[sikat]

I studied in a private all girl school in my high school years with nuns , their white dress attracts me so much , but then i said if im going to be like them its such mess i can't be like you know staying in one room and meditaitng the whole day. That' i decided to become a nurse. its a noble job and no regrets im enjoying it to the fullest till this time.

[Rick_s3]

Originally Posted by sikat

I studied in a private all girl school in my high school years with nuns , their white dress attracts me so much , but then i said if im going to be like them its such mess i can't be like you know staying in one room and meditaitng the whole day. That' i decided to become a nurse. its a noble job and no regrets im enjoying it to the fullest till this time.

cool i miss the formal dress myself! with the stockings.......but thats another matter......i became a nurse after many years of factory work(16) got laid off when a plant closed......got TAA its a nafta thing us in america can thank clinton for.it paid me too go to school.....never looked back.

why i became a nurse?
easy..........holding a hand....when its all that can be done.

[mysticalwaters1]

I allways enjoyed biology and a+p. I also adored my cats and dog so I thought naturally I would want to be a veterinarian.

My mother worked at various nursing homes while I grew up and at the time I was planning college was going to school to be an LPN and worked very hard for it. I found it similiar in that you had to learn all this medical stuff to do the job but dealt with people.

So I signed up at penn state to enter a major in animal bioscience a prevet program before vet school and don't know what happened! Ok well I kindof do! But as I looked into it more I found that vet school after prevet program there were only 9 in the country and very competative to get into and found out from various sources university of penn could be kindof a who you know and money factor just to get in. MEANING, just to afford school I'd have to find a position somewhere near a vet school just to get residency to get lower tuition. Then intern a while, then start my own office or join a group, and THEN be in so much debt just to start out and be like 30 years old!!! Oh and i realized i only liked cats period!!! Also I didn't want to leave home yet. Then I really felt stuck! I was so driven since the 7th grade to be a vet I never considered anything else! I still loved sciece/biology stuff but didn't really want to work with animals. Then I thought well I could get into nursing. I'd be dealing with testing, ivs, medicine, labs, learning new things, but just with people instead. I also thought it's still hard and a challenge for the schooling that I could do. Not to mention done in 4 years and could start off right away right after college. In fact I was hired before I even graduated! No debt well loans but paid them off and got reimbursement for employment at the hospital I work at. I can work anywhere where ever I go. If I start a family there are perdiem options. So it all sounded like a great idea to get into.

During college my mother got very sick and was in the ICU so I grew to liking that unit. I plan to go there now. I am frustrated right now with staffing and coworkers on my current floor. I sometimes question do I really want this. Ultimately yes! At least when i go into work I don't dread it well I may get annoyed at times but it's over petty garbage usually but anyway the day flys by, there is allways something new around. People can be a joy or hell demons but all interesting. Sorry to pts but I like sticking people. I like the computers too, well except when they freeze on you, HATE that.

I like nursing. I hope I can find a unit or area I enjoy even more. The only problem I feel is sometimes it can be too intense and can burn out. Hopefully with options to jump around can be wonderful!

OH and I love flare pant nursing uniforms! That was ONE thing about the nursing i'm like ugh scrubs are ugly! Just had to find the right ones! I only wear flares period.

[wineanddine]

Originally Posted by brian

Everyone has his or her own story about how or why they became a nurse. What's your story?

Please be as detailed or as short as you wish. It'll be interesting to hear everyone's stories.

I decided to become a nurse because here in this poverty-striken town I live in there are no jobs! The only jobs are in the school system and healthcare. Since I didn't want to teach school, I decided to go to nursing school. I thank God for the decison I made. I can take care of my family now and live comfortably.

[Animaniacs]

Originally Posted by ValerieB

My mom is a nurse ( she just retired 2 years ago) and I just sort of followed in her footsteps I guess. I found an old picture of me when I was about 4 years old wearing my mothers nursing cap. I guess that was a sign of my destiny. I enjoy taking care of people and that is why I became a nurse and have never regretted it.

I wonder how many people here decided to go into nursing because a parent or parents are nurses or a relative is a nurse?

My best friend's mother, aunt, uncle, cousins are nurses. She decided to go into nursing because of that mainly.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in life, nursing never crossed my mind. my best friend talked me into nursing, how there are many specialty areas a nurse can go into, i can work anywhere, and the pay is good. So I decided to give it a try. Right now my best friend and I are in our last year of nursing school. Hopefully we can pass the NCLEX together as well.

But there was never really that special event that pointed me into nursing. I'm reading some posts here, some went into nursing because someone in their close family or themselves had a serious disease, and the nurses took care of them through the illness, and they finally realize that nursing is something they want to do. I never had any of that. My best friend just persuaded me that nursing might be something I will like. Helping sick people and caring for them in my opinion is automatic for a normal person, I don't think about that part, because I know as a nurse that is my duty, and I'm more than happy to provide patient care and possibly make a difference in the patient's life somehow, someway, even if it just a little bit, whether it be through talking with the patient, or just being there in person to let them know that I'm here if they need anything.

[sayitgirl]

I have been trying to be a nurse for awhile since the 80's... finally happened when I got terminated from a medical lab tech career as a result of personality conflict. The unemployment office financed my LPN.... then I worked as an LPN for ten years ...got frustated doing LPN assignments and RN assignments .... went back to finish the journey and completed my RN and I have been loving it ever since....BSN here I come... :Melody:

[Maynmom]

I always thought I would be a stay at home mom until my son was older. Just like my mom was. However....I found my self in the single-mom category and realized that I was going to have to work. I remembered how wowed I was by the nurses that took care of me while I was in the hosptial having my son. So professional, caring and knowledgable. Not at all the Dr's handmaidens portrayed on TV and in the movies. That always stayed in the back of my mind and when the time was right I went to school to become an RN. It's who I am. It's what I do. I really can't see my self doing anything else.

[rnpilot]

I remember being about 4 (1963), driving past a local hospital with my mom. There was a new hospital building and a very old building next to it. I remember seeing some nurses in white uniforms and capes walking down the steps. I was fascinated. I asked my mother what the building was. She said it was a nursing school. I didn't remember that day until I was enrolled in the school. Nothing happens by accident. How did I end up there? I spent many years hopeless and suicidal, until I realized that God was real. Nursing seemed the most giving, loving profession and the best way I could serve Him.

[Sheri257]

I needed a job.

[Mister Chris]

Left school,
Worked as a draughtsman,
Trained and qualified as a building surveyor,
Got married,
Made redundant,
Self employed surveying and draughting,
Hard to find work,
Divorced,
Looking for any regular job with accomodation (in the sixties),
Became a live-in student psychiatric nurse,
(I was told that I could live in and train and get paid - just what I needed!), Qualified as a psychiatric nurse (RMN) then went on to mental and physically handicap,
Finally (So I thought!),
General nursing, becoming a RN.
Followed by specialities - Paediatrics, Theatres, A&E, Community, Aged Care .
Aged Care, that's the area of nursing where I still work in today,
37 years of nursing, and proud of it!
OK so I am 63 going on 64.
(I am told that most surveyors either retire before 60, become a psychogeriatric, or die! I never ever met a happy old surveyor, or a happy old rich one!)
I would do nearly all of it again, (perhaps leave out the divorce bit and not be such a rebel!)

Love all you nurses - you are very special and "one of a kind"

Mister Chris
I may write a book one day