How did you guys make the choice to become nurses?

[planetoi]

Hey guys, potential future nurse here This might be a long one so feel free to skip the ramble and answer the question if you want, I don't mind.

Anyway, I'm really considering going to nursing school, but at the same time, I'm having a lot of reservations. See I'm in my gap year right now, and while I was in high school, I'd always planned on majoring in social sciences in university. In my senior year, I started to question my life and my future and decided that social sciences were too wishy washy and that if I was going to dedicate the next four years and thousands of dollars into post secondary school, it was going to be for something I could actually make a career out of.

A few months back I had this sort of epiphany that I would become a nurse, and ever since then I've been researching the profession and I've gotten really excited about the whole prospect. I recently applied to college to take a pre-health course next year (I'm Canadian and we sometimes do these before nursing school), but now I'm having a lot of doubts.

I always saw myself, perhaps naively, as doing something wild and adventurous, or artistic even, which makes me question if I'm making the right choice. There are days when I'm totally inspired to be a nurse and excited about the challenge, and then other days when I wonder if it's what I really want, if I'll be good at it, if I can get into nursing school, whether or not I can actually handle the turmoil of nursing school if I get in, if I can handle the duties of nursing, and if I would be better off getting a bachelor of arts like I'd originally planned.

I guess I'm just terrified of making the wrong decision. Did anyone else experience this? What make you decide once and for all that becoming a nurse was what you really wanted and that it was right for you?

Thanks for any insight you can offer :)

[planetoi]

Really? Why is that, if you don't mind my asking?

[817nurse]

I became a nurse because I wanted a stable career, not just a job. I grew up poor in a rural northern state and spent time in foster care. Stability is important to me. A stable job can lead to a stable life.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Nursing is just who I am. I never had an aha moment. I literally graduated from HS and started working on my nursing degree. I do feel that nursing is my ministry and purpose. I have been a nurse for five years and have no regrets.

[AZMOMO2]

ok I will answer this... but first... how do you make paragraph spacing?

[planetoi]

You just hit enter when you want a new paragraph

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

Nursing is more an expression of who I am than a calling per se. I got into nursing because of its generalist education which allows for an ability to move into other areas of healthcare, wherever my career takes me. It allows for an ability to raise a family with a decent (but not necessarily stellar) income, reasonably OK benefits, and at least as much time at home as I have now.

Given my educational background and slightly different circumstances, PA would have been a very distinct possibility...

If things had gone according to how I'd planned, I'd be BS/BSN, RN, EMT-P, ATC.

I'm the type of person driven to help others. Nursing is just the way I choose to express that.

[AZMOMO2]

You just hit enter when you want a new paragraph

My computer is special... apparently it hasn't gotten that concept, because I do :-( My toys when I was a kid= dolls and things I could fabricate into syringes, bandages, and IV equipment. It took me awhile to gain the confidence and get over my math phobia to actually get up the courage to apply for nursing school but, it never stopped being, "What I wanted to be when I grew up."

[KJoRN81, RN]

You're young so you have lots of time to figure things out! :) You might find you don't enjoy it at all, & then you can do something else. Time is on your side! :)

I am a nurse because, quite frankly, I couldn't see myself doing anything else. When I was a little girl, I loved taking care of people. Obviously I still do. I tried my hand at fashion and retail for awhile, but finally finished my nursing degree after age 30 & everything feels right :)

Good luck to you!

[planetoi]

Oooh I see. Might have something to do with your keyboard settings? Who knows. That's actually really sweet, I'm glad you're living your childhood dream :) I hope you're enjoying it :)

[planetoi]

I really appreciate it, thanks! Maybe my hesitation has more to do with a fear of commitment. I also seem to have an innate urge to take care of people, which is one of the things that drew me to nursing in the first place. It's funny, a few months back one of my friends had waaaay too much to drink and I was trying to take care of her. She ended up throwing up on everything (including me...) and the first thing I thought was "okay I'm not totally grossed out right now, I can definitely handle nursing!" I mean obviously nursing is a lot more involved than that, I just find it interesting looking back and remembering thinking that.

[planetoi]

That's a really interesting way of looking at it, "it's not a calling, it's an expression of who I am." I like that :) I must admit, the flexibility is certainly one of the things that drew me to this career path in the first place.

[sjalv]

I drew a piece of paper that said 'nursing' out of a hat of potential careers.