#1 Nursing Community for Nurses: 293,307 Members

Well, that title might be just a tad bit exaggerated. I do that, sometimes.

But I discovered allnurses as a first year student with severe anxiety on a good day and panic on an intermittent, but frequent basis. I feel blessed to have found it when I did, for the insights from more experienced nurses and the commiseration from others in my position.

I tell my friends that I developed my "philosophy of nursing" mostly on allnurses, and while I often say it in a pompous and pretentious tone of voice, the fact is, it's true.

A good while before I began to develop the skills to actually be a nurse, I was forming a clearer picture of what being a nurse meant to me. That image might not have been able to write my careplans or memorize the meds I would be passing, but I do believe it's an important part of learning to "think like a nurse."

Nursing is a job, but it's also a way of life, and when it gets in your blood, you don't see anything quite the way you did before you became a nurse. (Mind you, I'm not saying that's always a good thing...)

Allnurses.com is entertaining, useful, fun, and educational. There are people here whom I think of as friends and mentors, and maybe a couple who sometimes get on my nerves--perfect preparation for nursing in the real world--wouldn't you say?