Why do you want to be a nurse?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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This is a question on my application for nursing school, and I am sure for many others. I have an honest answer, but I believe it may sound cliche that I "want to help people" and make me highlight how undecisive I have been in my professional goals. This isn't my essay- I am nowhere near starting it. What are your reasons for becoming a nurse? I promise I won't use your responses, I just want to get the ball rolling.

I spent one year working on the Navajo resevation, as a speech therapist. (I really never intended to make speech-therapy a career, but after taking general pre-reqs needed for all health careers, I was immature and chose the shortest route so I could get married- a BS in speech therapy was one year of very slow-paced classes for me at that point. This is staying out of my essay, b/c it was a very stupid choice) It sincerly bothered me when I was supposed to teach children how to make an R, when thier health and nutritional status was severly compromised. I wound up using my therapy supply budjet on food to give the kids during thier sessions, and made my own supplies.

There is very little healthcare available on the reservation, and my time spent there made me realize what a modern marvel the healthcare, antibiotics, and nursing care really is. Some people really don't have that!! When I was sick myself, I drove over 100 miles to phoenix or winslow. Most of the natives don't have cars, so they wait a week or so for the public health dr to make it there, take a day off from work, and wait literally a whole day to be seen and still won't get in 1/2 the time. I want to help people with their most basic needs and be the backbone of healthcare. I am now a CNA in Omaha, which has lots of nursing schools.(huge pay-cut but I love nursing that much!!), I love providing essential care, and I will love being an RN.

Specializes in Geriatrics.

You all have some great reasons, thank you for sharing.

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Specializes in Hope to be in the NICU.

@ohsosocial- I think your answer is honest and real and PERFECT for your application! I recently had to answer that very same question for a scholarship application- and for me it was extremely easy to answer.

Good luck to you in your pursuits of becoming a nurse ;)

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Specializes in Geriatrics.
@ohsosocial- I think your answer is honest and real and PERFECT for your application! I recently had to answer that very same question for a scholarship application- and for me it was extremely easy to answer.

Good luck to you in your pursuits of becoming a nurse ;)

Thank you bunches; I am a nervous wreck. I walked into the school today after procrastinating for nearly two years and was given a bunch of forms, a study guide, a book and an appointment on Monday @ 1 pm to take the test. Is this humanly possible; yikes.

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Specializes in Hope to be in the NICU.

You absolutely can! Take it ONE day at a time; don't look at all the things you have to get done or overcome for the entire semester or even the next week. Just take a deep breath, worry about today and enjoy the ride on the way to becoming a nurse! :hgu:

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Specializes in Geriatrics.
You absolutely can! Take it ONE day at a time; don't look at all the things you have to get done or overcome for the entire semester or even the next week. Just take a deep breath, worry about today and enjoy the ride on the way to becoming a nurse! :hgu:

awe; I really needed that and too appreciate it a ton. it all goes back to the fact that I have not been in high school for 10 years; wow - did I say 10 years; sheesh - now that will make you feel quite aged, lmbo. deep breath taken (: you should see me, I have 3 books surrounding me, papers on top of papers and a weekend to get this done but I will take your kind advice and stay focused and keep my eye on the prize which is graduation day ;)

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When I was younger unlike most kids I didn't know exactly what I wanted to be

when I grew up. It wasn't until my late great-grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's that

I discovered I wanted to become a nurse.

During my sophomore year of high school I was accepted to the GASC Technology Center to study health science and medicine. I attended the school for my junior and senior years, it was there that I learned medical terminology, experienced patient care, and was certified in First Aid and CPR. The clinical experience was very challenging but simultaneously rewarding. I met many different people with various conditions, and knowing that I helped them in some way pleased me. For example, there was a time during my clinical experience where I would walk with an elderly woman and just listened to her talk. She wasn't my patient, but she had no one to talk to; she would always thank me for walking with her and listening to her stories. Moments like this are what drives me and excites me about becoming a nurse.

In the spring of 2009, I was hospitalized for a urinary tract infection; later I developed severe pneumonia. Unfortunately I went into shock and was then put on a ventilator. This experience was life changing, scary, and difficult for me and my loved ones. I was hospitalized for 23 days, and unfortunately the situation occurred around finals. After my recovery, I couldn't remember a lot of things, including what I had learned in my classes. However, with the help of my professors working with me day by day, my boss and my co-workers encouraging me to keep going, and the support from my family and friends, I was able to complete all of my classes. During my time in the hospital, I came in contact with some great nurses and doctors. Their encouraging words, hard work, patience, and the hugs and kisses made my heavy experience a little lighter. My experience as a patient, I believe, was a test to see if the health profession is for me. Being a nurse and a patient are two totally different experiences and because I experienced both, I know that I was meant to be a nurse. Seeing how vital the health care professionals are and the positive affect they have on people, including myself, encouraged me to continue striving to become a nurse.

I am interested in becoming a nurse because I am an outgoing person who enjoys working with and caring for others. I have the dedication, desire and courage to become a nurse despite the many challenges that I will encounter. I think helping people is one of the most fulfilling things in the world and becoming nurse will allow me to do just that.

:nurse:

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What is supposed to be the right answer?

I hate this question. What other professions are judged so harshly? Anybody can say they want to help people and be honest about it, but can someone still be a nurse to make a living?

I'll tell you one of the reasons I picked nursing was because I thought it would provide me a valuable skillset to have.

That being said I wonder how useful the nurses in Haiti felt when the earthquake struck. Without all the modern technology and supplies how useful were they? People still died left and right without antibiotics and sterile supplies.

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What is supposed to be the right answer?

I hate this question. What other professions are judged so harshly? Anybody can say they want to help people and be honest about it, but can someone still be a nurse to make a living?

I'll tell you one of the reasons I picked nursing was because I thought it would provide me a valuable skillset to have.

That being said I wonder how useful the nurses in Haiti felt when the earthquake struck. Without all the modern technology and supplies how useful were they? People still died left and right without antibiotics and sterile supplies.

Many other professions are. When you reach a professional career level in say management you're expected to have these answers reheorificed, polished, and ready to go.

It's an important thing to think about- I know I'm going to school with a number of future-nurses who haven't seen beyond the BSN, doesn't know what an LVN is, MSN-PhD, DNP what? They simply want to be a nurse as they see in a clinic setting, or a hospital setting. They're unsure of the roles and how they interact, but they know the term "nurse" as a catch-all.

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So my reply is taken from the actual essay I sent to schools when I was a senior in high school applying...

I am often asked “Why nursing? Why not just be a doctor?” While it an obvious fact that doctors are crucial to the medical profession, something that is often overlooked is how crucial nurses are too. I believe nursing is just as rewarding as being a doctor because in nursing, you interact with a variety of people on a very personal level, and truly become invested in the patient. Even if only for a moment, making a difference in someone’s life can have long term benefits and rewards, both for the patient and the nurse.

Also in my essay, I talked about how I am passionate about helping people, and how I'm interested in the human body.

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I have been turning over in my head the idea of becoming a nurse for several years, since my life was saved at Maidstone Hospital. The nurses did more than their duty, they were heroines who (I believe) had a lot to do with saving my life. Saying this, I have spent much of my life telling myself I would do anything rather than become a nurse -- basically because of my earliest work experience as a ward clerk (for more than 12 years). I saw with my own eyes the different kinds of nursing available at the time, and because of my lack of self-esteem, I believed nurses were mostly people who couldn't become doctors, so they did the best they could by getting nursing training. Long before now, I have learned that I was very wrong, and that this was an immature attitude.

I know very well now that nurses are part of a caring, front line profession who make a great deal of difference in many people's lives, especially those who are seriously ill or incapacitated in some way. Having got to know more about nursing generally, I am attracted to seeing myself helping people in a similar way. There are so many people who lack good nursing care - not because there are no good nurses, but because they have a wrong impression of who nurses are and what they do. I am an American living in the UK, and there are many nursing professionals available and willing to help people. But because of a general apathy and a natural reticence to share with the medical community some symptoms that seem minor and not worth bothering about, many people do not take advantage of things like free nursing advice lines, visits from nurse practitioners, or seeking the advice of a nurse first before bringing a problem before a GP ('general practitioner' - a medical doctor in a local practice).

Some of the subjects in nursing that intrigue me the most are those surrounding health and hygiene, listening to people with a caring attitude and a mind toward helping them, and promoting more accessible nursing care to the general (and rapidly aging) populations of the world. I say 'some' of the subjects -- the more I learn about it, the more I want to know. Every time I get a question about nursing answered, I find a dozen more unanswered.

This changed attitude has prompted me into looking into nursing as a career - and a late career as well, since I'm a 51 year old mother of four and grandmother of two. Will I go forward in applying for nurse training? I will pray about it and (hopefully) get back to you.

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Like others said, I think what you wrote was really good (possibly omitting the part about why you finished with a Speech Therapy degree). I think your story is unique and very inspiring. Good luck to you.

I have always loved the healthcare field (I worked in a hospital for 12 years in a secretarial position). I was not satisfied with my level of interaction with the patients and families in the position I held in the hospital. I always wanted to go to nursing school, but the time never seemed right (have 4 kids under the age of 13). I finally decided it was now or never. I love people and helping people, which as you said sounds a bit cliche but is the absolute truth!

**I am from Nebraska too! I live in a little town outside of Lincoln and hope to start the ASN program at Metropolitan Community College in the fall! :)

Jenn

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I ditto the others, your post was awesome the way it is!

Why do I want to be a nurse? Well, when I first started college I was actually going for Psychology. I was an Army wife, so we moved a few times and I had to change schools. In that time we decided to also start a family. That proved to be a difficult task. I had 3 miscarriages and one premie/stillborn and I saw the difference in the way I was treated by my nurses in those times. I saw some horrible nurses and I saw some awesome nurses. As I was in the hospital in labor at 22 weeks away I was watching the nurse. She was So kind and caring. She explained everything to my husband and I. She never left my side. When I had my son he was stillborn and she took him, wrapped him up and cleaned him. She was so gently with him. I knew, in that instant, that I wanted to be like her. I wanted to help others like she does. I wish I would have written down her name so I could thank her. i would love to just go hug her, thank her, and talk to her. She made a huge impact on my life and she will never know it.

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