Jingles39

I'm sorry, but this has got to be one of the most lame threads on this site. We're seriously rallying around the "ugly" nurse to make themselves feel better because they've got other abilities that make them a good nurse?? Kind of like "everyone gets a gold star cause they're SPECIAL"...don't ya think? I'm far from from young, hot and sexy, but I sure as h*ll have a million and one other concerns in life when it comes to what type of nurse I'm going to make one day. I want to be competent, a good team player and someone my patients can rely on during their most trying times in life....not a shallow worry wart that wonders if my "designer" grey's anatomy scrubs and fresh, visually appealing face make me look like part of the cool crowd at the nurse's station Pages of posts devoted to such a silly topic and nurses wonder why they aren't take seriously or seen as professionals............. OP, I'll bet you're not nearly as "ugly" as you proclaim to be, get over it and be proud of what you bring to the profession, sheesh.

I'm not an oncology nurse yet, but I cannot think of another specialty where my heart belongs more than in oncology. I lost my mom at the age of 47 to breast cancer and lost my dad at the age of 58 to lung cancer.

My husband has been a long haul truck driver for many, many years. Do you realize how many crazy drivers he has to deal with each day, crazy drivers who put HIS life at risk? And it's only get worse as time goes on thanks to texting. Believe me, you're never truly alone on a truck.

Please forgive the length, hopefully someone can give me some feedback on where and how I can cut back a bit. The school I hope to attend wants to know experiences since last attending school (I assume high school, 20+yrs ago!), reasons for wanting to become a nurse, special reasons for choosing this particular school and goals and aspirations for the future. I never thought of becoming a nurse. I wish I could begin my story by telling you otherwise, but the simple fact is that nursing was not on my mind during my early years. My childhood days were not spent mending the imaginary "boo-boos" of baby dolls. I did not grow up in admiration of a relative who was a nurse. The years spent completing my secondary education did not center on achieving exceptional grades in science and math. As I moved away from my high school years and into my role as a stay at home housewife to a long distance truck driver, I began to realize the need to do something more with my life. Medical assisting offered me what I was searching for at the time, a respectable position within an office environment that allowed me the chance to work with the public. I received my Medical Office Assistant diploma in January of 1997 and spent several years working within the field. Through medical assisting I learned that working in healthcare offers a unique experience to get to know people on a very intimate level and I very much enjoyed the opportunity to offer my empathy, compassion and caring to those willing to accept it. It was during my medical assisting years that my Mother received her diagnosis of breast cancer. She was under the impression that with breast cancer you didn't feel pain, when she told me the skin of her breast looked "like an orange" she did not know that was an ominous sign. I didn't know either. I worked in a medical setting, yet did not have the knowledge to help her. It's something I still think of often. She began her fight strong and confident, but the chemotherapy and the disease beat her down and broke her spirit. I spent the night of October 13, 1999 in a dark, quiet room on the sixth floor of the former XXXXX Hospital holding my Mom's hand as she spent her last night on Earth, she was 47 years old. It was the first time I had ever witnessed someone in the process of dying, and while I was utterly heartbroken, I somehow knew that what I was witnessing was something very powerful and very special, a privilege. Several more years passed and after a short period of self employment outside of the medical field, I found myself once again drawn to working with the public in a caregiver role. I began as a private home health aide for an elderly woman who had suffered a stroke. On my seventh morning of work, her husband, who was suffering from lung cancer, took his own life. As I searched and felt for any signs of life and relayed my assessment of the situation to the 911 dispatcher, I looked at this elderly gentleman and felt the most overwhelming sense of sympathy for him. I was scared, but rather than wanting to run away, I wanted to scoop this man up into my arms and hold him. The experience was surreal and one of those moments that cannot be forgotten. The pieces didn't come together for me until a few months after the above tragedy. I was doing online research on Lou Gehrig's Disease after having attended a family picnic where I was saddened and shocked by the physical transformation of a distant cousin who was battling the disease. As I was searching I found a Youtube video of a hospice nurse singing a hymn to a woman who was in the process of dying from the very same disease. The image of that nurse comforting that dying patient was profound. I knew at that very moment, with all my heart, that nursing was indeed what I was put here to do. I could "feel" it inside of me, and my past experiences with the very sick and dying flashed through my mind and I realized it had actually been there right in front of me all along. I began searching everything I could find in regards to nursing as a profession. I've read articles about the psychosocial aspects of nursing, the holistic approach, the critical thinking skills needed. Along the way I've discovered an interest in the disease process I never realized existed, and I am excited about entering a profession where a caring, compassionate heart and medical knowledge and continual education can seamlessly blend into an intrinsically rewarding career. My path to nursing has been long and winding with many pit stops and wrong turns along the way, but now that I'm headed in the right direction I feel as though there will be no slowing down for me any time too soon. I recently accepted a position with XXXXXX as a telemetry technician so that I may learn the valuable skill of cardiac rhythm interpretation, as well as become comfortable working within the hospital environment. While I plan to keep my mind open to all areas of nursing, I know my heart belongs in oncology and hospice and I hope to continue on with my education, obtaining not only a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, but my Master's of Science in Nursing as well so that I may reach my ultimate goal of becoming an oncology certified nurse navigator. I feel it only natural for XXXXXX School of Nursing to be my number one choice of nursing schools. Ever since my childhood I can remember the school being held in the highest regards by our community for it's long running educational program as well as it's strong emphasis on the clinical training of it's students. The thought of attending an institution that has produced quality graduates since 1895 gives me great pride. The classes I am currently completing at XXXXXX Community College are to satisfy the first year requirements of the XXXXXX School of Nursing program. I will have all pre-requisite classes completed by the Summer of 2013 and would consider it to be an honor to be offered a seat for the second year curriculum scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2013.

