[ghettowrkr]

Believe it or not I was a lazy college freshman at Mizzou with very little ambition. My best friend and roommate was ultra organized and driven. She was sure she wanted to go to nursing school so I thought what the heck I will too. She was always on top of all our pre-requisite reqiurements and would always keep me on track with gentle "Did you finish your paper yet?", or "Have you registered for statistics yet?" reminders. It was all well and good until the unthinkable happened. We actually applied to the school of nursing and I got accepted and she did not. Oh the irony!!! How crappy I felt as the underachiever. But alas all ended well I learned to be responsible for myself and my sweet friend got accepted the semester behind me. Now I have her to thank for getting me entangled in this maddening profession!!!

[Sundancer123]

When I first began, I started out as a Paramedic because I wouldnt need all the prereqs to finish. I loved being a medic, did it for 11 years. Seen and did more than the majority of all the RNs I work with (with exception of the trauma RN's). A teacher once said that RN's "eat their young", now I know what she meant! I am now looking into Forensic Nursing, as I think it will be more rewarding.

[breenzanemom]

I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was a small child. My favorite aunt was a nurse and my grandfather was a doctor. It took almost 10 years after graduating high school to finally go back to nursing schoo, but I am so glad I did. I have worked in adult med-surg (yuk), pediatrics (love it), NICU (love it), newborn nursery (love it), office nursing (love it), case management (ok), and did chart review for toxic tort litigation (very interesting but no patient contact). I'm now back in pediatric nursing as a CLincial Nurse Manager and LOVE it - some clinical, some management. I also spent time (13 years) as a VOlunteer Medic and LOVED every minute of that. It is SO different from nursing, but I was glad I had the nursing skills solid before I started Paramedic school! I have a certificate in Forensic Nursing and would LOVE to find a job where I could use those skills, but they aren't easy to come by.

Would I tell someone to become a nurse? Probably, but I would make sure I explained about the long nights in school and after starting work, about the death and the life that you see, about the times you cry and the times you laugh and about all you do that you never thought you could. Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat!!!!!

[jumpwinter]

I will be starting an evening ADN program this fall. I'm a paramedic & a federal social worker & I have wanted to be an RN since I met some seriously bad-ass US Navy RN's while serving in the Marines. They were just as tough as me, could drink like me & fight like me ---- that was when I knew it would be "OK" to be a "tough-guy" AND an RN.
Got into med school, but decided that wasn't for me (neither law school either) --- have wanted to be an RN & nothing else will suffice. Can't get thru school fast enough -- the ER's I have worked in as an EMT-P will hire me the second I pass the NCLEX !

[SugarHanie]

I'm a registered nurse from Singapore.
Got into the nursing course because my O levels didnt actually qualify me into any other courses in the local polytechnic. It sounds so stupid. Initially, when I got accepted into the nursing course, I thought that only "idiots" or people whom had no other choices ended up being a nurse. Most people in Singapore, esp the elderly, thinks that nurses are dumb, their main responsibilites are to clean up the mess that the patients created and be a maid to the doctors. To them, only the doctors are considered GODs.
It was only after the post SARS period that the public started to see nurses as a noble profession.
I wasnt a good student, ended up retaking some of my written examinations and often skipped classes. Fortunately for me, I managed to graduate in time, secured myself a fantastic dialysis job and finished my part time degree.
Perhaps, to me, nursing was a job meant for me. From the initial hate for nursing, I started to love it and am so proud being a nurse. Nursing isnt just a job, its more than a job, its a job which is extremely rewarding.
I can never see myself doing anything else besides nursing.

[Alex3]

My partner was diagnosed with a GIST and basically was overwhelmed by the professionalism shown by all the staff, especially in the ICU. Gave up teaching and am now in my first year of training to be a nurse - I love it so far.

