The Bible NETWork ~ Impacting the World for Christ one post at a time!

Hi,
I have a problem. Well two mini problems really. First one is I am a nurse but I hate nursing. Surely God wouldn't want me to be a nurse if I hate nursing. But here is the disconnect. I have this crazy idea (which has never left me for years and years) that I want to be a doctor. It doesn't make sense and I can't shake this feeling. I am trying to figure out WHY I want to be a doctor if I don't even want to be a nurse. Besides that I am too old now (48). But I have this uneasiness in my spirit about career and I have prayed and prayed for God's will for my career but it's been elusive. I just want to be happy and do what God wants.
Please Help.
Earnest.

There are lots of specialties in nursing. Maybe you could try a different aspect of the field.

Good nurses can make a real difference in how patients feel.

_________________
Cobra (the car, not the poisonous reptile)
all scripture is NRSV unless otherwise noted

I'm reading a book by Gordon T. Smith entitled Discerning God's Will in Times of Choice. He writes about determining whether your desires are motivated by God or not. He advises that we should never make a decision in a time of desolation because often it means that the devil is at work, trying to get us off-track. God may allow desolation in a person's life (eg. Job), but he is never the cause of it. He defines desolation (using Ignatius Loyola's words) as a feeling of anger, discouragement, depression or inner turmoil. He says many bad decisions are made in such a time. It sounds to me, Earnest, like you are in a time of desolation.

Smith says that we should analyze our motives re: making a choice. With regard to your desire to be a doctor and whether God is in that desire or not, his book suggests that, in the flesh, we want things usually for one of three reasons: desire for honour or attention for ourselves, desire for wealth, desire for security. We are, therefore, focused on self rather than on Christ. He says we are to sit down and prayerfully analyze our motives for wanting to make the kind of change you're talking about, Earnest.

He suggests that, when it comes to desolation, we are to sit down and look for the cause of that desolation. What is it that you really hate about nursing? Are they valid reasons for leaving the profession? Is it possible that God is using this time of desolation to bring growth in your walk with him, using it to help you grow in your faith in and dependency on the Lord? Do you feel you are not honouring God as a nurse, but would do so as a doctor? Ultimately, Smith says, honouring God is the one right motive in decision-making.

As you pray and listen for God's response, you might also ask him what it is he wants you to learn in the situation you're now in. Nothing is ever a waste with God and I have found that he has all kinds of worthwhile things to teach me in the hard places of life.

I, myself, have not sat down and applied what I am reading in Smith's book so I offer the above information without having tested it out myself. I share it with the hope that it may help you as you try to sort out things in your life.

In the meantime, Cobra has given you an interesting suggestion. Is it possible that you could go into administration or teaching or as a consultant as a nurse? If it's the hands-on care that you have to give that distresses you, you might consider something along those other lines. Again, I go back to analyzing your motives as being a doctor would still mean dealing with patients one-on-one.

God bless you, Earnest, as you work with the Holy Spirit to sort this out!

Thanks so much for your encouraging words Overcomer. I think you may have hit the nail on the head. I have ordered this book and will read it cover to cover. Also I will ask my church leaders for some prayer (I always have a difficult time asking for help).
Gina.

And Cobra, thanks. I will eventually figure out a place where I fit in nursing. I'm thinking about neonatal intensive care.

I was thinking more about this and thought about the nurses I have seen with my family. Their jobs ranged from:
1) Arranging and counseling the family for hospice care as my mother passed away last year.
2) As you mentioned in neonatal care, taking care of my niece's little 1-pound baby who is now a fine little girl.
3) Using the nursing expertise in insurance work
4) Private duty in people's homes with a temp agency (my wife did some of this years ago)
5) Working in a doctor's office
6) On the floor in a hospital
7) Traveling to people's homes to take vitals and draw blood for life insurance qualification
and so many others.

It's something like engineering (I'm an engineer), because there are so many jobs that are so very different from each other.

_________________
Cobra (the car, not the poisonous reptile)
all scripture is NRSV unless otherwise noted

Earnest wrote:



That has been one of my problems, too. I used to pride myself on my self-sufficiency and independence and found it hard to ask for help. Unfortunately, that kept me from being in God's will many times! I still wrestle with listening to him and following in obedience.

It really is important to have prayer partners as well as mature Christians who can listen objectively to us as we talk about the problems we face, the choices that are available to us, etc. We are all so prone to self-deception and being swayed by emotions that cloud the issues. An outside opinion coming from someone who loves us enough to be honest with us and who loves the Lord enough to know that her role isn't to tell us what to do but to be a "co-discerner" with us is a blessing. Therefore, I would also suggest that, if you haven't already done so, find a sister in the Lord who you trust and spend time in discussion and prayer with her over the matter. I'll certainly add my prayers to yours!

