Please share your "calling"

sharpeimom · Jul 23, 2014

Psych

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jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Jul 23, 2014

I find the parts of nursing the best when I have to think on my feet. So the ER is a natural for me.

With that being said, my career I have been gravitated towards the "undesirable" parts of nursing for some--Psych, detox,addictions, HIV/Hep C, end of life care, women's health, the various subcultures. I gladly take the assignments of those patients who are just this close to the edge, just strange enough, just enough of a "character" for me to be able to help them figure out how to function.

I enjoy working with a more difficult or challenging patient population as opposed to a more medically complex population, however, most of the patients I enjoy are pretty complex.

I thank my parents, who raised me that everyone was welcome at our table--so I learned a lot. And many certifcations to really know the various populations' needs.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2014

No "higher calling" to discuss here. I made a calculated business decision to enter nursing.

I entered nursing via the LVN pathway because, in 2004, I was a 23-year-old with no college credits to my name and a factory job with rotating 12-hour shifts that would not work around my school schedule.

Even though my factory job enabled me to enjoy some middle-class comforts (house, car, savings), I was cognizant that factory work was increasingly unstable in the American economy. Once this job disappeared, it would probably never return, only to be replaced by a low-wage retail job.

Since I had accrued no college credits or prerequisites, I opted to quickly enter a nursing program that would allow me to finish in 12 months. The LVN program was the solution. I selected a private, costly program that allowed pupils to be admitted with no prerequisites. The only requirement was attaining a passing score on an entrance exam.

melizerd, ASN, RN · Jul 24, 2014

I'm a non-religious person who feels like this is my reason for being on the planet. I did not know this until I was an adult, married and a child.

It just hit me like lightning that I should be going to school to be a nurse. I had some minor family experiences but nothing life or death that made me feel called.

sharpeimom · Jul 24, 2014

I have time now to expand on what I said above. Growing up, we had a

neighbor with some mental health issues. Even as a small child, I was aware that she was "different" I had no idea why.

I suspect now that Lois* was schizophrenic. Most people avoided her

like the plague, but I was fascinated. She lived at home with her parents

although she was a bit older than my parents were. I remember she'd let me read to her sometimes.

She hanged herself when I was eleven. She lived next door.

*fake name

LilRedRN1973 · Jul 24, 2014

I would truly love to hear about how you landed in the area of nursing specialty that you currently serve. Did you forsee your role early in life? Did you discover your interests in mid-life? Were you coerced into a role that you still hold today? Was it a combination of factors... or a single act of fate? I (and countless other "newcomers") would greatly appreciate your personal stories.

I did not ever intend to end up in psychiatric nursing. I wanted to do critical care from the moment I entered nursing school. And I did....for 3 years until I surrendered my license, went into a monitoring contract with my board of nursing and when I was granted the privilege of practicing again, I had limited choices - nursing homes, dialysis or psychiatric (for the most part). I did dialysis for about 3 months and realized it just wasn't for me. I started at my current facility, which is an outpatient psychiatric clinic run by the state, in 2009 and have been here 5 years. I am transferring to the Department of Corrections as a nursing supervisor but it is still considered psych. I ended up loving psych nursing and think this was the plan all along. I got sober and found my "calling". I don't plan on ever returning to bedside nursing/hospital nursing as it just doesn't fit well with me anymore - I love the challenge of psychiatric nursing and the different skillset it uses vs when I was in critical care.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Jul 24, 2014

I'm in my mid-40s, been a nurse for only three years, and, while I've figured out and planned the trajectory of my professional life, I can't say I'm "called" to anything. All I know is that every job I've ever had, I've felt obligated to do the best work I can. So, I guess just working hard is my calling, and, in doing so, I've been successful in everything I've done.

Emergent, RN · Jul 25, 2014

I entered nursing in order to support myself and my children with a decent wage. I knew I was at least as intelligent as others in the field, which bolstered my confidence. I applied myself to my studies and acquired my RN in 1993.

My calling is to find the most equitable working environment possible, to suit my personality. I prefer not to work with overbearing egomaniacs. I'd like to have some positive influence on the lifestyles of my patients

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2014

I was working a general med/surg/pedi floor. I had one of our chronic patients code...and die. I was a new grad and I felt SO STUPID!!!!

I never wanted to feel like that again. Those nurses who came were so confident. SO smart. I pursued critical care with a passion and hunger. I never looked back

nursenatty14 · Jul 25, 2014

I'm actually just starting my nursing career in 3 days! However, I was fortunate enough to have found a specialty right off the bat: OR.

When I was in nursing school, I wanted to do L&D, because what female nursing student doesn't at one point or another? I had this whole plan of doing that and then going back to school to become a women's health NP. Then I had my rotation in L&D clinical - I was not a fan. I thought if I just had more time to experience it, then maybe it would grow on me. I pursued an internship with a local hospital for the L&D position. I was asked to provide my top 3 departments, just in case. 1-L&D, 2-OR, and 3-MedSurg. I didn't know much about the OR, and thought it might be interesting to learn about it if the chance arose. I got a call back from the hospital offering me the internship in the OR. I gladly accepted, happy I was able to secure an internship at all.

My first week, I learned so much that I would never have learned in nursing school. It was such a different world, but I was loving every minute of it. My preceptor was the most amazing nurse with a stellar personality, not much older than I was so I bonded with her, and I will carry a lot of what I learned from her in my practice. I did have the chance to take a day of observation in L&D, so I went there to see if I was missing anything. I just did not have that feeling of knowing that was what I wanted to do. It wasn't for me. The more I learned from the OR, the more I fell in love with it. I would actually get happy butterflies from going to work. I knew this was where I needed to be, so I announced to the OR staff at the end of my internship that every one of them had lead me to pursue a career in the OR.

I start working as an OR nurse on Monday, and I am even willing to drive over an hour to get to work every day to get the position I wanted. I am so excited for this new chapter in my life!

SoonerBredExpat · Jul 25, 2014

I'm not even in nursing school yet but I know without a doubt that I want to be a nurse. I've had the privilege of being cared for by some of the most amazing nurses, women and men who have positively impacted my life and my family beyond measure. One night two years ago when I couldn't sleep I leaped out of bed and screamed at the universe, "I wanna be just like them!"

I've also met a few nurses that I didn't want to emulate. Thanks to allnurses, I can see now that they may have been limited by circumstances beyond their control, and I also recognize that nurses are human beings like everyone else, not superheros all the time.

I love the science and the education/teaching aspects of nursing, and the idea of combining those with compassion.