I’m not a nurse, but I’m married to one. She’s been doing it for 30 years, always a floor nurse on a busy floor (trauma, med surg, etc.). She loves the one in a million patients where they need help, appreciate the help, their families are nice and thankful, and she gets to help that person recover and get better. Makes up for the million other shitty things that happen.

She’s often thought about the pa thing, but never did it for a few reasons. 1) she likes being a nurse, and a pa isn’t nursing 2) job opportunity/need as you mentioned 3) she’s watched me climb the corporate ladder and she appreciates the simplicity of being an individual contributor. 4) she thinks pas ultimately lose their nursing skills and she doesn’t want that.

Anyways, the point of this novel is that we’ve moved around a bit and she’s learned that there is always a job available for her as a floor nurse, and that if “the grind” is too much - IT’S USUALLY THE FLOOR. Go somewhere else and it changes drastically. Hospital administration, managers, co workers - they all make or break the experience. Her toughest job was also her favorite because of her boss and co workers, one of her easiest sucked because of her boss and coworkers. So nothing wrong with the pa path (it’s never too late for anything), but don’t forget to look at your other nursing options - maybe there’s another floor or hospital that’s more of a fit for you.

Or just ignore me because I’m not a nurse and don’t really know what I’m talking about. I’m just parroting what I’ve heard my wife say. Good luck!