Dropped out of Nursing School, Feel Like Failure

Hey everyone.

I feel pretty low. Nursing School started roughly one month ago, and to be honest I was having a rough time that it sent me back into my depression. Because of this, I had to withdraw from Nursing school and now pursue an alternate career path. I just got so depressed I gave up on myself, and stopped studying. Nursing is a fascinating, rewarding, and great field --- I respect the profession itself; however, I couldn't stand some parts of the field I absolutely loathed and could not see myself doing (cleaning people, etc.) Thank god we have people who do this stuff, because I wouldn't be able to do it and this is one of the prime reasons why I left the field (in addition to my depression).

Anyway, because I am no longer a Nursing student, I feel lost. I am trying to go into another allied health field, that is also itself competitive to gain admission into. The issue is what if I don't get in? I'm afraid I am wasting more time. I am 20-years old (junior in College), and see so many freshman who could handle the stress and demands of the academics and I couldn't, and it made me feel inferior to them. I wish I was them. I wish I was a four-year College student, now because I dropped out of the program I'll probably be a six-year student. The job prospects aren't so hot for this Medical Imaging I'm going into compared to Nursing.

People in my family are Nurses. I know my life will financially be more difficult then them. I just haven't been happy for a while.

I see my brother, who is graduating RN school this year. He could work and get by in the program. For me, I have to study 24/7 and be miserable. I couldn't have a job while in school. I wish I could. He has friends. I don't have any friends. No best friends. No nothing. Everyone else looks like they have it together and I don't. I just wish I met someone like me. I just wish life was easier and I could handle it, but I can't.

I wish I could wake up in the morning, and say "Today is a great day. I have everything together." Instead, I need to rely on 10 mg of Lexapro to do that.

I'm sorry guys. I truly am.

I don't view your dropping out as a failure. You valued yourself enough to understand that you couldn't handle it. I'm fascinated by medicine but I could never handle the cleaning people stuff either.

You're not doing yourself any favors comparing yourself to yourself to you brother. Every has their own path in life, their own strengths and weaknesses.

There are many careers in health care that don't involve the yucky stuff. Physical therapy for one. You can help people recover from pain and injuries.

Depression definitely makes college a very uphill battle. I know exactly where you're coming from, I started off premed but I did horribly in my classes and that plan got scrapped. It actually took me a total of 6 and a half years(with summer classes almost every summer) to graduate with two bachelor's degrees which ended up being pretty useless. And the social aspect too, it's extremely difficult to be socially active when you are depressed. Trust me, nobody with depression would handle it any better than you have.

Don't beat yourself up.. imagine if you continued to do that career path. You would have ended up doing a job that you can't stand. It was pretty brave of you to acknowledge this and choose another career

If something clearly isn't for you, it's a smart move to quit early on. Good move that you did it asap.

My husband is RN and when no aid is available (which is often) he cleans and does menial work because it needs to be done to help a patient. If you can't do that, you shouldn't go into nursing. But it doesnt make you a failure. I wouldn't go into medical field for nothing. Ton of people would not go into my field either. I teach high school and many people can't even imagine dealing with teens all day. You aren't required to do something just because others do it.

I recommend go to career type of counselor and see what they suggest, they might have some ideas for you. Good luck

You're definitely not a failure. You have good insight and know what your limits are. Forget about your brother and your other relatives being RN's. The only person you're competing with is yourself. Do you really want to do Medical Imaging or is that a compromise? Do what you love.

Are you being treated for your depression? If not, please consider getting help. Sending big hugs.