in nursing opens a lot up besides hospitals. Yes, you may need a year or so of experience under your belt, but it may not be at a hospital. (Most of those EXTERN programs are at the worst places to work to "weed out" folks anyway.) Glad you didn't fall for it.

Have you considered being a school nurse? Not just elementary schools have nurses. Colleges also employ nurses as well. Talk about great hours!! Christmas break off, spring break off, lots of others too.

Teaching at the college or community college level is also a great job, but again you have to have a little experience under your belt.

Community mental health centers employ nurses, you'd have a private office, not have to be on your feet all the time...
Summer camp programs have nurses, you could prob be a medical social worker, work in a residential day treatment facility, even some large private corporations hire their own nurses, insurance companies hire nurses, The nurses at the cancer treatment center I am familiar with are awesome!!!

I'm attaching a link for you.
Yes, you'll have to do grunt work for awhile, but everyone starts at the bottom and moves up! When in a job you don't like, your goal should always be the job you want to get.
Good luck,

I am in education and want out. I am so tired of all of the extra stuff they pile on teachers. Plus, the pay sucks. I would sub for a while before you decide to go back to school. Plus, depending on your state's requirements, you may not even have to go back to school full time. You may just need to take a few classes to be certified.

You have your degree, now do what YOU want to do...and more importantly DON't do what you hate, you'll be miserable and therefore probably not good at it.

Finish your nursing. You went this far it seems lie a waste to stop now. There are a lot of options for nurses with out working in a hospital setting. Suffer for a year, and then do something else. They always hire school nurses, nurses in companies, nurses in insurance companies, you could go for psychiatric nursing, home care, health unit nurse, old folks home, etc.

You should do what will make you happy. There are no jobs that are an absolute picnic though. You don't have to work in a hospital to be a nurse either.

you can always start over

you have reached this far. why dont you give it a try for awhile. nursing offers a lot of opportunities and you dont have to work in a hospital. there's QA/UR and other desk jobs for nurses. you can also work for the health dept doing inspections and other non hospital work. or you can be a nursing teacher since you want to teach. nursing is a very flexible career and you can hold your own time too. the pay is not bad also. many people would love to trade places with you.

Hi. That's too bad because there is such a nursing shortage....but please don't do something that you don't want to! It doesn't matter if you have high grades...it matters what kind of nurse you are going to be. And, if you don't like hospitals....well, you will be going into the bathroom many times and crying.

Along with a nursing shortage, there is also a teaching shortage (I think), so please go back to school and get your teaching certificate. You won't need to go too long...maybe another two years.

Good luck in your career choice!

Can you work in the clinic at for a corporation or in a school clinic? Insurance companies hire nurses to help screen people as part of the application process. You can do nursing without ever working in a hospital.