KBrown1981

I have only been nursing for approximately 2 years but I have to say that nursing is not an easy job. However, I knew that when I got into the profession; in fact, it was one of the reasons that I chose to become a nurse. Prior to nursing school, I worked in a factory that made belts for all sorts of vehicles. It was a physical job; lifting, pulling and pushing for 10 hours in a very warm environment with chemicals. I got laid off from that job due to budget cuts and chose to go into nursing. The reason that I chose nursing was due to the fact that it is a physical, mental and emotional job. Factory work bored me to tears, doing the same thing over and over again with no thought process tends to do that. The reasons that I enjoy nursing are because I get to use my mind and I get to become involved with my patients. I work in a 45 bed retirement home where, on shift, I am the only nurse and I have 3 PSWs working under me. That is 45 people to 4 health care workers. It does get stressful and I do feel tired after my shift, don't get me wrong. But what I like about being a nurse is that I am dealing with a person. I am caring for that person. I have a feeling that I will be a nurse for a long while yet. Perhaps you just need to find that spot where you fit and where your abilities and expectations about being a nurse coincide? There are so many avenues in nursing that are available - maybe try something different?

Death is the reason why I decided to become a nurse. I know, it's a rather strange thing to say and I probably don't mean it in the way that most would. I don't see myself as a caped avenger, fighting death. In fact, in many cases, Death is welcome. The journey to me becoming a nurse all started with an end; I got laid off from a factory job. Where I live, the government had an initiative that would pay for your education and some expenses if you had been laid off. When I first applied to school, nursing seemed like an okay option: it fit the requirements of the financial assistance program. But then, my grandmother started failing. She had been in a long term care facility for approximately three years at this point. Her doctor had called my mother to say that she would likely not last the night. Of course, my family being how we are, we all rushed to the nursing home and were at her bedside. My grandmother's nursing home was a small one; only about 50 residents lived there. When she made it through the first night, the staff moved her into their family room. It was there we stayed, keeping vigil. The room was small and my family is fairly large. But we spent the last week of my grandmother's life in that room. I say that this experience made me decide to become a nurse for several reasons. Sure, I had already applied to school and had been accepted but I had no real concept of what the word "nurse" really meant. Watching my grandmother and the people who cared for her was the way I began to understand its meaning. When my grandmother was hot, they would give her a cold compress. If she was in pain, they would give her medication. If she was cold, they would adjust her blankets. If my family was concerned about something, they would talk with them, teach them and simply comfort them. When the time came that my grandmother took her last breath, they came in to take care of her. They talked to her as though she was still there and they had tears in their eyes when they said their own goodbyes. Since then, I have graduated nursing school and have passed my licensing exam. I am working as a nurse at a local retirement home. In the two years that I have worked there, there have been 15 deaths. I remember each one. Death is not a battle that is fought, because there can never be any true winners. But for each of those residents who have died, I have been there. Death can be many things to different people: friend or foe, adversary or companion, silent partner or looming threat. I believe that the most important thing about being a nurse is how you help others deal with death and how you can help them go through it. You are there for the dying person as well as the living.