[greenjanell]

I became a nurse because my mom is a nurse, my grandma was a nurse and i have about 15 relatives that are nurses (my grandma had 18 children...Irish catholic) Also, my brothr had leukemia, he passed away when I was 13, prior to that he had been ill for 5 years with the disease. I remember how he would go to Childrens Hosp in Pittsburgh, and was always so sick. But when he was there, even if my parents could not be (he was ther for months at a time, so my mom had to come home sometimes), anyway, the nurses made him feel safe. They took away some of his pain, and they always were there for him. I wanted to help people like that. Also, while my mom was there, all of the nurses that she worked with donated their vacation time to her so she could get a paycheck and still be with my brother. Thant told me that nurses are special people, and genuine nurses really live with their heart on their sleeve. and I am proud to call myself one.

[joanmar11@yahoo.com]

Nursing is not my first choice actually.......First, i take up nutrition same as my moms profession, then after 2 years my uncle suggested that why not nursing......Since he was now a US citizen he sponsored my tuition in pursuing my nursing degree i dont have any choice but to grab the oppurtunity since ita chance for a lifetime........

[^Ash^]

Great stories! Mine - of course isn't so exciting and probably some can relate. Intially wanted to go to med school - started premed, came across nursing while working as an EMT during school. So I applied to the SON, got in and don't regret one moment the track that I went. During nursing school, I realized I wanted to go further in nursing, so now in NP school and loving every bit of it! NURSES ARE THE BEST & WE NEED TO STICK TOGETHER!

[buddiage]

I wanted to be a nurse when I was 19, but hated school so much, so I volunteered at the fire department and became an EMT (met my husband there too).

Did a 24 hour shadow in the ER when I got out of EMT school, asked about nursing jobs, the guy told me it's hard to find a nursing job...so I quit looking into it. I felt like I was a really good EMT, and our psych patients were "mine," because I could convince them to do what they needed to do. Just got lucky with that, I guess. Enjoyed volunteering until I gave birth (I got a picture of me with bunkers on and a belly sticking out of it), and then became extremely domesticated.

Ten years later after the nurse I shadowed told me there were no jobs to be had, after being married, having a daughter who was 5, and sick of being broke (had horses, 'nuff said) I decided I'd become a nurse, or I'd die trying. Heard it was really hard to get into a program, but at that point, I saw life passing me by while I sat at home stareing out the window. I even thought to myself, "it's too late to start something like this." Dumb, eh?
I remember specifically making the decision to DO IT. It was late at night, and I went in to where my husband was sleeping, and said, "We need to talk."
I told him I'd sell the horses (one of them was my "dream horse") if I could go to school. This was HUGE for me to say, because I'm telling you, I had the horse of my dreams, and he wasn't cheap. My friends acted like lightening struck them when I told them.

I just wanted something more, I knew I could become more than what I was (and I had all these plans to home school our daughter and everything). I know this sounds bad, but I felt like I was rotting away at home, and I didn't want to be a cashier at Home Depot forever.

The funny thing is, I hated school when I was younger. With a little age, I had a whole new perspective on it- and with a goal in mind, I got my game face on and dove right in. It boosted my self esteem and morale, BIG TIME, and it enabled me to make friends, use my brain, and get out of the house. It changed my outlook on everything. I'm an honor student and on the dean's list!

Going to school was the best thing that I have ever done for myself. It was a huge adjustment for my husband. I was going through personal growth, and sometimes it's hard to see the dynamics of your relationship change. We had some big run-ins over it (another thread actually). He'd always find a reason why I shouldn't "go this quarter." He talked about not having money to do it, or not enough time to spend with our daughter (she never has needed a baby sitter). He even told me he didn't think I'd finish!

Later I learned that he had confided in a friend that he thought I'd find a doctor and run off with him! I had a chit chat with him and said if I wanted to do that (or run off with no one), then I could do it at any time...but here I am. Now, of course, he is excited about me going to school. It just took a while for him to see the "new me."

I am so excited to start my program in August that I can hardly contain myself! I've loved doing my science prereqs. I also feel like I'm supposed to help people ("called" if you will), and I think I will truly enjoy employment as a nurse! Oh- and looking forward to having horses come back into my life when I'm done.