God bless you, Gina!

Thanks again for the kind words and encouragement.
Earnest.

I wish you well trying to find out what you are going to do at this point in life. But I have a few thoughts.

Moses couldn't speak, so God recruited him as His representative. OH! And he gave him a stick to help out with the speach problem....

Gideon was the last choice for a leader, literally, so God used Him. As a leader he sent him to war with crockpots and horns. Well prepared, and I'm sure he felt NO anxiety in that charge...

Peter was the largest foe the church faced in some ways, so God used him to reach the most people....

Seems God likes choosing people to do things they aren't comfy with, or don't like, to prove a point.

I'm by no means saying you should stay as a nurse. That is between you and God. But hopefully a little conflicting view here can help you find your answer!

Overcomer, I too thank you. I've been looking and praying over a new line of work for months now. While on vacation I saw an opportunity that really thrilled me IF I could pull it off. It doesn't fall into any of those problematic areas you mentioned: it would be a fun job that involves my interests. Maybe it is the "new" thing that God may be doing. I don't know, but your post was very helpful.

_________________
Martin Luther, 475 years ago, was asked, "How do we love and serve God? How do we love and serve our neighbors?" and Luther answered, "In commune per vocatione." We love and serve God, we love and serve our neighbors, in community, through vocation. And let it be so with us.

And, Xian, frankly, I could have done without that post *LOL* Especially the line "Seems God likes choosing people to do things they aren't comfy with, or don't like, to prove a point."

_________________
Martin Luther, 475 years ago, was asked, "How do we love and serve God? How do we love and serve our neighbors?" and Luther answered, "In commune per vocatione." We love and serve God, we love and serve our neighbors, in community, through vocation. And let it be so with us.

You're not too old unless you choose to be. You've already got your BS degree (I assume), so all you need to do is satisfy medical school entry requirements. Because your undergraduate education is already completed, you'll have four fewer years to have to work to finally satisfy the residency requirements for MD.

I retired from the Air Force at the age of 40 and began my undergraduate education as a freshman, a husband, and a brand new father. I'm now 55 with a masters degree, and I've been working as a university professor for 5 years.

Becoming a physician is really more of a career advancement than a career change in your case, so follow the leanings of your heart, and I'm sure that God will bless your efforts, especially since you're choosing a field in which you can minister to people in meaningful ways during times of crises.

However, if you don't begin soon, time will catch up with you (as you probably already know quite well), so don't procrastinate too long.

May God bless you in whatever you decide.

_________________
Critics are people who don't fight battles, but who roam the battlefields afterward seeking to shoot the wounded.

The too old isn't as much a personal choice as what the medical schools would decide. I doubt they would accept him at that age. I've known people who were in their 30's who were told they were too old.

There is the option of becoming a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant or a nurse anesthetist.

Marv

_________________
Marv
Forum Code of Conduct
The Bible NETWork Doctrinal Statement
The NeXt Bible Learning Environment
The Bible NETwork Blogs

BeneSHOP: Help support Bible.org at no additional cost to you when you shop!

I agree with Marv, at least for the US schools.

I heard one person say he was older than the highest acceptance age for medical school, but he used the advanced ages of his grandparents to show that his remaining years of life equaled that of younger entrants. And he got in. But he was the exception.

_________________
Cobra (the car, not the poisonous reptile)
all scripture is NRSV unless otherwise noted

It might be possible someone could do it here with UND because of the rural medicine importance. If someone went to a smaller town that was in severe need of a doctor and made the deal to come back after school, you just might be able to get in. Since providing doctors for the rural hospitals is a primary objective of the state university and since most students do not stay or go to those rural towns, one could argue that a shorter life of service is better than no life of service.

I wouldn't just walk in the door and say I'd be planning such, I'd walk in with the whole town behind me.

_________________
Marv
Forum Code of Conduct
The Bible NETWork Doctrinal Statement
The NeXt Bible Learning Environment
The Bible NETwork Blogs

BeneSHOP: Help support Bible.org at no additional cost to you when you shop!

I Think you will find that in this world we live in today a lot of people do not particularly like there jobs i for one am in this to i work long hours and the job is physically demanding, and to make matters worse i to am aging i will be 53 here in a couple of months, but it is a steady paycheck and i make decent money doing it but my wife said the field i am in there will always be a great demand because of what i do and there is no substitute for 20yrs of skills i possess and that is a plus if i had to find a job tomorrow which with my skills i have i would not have a problem, I can not make your decisions except that i had a Aunt that was a ICU nurse for yrs and she really make good money doing it and she retired doing what she enjoyed doing..And for a lot of folks who are in ICU these nurses are like angels to see a smiling face when you are in a time of pain and recovering..