How did you know "your calling"?

ggfifirn05 · May 27, 2007

Not sure that it was a "calling", but I do remember as a child I was always playing "nurse" (my dolls all had casts). Never personally knew a nurse while growing up, but wanted to be a "candy striper" however, my family wasn't very supportive of anything I wanted to do. After high school graduation I was enrolled to go into a Medical Assistant program at a local vocational school (I never knew that I could have become an RN via an ADN at the local community college at the time, since it was never suggested and my guidance counselors in high school were worthless!). But I met a boy right before graduation, "fell in love", and went to work in an office job right after graduation to be close to him, instead of going to vo-tech school. I stayed in an office for the next 29 years while getting married, having 2 kids, divorced, remarried a Navy man with 4 kids of his own, and just generally trying to live our lives and raise our kids. By the time the youngest 2 were looking at their college catalogs, I was getting the itch to get out of the accounting/finance career I had developed (with no college degree) and trying something different. When my youngest brother was killed in a car accident in late 2000, and then after 9/11, I realized that I was definitely ready for a change. Plus I finally found out from a co-worker, who's sister had just graduated with her ADN from our local community, that I could be an RN with that "2 yr degree", I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I started my prereqs in Spring 2002, and graduated with my ADN in December '04. I've worked in Med-Surg ever since, and while I don't "love" it every day, I still would never go back to my former job. I am so proud to be able to say "I'm an RN" when people ask what I do. I'm finishing up my AA now, and plan on starting my BSN next spring.

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · May 27, 2007

I was seven years old and my grandmother was recovering from a broken leg. I remember like it was yesterday, for she was sitting up in one of those huge "World War I wheelchairs" in her bedroom. I was "waiting" on her, bringing her water and stuff, when she told me: "You'll make a good nurse". That made me feel good about myself, for I was painfully shy. I made the decision as to which nursing school I was going to enroll at four years later, when I had a T&A at a hospital who trained nurses. Some Senior students took care of me following my operation and they had their hands full, for I was sick as a dog from the ether and throwing up everywhere. But they were so good and kind to me and I made up my mind right then and there, telling my Mom and grandfather that this was where I wanted to go to school to become a nurse. I graduated from this same school 19 years later.

Learning More · May 27, 2007

I have a first degree is in mgt/ mkt and then was a outside sales person and liked it but when we had our children I wanted to stay home to raise them. Now they are grown and I want to keep growing also. Nursing and health care is a growing industry and seemed logical. I can keeep learning and growing as long as I wish with this feild and I like that alot!

Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN · May 27, 2007

I used to say I wanted a job with benefits and regular hours. But after I sat down and thought back I have always wanted to be a nurse. When I was 6 I played with the boys when they played army or cops and robbers cowboys and indians I was always the nurse and would fix all the scrapes with monkey blood (mercurachrome) sp? and bandaids. and after I became a teenager I was a candy stripper every summer. So I would think I was just destined to be a nurse.

gt4everpn, BSN, RN · May 27, 2007

there was no calling for me, nursing wasn't even in the picture. my h.s had a pre- med program which i wanted to get into, but they did not accept me, so they stuck me in their health careers program, which contained a nrsg program. i still wanted to do medicine and was planning on transfering into the pre- med program. i didn't and instead i started nrsg. at first i liked it, it was o.k but i still had no idea what i was getting myself into, i mean i was only 16. my senior year is when i really loved nursing, med-surg and pharm were my favorite subjects. my love for nursing kinda snowballed from there, passed my nclex pn and then i was really loving the profession! good luck to you!

SaraO'Hara · May 28, 2007

Grandfather was an Army medic (still working as phlebotomist); family is scarily into M*A*S*H.

When I was about five years old, I decided that I wanted to be Hot Lips Houlihan when I grew up.