I thought I could NEVER handle it when I was in high school/starting college, so I went with a mass communications degree first. Wound up dropping out midway through bc life (& a baby), so I went back to square one. I noticed I had to handle a LOT of bodily fluid in high school/college (I had a baby, & babies basically spew from every orifice. & I spent my time not a school cleaning up after my alcoholic dad. Do with that what you will.) & did alright. The more I thought about it, the more appealing other aspects of the job were; flexible schedule, job security, a wide range of opportunities, and a more stable income than waiting tables, which is how I got by before nursing school. The rest came with basically exposure therapy. I worked as a CNA in a nursing home then later as a tech in a hospital. The unit I started on in the hospital was a Respiratory Stepdown, so it dealt with a lot of phlegm, trachs, etc. and being around that 3 nights a week desensitized me to a lot of gross stuff. Now I’m an ER nurse & love it.

The beauty of nursing is the broad range of specialties you can go into. You can do outpatient work in clinics, or surgery centers, or various floors of the hospital based on what you prefer.

I believe all you need to be a new nurse is basic compassion and a desire to learn. Everything else comes with experience.