How did you know?

well, kinda sad but true I didn't know. I had went to school first to get degree in human services. When I did my clinical rotation at a child advocate center it turned my stomach. So I transfered to local cc and attempted to get in radiology program and didn't want to wait 2 yrs to get in so then I applied for LPN program and got in on first try. I went into clinicals not knowing if I could handle it. But I did and have since I started. I think the bottom line is you have to have HEART and a BIG one and also know when to give yourself a break from it so you don't burn out. Heart my friend heart..

One thing you will see is that we have all taken a different path to get to NS and make the choice of a medical career and each one is admirable in its own way. I so look up to all of the young people who have the drive and determination to pick a career like nursing because I just wanted to party and have a good time when I was young.

I'm starting nursing school next month...Gosh 3 weeks! I started working on my pre-reqs nearly 7 years ago after talking over with my husband my goals in life and what I had always wanted to achieve. He encouraged me to look into nursing since he thought I would have a good personality for it. I wasn't 100% sold until 2004, I had my son. At 10 days I took him to an ER where they sent him despite constant vomiting and unable to get a good blood draw and at 17 days he was diagnosed with renal failure and I began a fight for my son's life that lasted nearly 4 years. I was trained in Home Dialysis, NG Tube and G-tube as well as using a feeding pump, I routinly gave sub-Q injections to my baby as well as stood my ground against physicians knowing that their treatment was not best for my child. I ran into some of the best nurses & doctors in the world who were terrific advocates and listened HOWEVER I also came across some of the worst medical professionals you could ever see. Once I realized I can advocate and do the work even on my own child then I knew I was actually suited for nursing.

I failed to matriculate into medical school and hated doing research at the bench, so nursing it is.

Both of my grandmothers were in hospice at the ends of their lives. I was incredibly touched by the soft-spoken support and gentleness shown by the nurses. I was surprised, but not really (if that makes any sense at all) that they cried when my grandmothers passed away. I was blessed to be there by my grandmothers' sides at that moment, and the atmosphere was very calm and peaceful both times.

A couple of weeks later I changed my major to nursing. I want to help families and patients like we had been helped.

I too admire people that know from a young age that they want to be nurses. I didn't think that I could be a nurse...didn't believe I'd be able to handle it. I graduated high school with an "I'm never going to school again" attitude. What really woke me up was working at this legal ambulance chaser firm. I could only stomach that for about a year- talking to people crying on the phone about their loved ones being hurt in car accidents, at work, etc...and knowing all along that all my company cared about was getting in on their settlement money.

I couldn't brush it off and be cold to them, and realized I wasn't the self-centered teenager anymore and decided that even if I did it all through student loans, I was going to school so that I could HELP people like that. I'm only in 2nd semester right now but I've surprised myself by seeing what I'm capable of handling and I only hope to get stronger.

Everyone is different and not everyone can be a nurse. Someone has to be the lawyer, the secretary, even the person that serves you your hamburger. I just knew how empty I felt and that I wanted more for myself than what I had become.

I was seven years old when I began to notice that there was something different about my daddy. I saw that he had to give himself a shot before every meal, and my parents explained to me that my dad has Type 1 Diabetes. When my parents explained to me what Diabetes was and what it meant, I instantly wanted to help my dad. My mom made me a little "medical kit" filled with cotton balls, q-tips, and band-aids. She even put one of Daddy's used syringes (with the needle removed) in the box for me. I carried my homemade medical kit around and called myself "Nurse Laura". When I got older, on a few occasions, Dad let me give him his insulin shots. From then on, whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I simply replied, "I am going to be a nurse."

I am now 18, and I am in my 6th week of nursing school. It's been a tough road to get here (mostly because of my age ) but it's so worth it! I love it so far!!

Good luck, & Best Wishes to everyone!!!

It wasn't my calling. I didn't know that I would be an RN until about 6 months before I applied to the program. I naturally liked the sciences so I had taken all fo the required courses already. A strong majority of people in my classes were doing the nursing thing, and I thought to myself, what the hell, why not.