what was your "eureka" I want to be a nurse moment?

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I'm always curious as to why people choose their careers, and what made them go into their field. I also think it's a good way to stay motivated if you remember why you're working to get somewhere.

So when did you decide nursing was for you?

Personally, I was born 24 1/2 weeks early. Growing up my mom raved about the nurses who took care of me in NICU. I had the chance to see my oldest sister (38) who has severe cerebral palsy. I met her for the first time a year ago, and lo and behold one of the nurses who took care of me was now working in the care facility my sister grew up in! Just seeing her with my sister was my lightbulb moment.

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Specializes in Hospice.
i'm always curious as to why people choose their careers, and what made them go into their field. I also think it's a good way to stay motivated if you remember why you're working to get somewhere.

So when did you decide nursing was for you?

Personally, i was born 24 1/2 weeks early. Growing up my mom raved about the nurses who took care of me in nicu. I had the chance to see my oldest sister (38) who has severe cerebral palsy. I met her for the first time a year ago, and lo and behold one of the nurses who took care of me was now working in the care facility my sister grew up in! Just seeing her with my sister was my lightbulb moment.

shouty caps! What???? 24 1/2 weeks early????

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Specializes in Emergency, ICU.

shouty caps! What???? 24 1/2 weeks early????

Lol! I think she meant : I was born early, at 24 & 1/2 weeks.

Otherwise, she would have been born at 15.5 weeks. Um, not a viable fetus.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

I didn't know anything about nursing or health care and wasn't interested. When I joined the army I wanted to be in the infantry. After I took the ASVAB the recruiter guided be towards being a medic instead. He said I would still get to be in the infantry but would have a different job with them. I accepted and really enjoyed learning about the medical field. I loved being a medic. When I got out I was thinking of working as a paramedic until I learned about some nursing jobs like ICU and transport. When I discovered how broad nursing is, how many different way you can go, the pay and that I only needed to go to school for two semesters (9 months including a month off for the holidays) to be an RN I was sold.

Nursing has been a great career for me.

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Specializes in Orthopedic, LTC, STR, Med-Surg, Tele.

I was happily entrenched in my first career and went in for an elective surgery. When I came to in PACU I was freezing cold and shivering hard. All I could mumble was, "cold." The nurses were so reassuring and wrapped me in warm blankets, and I just felt so safe and well cared for. I don't know why it was, but that experience made me want to be that kind of nurse, who makes their patient feel that way. Just a little thing (and oh lord so warm and fuzzy!) but that's my moment :)

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In high school I kinda knew nursing was what I wanted to do, and couldnt think of anything else. Senior year I took a healthcare occupations course where we learned about different medical jobs, some CNA skills ( we were supposed to do clinical hours but no budget or something). I really liked it tho. At the same time I also went to community college part time, and got my EMT license (which my dad had done the semester before me). I really really loved it!

Then life happened.... I couldn't work full time and go to school full time, then the family moved and it got put off and I pretty much gave up on it. Fall of 2011, I was miserable at my job on a cubicle farm. I was with my mom while she was getting ready to go into surgery, and with all the in and out and everything going on I just sat there and had a lightbulb moment: I knew this is where I was supposed to be. It was weird, and I don't really know how to explain it, but I just felt this really strong sense that I belonged there. (cheesy, I know). So then I started thinking.... maybe I could go part time, take some classes, and maybe this nursing thing might just work.

2 weeks later I got fired.

Now, I am getting ready to start my final term in my ADN program and begin my preceptorship. I am president of my schools Student Nurse Association, and hold a position as a state association liaison.

Even after a long hard day of clinical, and come home to cram for exam the next day, even as totally crazy as school has made me...I couldn't be happier.

2 years after my 'light bulb' moment, I graduate with honors. I can't wait!

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Lol! I think she meant : I was born early, at 24 & 1/2 weeks.

Otherwise, she would have been born at 15.5 weeks. Um, not a viable fetus.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Haha edmia thanks! I didn't even realize I'd wrote that. That's what I get for typing I out on my phone!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I was 23 years old when I had been working at a paper products factory for three years. Things had not been going well for me at the factory. Soon after receiving my first write-up, I didn't see a viable future with the company so I decided to resign.

This took place in 2004. A 23-year-old with only a high school diploma and no higher education in today's society is going to be left behind, so I took the plunge and enrolled in a 12-month fast track LVN program. I completed the program one year later and worked as an LVN for a few years before earning my RN license.

I was not one of those people who was 'called' into nursing. Being a nurse was never one of my childhood dreams. I picked nursing for reasons that are purely practical.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

I would have to say that my "Eureka" moment happened about ten years ago now, I was a young paramedic and I had some rather difficult patients while doing interfacility transports and I was left with the very distinct feeling that I wish I could do more for my patients. For me, this was something that I really could not abide by, so I decided that I should become a nurse at some point in the near future. I wasn't quite ready for going to nursing school yet but that was certainly going to be in my future.

Obviously, I could have decided to try to go to medical school instead, for the unrestricted medical license to do as much as possible for my patients, but I also looked at the very real possibility of having to work my tail off for several years just to pay off student loans. This was not very tolerable to me either, so I decided that nursing was the best route for me to do what I really want to do – take care of patients.

Being a nurse does not mean that I will be giving up my paramedic license, quite the contrary, I will actually keep my paramedic license so that I can provide as much care as possible to my patients in or out of the hospital.

My other "Eureka" moment occurred in the spring of 2005, I had been working as a security guard (with great benefits, including retirement with lifetime medical) for about 2 – 3 years and while I have decided that at some point I was going to be a nurse, that was when I decided that I really do not like most other career fields, that I really truly enjoy being in the service sector taking care of people. So that was when I put everything into high gear and really start working on getting my stuff done for nursing school. Fast-forward about 8 years, and here I am with about one more year to go to nursing school.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

mine came after nursing school graduation. I went to school to be qualified to work a job that would allow me to support myself. But after I started nursing I felt it was exactly where I belonged. I found my tribe!!

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I had two eureka moments. First I was 18, pregnant and attending a childbirth class with my husband at the hospital I was supposed to deliver at. I thought the nurse giving the class was ridiculously smart, exoetienced and amazing and thought it would be cool to be like her. When I delivered it was my first experience in a hospital and I decised that was it. I wanted to be a nurse and take care of people and treat them the way I was treated. From then it was my dream and I enrolled in the cc and waited for my waitlist positiom but we were transferred overseas... kept a foot in the door and got an aa, didnr get accepted in the next duty station school and decided nursing school was never going to happen for me.

So I enrolled at our 4th duty station to take courses online and finish a ba in business. Good grief that was a terrible decision. Hated every single second... and then steve jobs died and everyone was posting inspirational quotes of his... something about "dont let other people who cant do something" or some cheesy crap. 2nd eureka moment!.. and it clicked that I needed to be back in nuesing school. So the next day I dropped my business courses and went to the university down the street and enrolled for their spring semester and was accepted into their program over the summer, to begin in january 13. Of course my husband got orders and we moved within 4 months so that didnt happen butbi was lucky enough to find a program and start already. So ten years sincd my initial eureka I am finally finally finally in a program.... no prereqs, no waiting lists, no rejection letters. It feels sooooo good!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I took a med prep class in high school, it was more of a CNA and med term class. I hated every second of it and swore off nursing.

Started school as an X-ray tech, then realized how boring it was.

Became an EMT and saw the emergency/flight/ICU side of nursing. I was hooked there. I didnt really get the full picture of what nursing was earlier in life.

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