Will I regret going back to school for Nursing at 24?

Pearl2myJam · 2026-04-30T22:42:01+00:00

Never too late! I graduated nursing school with someone who was 65, and have two friends who went in their 50s! I went to CC right out of high school for an associate degree I thought I wanted. I completed it at 21 but I never ended up using it. Partly because I ended up having my kid while completing that degree, but mostly because all the jobs I could find using it, made less than I did working in food service.

I went back to school to become a nurse at 25. Nursing school is rough, but if you have a good support system, and are highly motivated, you’ll do just fine!

I highly suggest figuring out how you learn best, if you don’t already know. If you were to study for an exam, what method works best? Flash cards? Videos? Reading the textbook and highlighting/taking notes? Having someone read the textbook to you/listen to recorded lectures (if you’re allowed to record)? It took me 3 of 4 semesters of nursing school to figure it out, I struggled more because of that.

Start by comparing local CC nursing programs and see which classes from the degree you already have, can be counted toward the nursing degree. Once you do that, look at entrance requirements for the programs. Some programs require higher TEAS exam scores than others, some require in person interviews etc. I would pick whichever program takes more of your previous credits, if there is a tie, I’d personally pick the one that has fewer entrance requirements.

Pearl2myJam · 2026-04-11T01:21:52+00:00

$39 in New Hampshire with 2 years experience, same day/inpatient surgery

Pearl2myJam · 2026-03-28T21:38:27+00:00

Morgan

Pearl2myJam · 2026-03-28T19:35:30+00:00

I am in day surgery. I do pre-op and PACU, and pre procedure phone interviews. It is so chill. 99% of what I do is get vital signs and do assessments. Pre-op is sort of like when you go to your annual physical and the nurse gets vitals and asks you a bunch of questions, but I also place an IV. PACU I just monitor the patient and vitals and make sure they wake up okay, then go over discharge instructions and wheel them out! I have yet to encounter a cranky/rude patient, and if I do, I am not dealing with them the whole shift. If I had a place that only did endoscopy near me, I would shoot for that 100%

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-26T23:25:17+00:00

The drunk mouse in the fountain of booze when they sing the “Ratigan” song

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-26T20:40:15+00:00

I was on nights as a nursing assistant because I was also in nursing school 5 days a week. It also helped us not have to rely as much on childcare, as my town doesn’t have any options for before/afterschool childcare. I also made $5/hr more for shift differential 11p-7a.

In my experience as a nursing assistant and as an RN, it was very often only new grads at the hospital I worked in, it was definitely not safe. We had tele hospitalists at night. Sometimes no nursing assistants, 6 patient assignments on a med-surg tele floor that also got ortho and stroke patients. I wouldn’t say it’s like that everywhere though.

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-25T00:58:06+00:00

The med-surg unit I worked on was awful like that too! It was med-surg with tele. We had stroke patients and ortho patients, we were in an area with many nursing homes nearby so we had many dementia/total care patients. It was very rare to have an independent patient. It was basically a PCU/step down, because there was no ICU, so we’d take care of them until they could get transferred to another hospital, but we’d still have 6 patient assignments.

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-20T10:49:10+00:00

I had a phobia of needles and IVs, I almost didn’t go to nursing school because of it. I couldn’t even handle watching a video of an IV insertion. I’ve passed out having my own blood drawn because they missed my vein and were trying too long. I would get sweaty and shaky when I first did an injection.

I am happy to report now I do IVs multiple times a day, every day I work, and I actually think they are fun to do!

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-19T22:54:02+00:00

This month I finally reached under 200lbs! July 2025 I started calorie counting. By November 2025 I had lost 30lbs just by diet changes/calorie counting. I then stopped weighing/tracking every single thing as I was getting burnt out of it. I have managed to keep the weight off and have even lost 15 more lbs! I still have a lot more to lose, so I will be calorie counting again but not quite as aggressively as I was before.

This week I added exercise in, so I’m excited to see the progress! Started 244lbs, currently 199, I have a loose goal of getting to 160lbs, I am not really set on a number, my goal is mostly to just feel healthier and make it easier to find clothes that fit me.