Did you walk 20 miles in 5ft. of drifting snow in bare feet as well?? Gimme a break...

Great story, mindlor. It's always refreshing to read something positive about the profession from time to time.

I'm pretty sure the blue collar bus driver who suddenly finds himself slipping and sliding down an ice covered highway in the middle of Winter with a bus load of passengers is going to disagree with you. When I think of a professional, I think of someone well spoken, mannerly, knowledgeable in his or her duties, hard working and properly groomed. It does not take a college degree to obtain those traits.

During my 9 years as a MA working in various offices (in a former life) I never, EVER once came across a MA that called herself "nurse"...unbelievable, but true...On the other hand, I came across countless patients and members of the general public who referred to us as a "nurse" in some form or the other on numerous occasions and here's the thing, you could tell them straight out that you were not a nurse, but rather a MA, you could try to educate them on the difference between the two...and guess what?...THEY DON'T CARE. Seriously, I could have called myself Santa Claus for all those people cared. They had more "pressing issues" such as being seen RIGHT NOW for a 4 day old stuffy nose, getting their kid 10 different tests done for a black and blue mark, well to do professionals getting their big doggie bag of free drug samples while leaving none for the people who truly could benefit from them, heck one night I even had a lady get fuming mad at me because I wouldn't drive 25 minutes out of my way home to go to the drugstore to pick up her meds which I was to then deliver personally to her house! I think medical assisting does need some serious regulating, but I really don't think anything will ever stop the general public from thinking every female in a pair of scrubs is a nurse. Actually, it seems that the only people really concerned about it is other health care professionals, mainly nurses, and rightfully so, but then why isn't something ever done about it? I mean other than b*tching about it every other day on AN? As a former MA (school educated, not pulled in off the street) who never, ever referred to herself as a nurse, who now has the financial means to go the distance with my education by earning my nursing degree, I get highly offended by the holier than thou attitudes that seem to think that every MA out there is nothing more than a lowly, uneducated scum bag who just got pulled in off the street and now runs around referring to herself as "nurse" to everyone

Best post of the whole thread. Thank you.

Well I obviously struck someone's nerve, didn't I? Btw, I don't know many middle aged men (or even women) who are looking to settle for a basically minimum wage job in some doc's office somewhere so maybe advertising was on to something with that ad? Just a thought....

Y'all realize that chick in the commercial was a paid ACTRESS, right??

:yeah:

You aren't a nurse yet and haven't walked a mile in my shoes so therefore you....know nothing about anything. You aren't a nurse yet and haven't walked a mile in my shoes so therefore you....aren't capable of using proper English. You aren't a nurse yet and haven't walked a mile in my shoes so therefore you....are jealous because you don't have an alphabet behind your name like I do. Sincerely Yours, Nurse RN, BSN, MSN, CPA, MBA, ABC's and 123's. You aren't a nurse yet and haven't walked a mile in my shoes so therefore you...have no right to call people out on their painfully obvious rude behavior...what do ya know about people skills anyway??? You're NOT a nurse, remember?? You're under the age of 25....I'll bet you like showing off in front of the doc's in those tight scrubs, don't ya? You're under the age of 25...I'll bet you're expecting a cookie for every good deed you do because EVERY person under the age of 25 was raised with the very same, exact standards and there are NO exceptions to this rule! You're under the age of 25.....I'll bet you think that you're going to eventually take over my job, but what you don't know is that I plan on working till I'm 98 years old. What, you think a 98 year old nurse can't lift a 300lb. person out of bed?? Just you wait and see, little missy..just you wait and see!!

HAHAHAHAHA!!! This thread cracks me up!!!!!:rotfl: Hey here another knee slapper fer ya.... When is the public, management, hospital CEO, doctors, patients, patients families, patients neighbors second cousins, etc. etc. etc. going to see me as a PROFESSIONAL? I have been "in the trenches" since 1908! I have walked a mile in my own shoes! I use words such as ostentatiously, loquacious and pedantic...not because anyone actually uses those words on a regular basis in daily conversation..but because it makes me look SMART! And I AM smart...you know why?...because I'm a nurse, silly!! Didn't you know that after 20+ years of nursing you know everything about EVERYTHING??? Well ya do! So why doesn't anyone see me as a PROFESSIONAL?? Sure I spend my free time on public, online forums making fun of the newbie nurses. My wisecracks about the pretty, young girls in designer scrubs are priceless! And I'll tell ya, you just have not lived until you belittle someone for asking a "dumb" question!! Hey it's just all in good fun, it's just the way I "vent" after a long, hard day "in the trenches". So why am I not considered a PROFESSIONAL?? Oh yeah, one more thing..."DDRREEAAAMMMMMM".....I'm not really sure why I added that in, but all my other older cohorts are using it in all of their posts so I figured I would too!! heehee!!

Rock on :up: