The Nursing Niche

Some of us knew we wanted to be nurses for what seemed like forever. Others didn't find this rewarding but stressful profession until well into adulthood. It doesn't matter when you discovered your love for helping others, only that you have. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

The Nursing Niche

"To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through, is to be a nurse". - Rawsi Williams

There are some people who knew nursing was for them from the get-go. Then there are those who realized it a bit later in life. Whether you found it by accident or were born with it, you know it's where you belong, and you can't see yourself doing anything else.

It might be all sorts of stressful, all kinds of crazy, and decisively depressing most of the time, but it's your place.

At the end of a lengthy and sometimes crushing day, you may feel defeated and drained, both mentally and physically, but that's how it goes. You win some, you lose some, you have good days and bad days. It comes with the profession.

When someone asks who you are, you reply, "A nurse".

It's not what you do, it's who you are.

I was one of the late bloomers. I never knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life career wise, but I knew I wanted to help people. In grammar school, I thought I'd be a teacher or maybe an EMT. When I got to high school I decided on psychologist because, hey, I had plenty of experience with mental illness, some would say too much, and it was something that fascinated me quite a bit.

However, like everything else, it just didn't feel right. I wasn't completely committed to the point I could see myself doing it for the rest of my life.

I needed more.

I really wanted to make a difference in the world, or at least a small part of it. My friend is a nurse in a long term care facility, and she started telling me about the profession, what she does, the pros, the cons, and just like that I was hooked. I delved into my own research after that and the more I learned, the better I felt.

This was it.

What I've been looking for all this time.

Hallelujah, I've finally found it!

Some people, like myself, have felt so lost that they believed there was no point to their life. The age-old philosophical question of, "Why am I here"? haunts your thoughts night and day. You go through the motions, wondering if you'll ever find that something everyone else seems to have.

You watch all of your friends and family graduate, knowing what they want, and you just continue to float aimlessly. Sure you have a job...one that you hate more than when they run out of your favorite flavor of pie after you've been looking forward to it all day, but it's a paycheck.

Then the day arrives when a little light comes on, for whatever reason. You discover what you were meant to do, and once you find your niche, it's one of the best feelings in the world. After all, everyone wants to belong to something.

Everyone wants to matter to someone, somewhere.

As a nurse, you see people at their worst, you help them to get back to their best, you quiet their fears, you hold their hand, you listen, you laugh, you cry, you're there. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be treated in a way that reflects as such all the time, but you can rest assured you did your best.

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MusicalCoffee

About MusicalCoffee

I'm just an accident waiting for a place to happen.

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I love this article, and I agree with it 100% It took me years to finally find my niche, and even as that niche has grown and changed a bit, I still get that same feeling of fire and passion at some point each day (hey, I"m still a nurse!).

Bravo!!

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I actually just reached that point in my life, I've been floating since graduating high school. Unable to complete a degree because I lose interest. It got so bad that my wife started ignoring me whenever I would get excited about a job or career I came across, if my sentence began with "I think I want to do" or "you know I think I would like that" she would instantly tune me out. She would just wait for me to quit dreaming and then say "give it a month". Sad part was, it was true, a month later I would find something else I would wanna try out. With the help of a "life consultant" I realized that helping people is what makes me happy and after some looking I found nursing and while its still early (pre-nursing student right now), it makes sense. Nursing "clicks" in my brain and in my heart, and I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who discovered it like this.

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Specializes in geriatrics, hospice, private duty.

Great article. I'm glad you've found your niche!

My mom knew by the age of 12 that she wanted to be a nurse. Despite that, it took her losing everything in her early 30s to make it happen.

Me? I was quite literally drafted :laugh: (though technically I was a medic and not a nurse back then).

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This is an awesome article. Thank you for sharing and I am glad that you found your niche in the nursing profession.

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Thank you for sharing! Great Read. I knew I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was 6 and watched a documentary that followed a patient through the whole process having a triple bypass surgery. However I am 36 and will probably be 37 by the time I take my NCLEX because my life and life choices have taken me on the long scenic route to nursing, by way of being an Air Force Mechanic, a stay at home mom, and a Blackjack dealer

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Great article!!!!! I really enjoyed reading. I also took the scenic route into Nursing. Worked in Human Services for 13 yrs before I made the JUMP into my current profession. I also work in LTC , and can truly say that the good outweigh the bad and I cannot imagine doing anything different .:up:

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Specializes in CCU,ICU,ER retired.

I love this article, Thank You. I was in the first grade playing army nurse at recess. Then I was the one that took care of the sick animals on our farm. It was many,many yrs after I discovered again what I wanted to do. I was offered a job to work as a tech in ICU. I loved it from day 1. I had no experience or idea what the job entailed. But I still loved it. I went to Nursing school soon after I started and stayed for another 46 yrs. I retired in 2005. And now I watch monitors just to stay in the "Biz" I guess I will always be a nurse at heart.

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