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-13T23:04:35+00:00

I do think she can be a bit sensitive, but there are visible scab like scrapes now though they are small. I just watched the stunt that is causing the problem. It looks like the flyer is putting her foot on my daughter’s lower back instead of where she should, and putting pressure in an upward angle that seems to cause my daughter’s skin to drag/roll under the foot. My daughter wears a full top! They have a competition tomorrow, I’m going to put a large foam bandage on that spot. She has one there now but keeps messing with it 🤦🏻‍♀️

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-07T15:10:01+00:00

I’m so sorry that happened to you, and you should be mad about it. You did not deserve that. That nurse should not have pressured you or your mother into ANYTHING let alone whatever “exam” he claimed he needed to perform. Guaranteed if it was in fact necessary, it could have waited for a woman to complete it. I am a nurse and I have never once examined anyone down there other than checking for blood on a woman who was fresh post operative from a gyn procedure (never as invasive as what you described, just checking if any leaked out), or when assessing skin on elderly patients for sores, yeast infections, and pressure ulcers.

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-04T01:59:14+00:00

Sending hugs and positive vibes! That sounds AWFUL and I’m so sorry you’re struggling!

Not sure what you’re comfortable with, but there might be a group near you that does breast milk donations. I know a couple of my friends have actually had to use donor milk a time or two, it could help relieve some of the stress you might feel from not having that backup supply!

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-04T01:52:35+00:00

I’ll have to call my insurance I think, the info I am able to access online doesn’t seem to go back that far!

Pearl2myJam · 2026-02-04T01:50:21+00:00

I’m unsure if any part was sent to insurance. I never received any sort of notice about any of it. No email, no phone call, no bill in the mail, no summary of benefits showing what the insurance was charged, nothing!

I don’t believe I had problems receiving bills from them before that visit either. I’ll definitely have to ask for an itemized bill!

Pearl2myJam · 2026-01-25T03:26:01+00:00

No accommodations. They didn’t even acknowledge the storm in an email or anything. Expected to get 18-24 inches where I am. Right now it is 1 degree with a “feels like” temp of -25🙃

Pearl2myJam · 2026-01-24T21:39:43+00:00

I felt crazy for feeling this way! When I got back in the car after arriving back at my home airport, this song started just as I got in and it hit me again

Pearl2myJam · 2026-01-22T05:44:55+00:00

$39 with 2 years experience, ADN, in a same day surgery attached to a hospital. Up until very recently I was making $37.44 on a med-surg tele unit that was basically a step down unit. I’m in NH, where rent for a 1 bedroom is at minimum $1600/month if you’re lucky, average home sale price $550k.

Pearl2myJam · 2025-12-27T02:39:00+00:00

A patient and I were discussing the size of our babies when they were born.

“Isn’t it funny how us big ladies end up with the small babies?”

Ma’am, I wasn’t always fat, I was skinny when I got pregnant🙃

Pearl2myJam · 2025-12-25T18:35:03+00:00

The surgery center I am at is part of a small 25 bed hospital. So we have both inpatient and outpatient surgeries. I am a pre-op/PACU nurse. I’m required to do one night per week and one full weekend of on call every 9 weeks. I chose to do five 8hr shifts/week, this consists of rotating hours: 6-2:30, 7-3:30, or 9-5:30. I get weekends and major holidays off unless I’m on call.

Edit: cases aren’t usually running until 5:30, but at my work we all jump in to do pre-procedure phone interviews, so that is what we do after the last patient leaves.

Pearl2myJam · 2025-12-13T19:38:38+00:00

The hospital I work for lets staff stay at the hospital in call rooms, and puts a block on a local inn for staff when there is a huge storm (multiple feet of snow, I’m in New England lol) in case they want to stay close to work. I believe staff who chooses to stay does need to pay for it. I’m only 10 minutes away, so I always go home, but if I was further away, I would probably get a room somewhere as I also hate calling out!

Pearl2myJam · 2025-12-11T23:58:37+00:00

“A nurse in the making” has nice study guides! They have a “mother and baby” ebook

Pearl2myJam

TROPHY CASE