Roll Call - Who's Been Around the Longest and Your Accomplishments

Nurses General Nursing

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Our staff was discussing you, our members. While we all like to remain anonymous, we are all proud of our accomplishments. We'd like to do a roll call of honor. Who has been on AN the longest? Who has been a nurse the longest? What is your greatest nursing accomplishment? Tell us, come on, brag a little! You deserve this recognition.

Specializes in ORTHO, PCU, ED.

I've been on AN since 2015. Was pregnant and sitting in a recliner with my feet up and bored. Had been a stalker for years, but joining has made it much more fun and engaging. My biggest accomplishment. Hmm. I would say being a mom of an all-boy 3 year old and have maintained my sanity.

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I don't even know how long I've been on AN (10 maybe?). I take an occasional hiatus. I'm in my 40th year of nursing--every single one of them in critical care except for 1 year in cardiac surgery. MY greatest accomplishment is I've worked in exactly 2 hospitals, 25 in this one. My strategy is to just keep showing up. Seems to be working out so far.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care.

I'm in my third semester of nursing school (ADN), so I guess you could say, it's getting pretty serious 😂

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Specializes in Retired NICU.

I was fairly active on AN probably more than a decade ago for a few years, then just started checking it out again in the last few weeks. I've been working as an RN for 39 years and 5 months. That is my accomplishment, just keeping at it. Planning to retire in February. Nearly 40 years of work. I'm ready to let those younger carry on. It's been a good run.

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I have been here since 2003 but I do not post excessively...

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

You all are awesome and the variety of experiences is what makes AN so wonderful. Thank you all.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

RN since 2004. RN 25 years. Healthcare for 40 years. Accomplishment? Finding a niche where I could make a difference even though nursing wasn't a "good fit" and excelling at a specialty I obtained certification in even though I only have my ADN. All while being told my degree would be obsolete even back in nursing school. Also, never banned by AN ������

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
RN since 2004. RN 25 years. �

My how time flies!

2029 already!

I swear. It seems as though 2019 was yesterday!

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Member since 2002, BSN in '81, so nurse for almost 38 years now. Started as a candystriper at 13, aide in LTC around 16, graduated at 21.

I've volunteered in orphanages in Bangladesh and India (almost a year), worked Medsurg through the AIDs epidemic, met/married/buried the most marvelous man in the world. Survived being widowed by cancer, to beating my own cancer. Single mom raised, homeschooled 3 preteens into adulthood. Got my MSN while they got up to high school. Volunteered monthly for around 6 years in orphanages one weekend a month in Mexico. Spend my vacations every few years giving guest lectures in an SON in South India for month or more at a time. Worked in the ER for the last 21 years, night shift. Adjunct faculty at my local community college. Helped one daughter become a foster mom, now adopted and am officially a grandma. 20+ years as a Girl Scout leader, 11 or so with my son's Cub/Boy Scouts.

Loved the evening I talked an hysterical 7 year old with a fractured arm on his way to emergency surgery down to the point he was talking calmly and learning how to ask for pain med post op. Lots of ER stories about saves, such as figuring out a woman was in SVT in triage on a chaotic night just from her history, then VS. Or the woman with atypical sxs having an MI, got the EKG even though she'd already been sent to the fast-track/urgent care side by someone else. Stopped a fight in my ER lobby (about 2 seconds away from them throwing fists) by yelling them down and scolding them. Put a full Nelson on a woman about to attack one of my nurses. Put a woman onto the floor just as she was leaping onto the back of another coworker. Testified at the Grand Jury about the woman who bit me and left a scar.

What I've learned on AN? some different viewpoints about how things are perceived by others, and changed my own behaviors accordingly; nothing like continuing to learn/grow/mature.

Had a fellow nurse tell me I could be scary, as I "expect excellence all the time". But then they realize I expect it of myself, and it all comes out okay in the end. (I just thought it was doing your job right the first time).

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