What was the moment you knew you wanted to become a nurse?

canchaser, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2011

At the age of 7, had a tonsillectomy. Woke up by myself proceded to cry, nurse( using term loosely have no idea her title) came in with Popsicle. Consoled me back to sleep told me to rest and Mom would be there when I awoke. Of course Mom was there. But that was when I knew... I wanted to be that nurse that consoles one during hard and scary times!!!

Katie5 · Mar 20, 2011

Are you kidding me?

Bezoars · Mar 20, 2011

For me it was when I was 26 and had just had my first child. Hubby and I were living in Puerto Rico with the military and I was a stay at home mom. Several of my girlfriends there were nurses who had little children and were able to work and still be "mommies". I saw it as a good mommy career. Plus we had lots of friends at that time in the medical field in some way. Add to this that I was overwhelmed by my own new mothering experience and looking at the future and thinking that I can NOT do the stay at home mom thing forever. I'm just not suited to it. I had been in business before kids and knew I did not want to go back to it. I also had just had a baby, so everything that was once gross to me... well, it just wasn't anymore. Okay so to sum it all up... God just kind of put this gnawing desire in my heart and I decided that when I was done having kids (didn't know how many I wanted then) and my last child started school... I was going back to school.... and that's what I did. It was a long journey but I ate the elephant one bite at a time =) :nurse:

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2011

I am a pre-nursing major and working at a LTC facility. I had been pretty sure for most of my life that I had wanted to do nursing. But last week I had one of those moments with a resident that I KNEW I wanted to become a nurse.
I have worked at this place for a few months now and I have a resident on the floor that I am a primary tech on that I have never heard speak a word. She has a chart with letters and words on it and she will spell things out for you. She had been sick all night and I had just finished cleaning her up and I brushed her teeth, just out of common decency. She motioned me over to her, hugged me, said "Thank you, love you." and it just filled my heart with so much joy...it was so much I couldn't describe it. That was the one defining moment that I knew that nursing was the career path for me.
So, what was the moment for you? I just like hearing the stories and it would be nice to hear a few!

There was no moment I knew I wanted to become a nurse- it was an idea that developed gradually. The more I thought about it and researched it the more it made sense. It was organic- more like a germinating seed that a light switch going on.

The first moment when I felt like I could actually be a good nurse and that I did have something to offer my patients happened in maternity clinical. I had a patient that the nurse had written off and I spent time with the patient doing education and listening to her. It was early in clinicals when we had only just perfected bed-making, so I had been feeling completely dependent on being directed to do things, and this was the first action I took with a patient that was independent. THAT was a lightbulb moment

izzflr · Mar 20, 2011

Wen I was a teenager I was sexually assaulted by someone I thought was a close friend. I went to the walk-in clinic to get emergency contraception. When I told the nurse (not sure of her title, but to teenage me she was "a nurse") what happened and got all the medical details taken care of, she hugged me and gave me her home phone number. She said I could call her for anything; if I needed to just talk, or help pressing charges, or any information about STI testing or counseling, or even if I needed a ride to get help for my situation.

I didn't keep her number. I don't remember her name or even what she looks like. But her kindness is the only thing I remember clearly about that night. I knew since that night that I would become a nurse. I have to be the person that she was for me, to someone else. Currently I am a nursing student and hope to work in ER or Women's Corrections.

noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP · Mar 20, 2011

No, "I've wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl," for me.

During my senior year of college, I met a woman who's daughter had the same undergraduate degree that I was about to complete (BS in Nutrition, Dietetics). Her daughter no longer wanted to become a dietitian and had decided to pursue nursing instead. I no longer wanted to become a dietitian either so I thought, "I guess I'll do what she did," and 8 months after graduation, I began my first semester of nursing school.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Mar 20, 2011

I always wanted to be in the health care field as long as I could remember. I don't remember any exact moment. However, every day when I go to work I get the reassurance that his is exactly what I need to be doing. I have my good days and bad but at the end of the day I can't see myself doing anything else.

RN0310 · Mar 20, 2011

When I watched my nephew come into the world. He was delivered by a midwife and since then I have wanted to become a nurse. I am not working in labor and delivery as of yet but that is my ultimate goal. To help bring life into the world. My calling was verified when I helped one of my patients who experiencing hypoglycemia. Everyday I would come to work, he gave me a hard way to go. But when I noticed he wasn't his normal self and he was sweating I took it finger stick and it was 40 so I followed protocal with milk and crackers. Once his glucose returned to normal, his daugther came in and he said to her "She took care of Me, I am glad she was here"...That was the conformation. Did I mention this patient gave me a hard way to go everyday before that...lol..

backatit2 · Mar 20, 2011

i never had one defining moment either. i had always considered teaching or nursing - never REALLY knowing which i wanted to do because in reality (at least in my opinion) it's hard to KNOW what you want to do for the rest of your life when you have no experience DOING anything. then i got pregnant with my first child and i thought, "well, teaching is a great profession for a mother because of the summers off, spring break, christmas break, you're off work at the same time school lets out, etc." plus, i had a couple of teachers in high school who said to me that i'd be a great teacher - so that's the path i chose. unfortunately, it wasn't until my fourth year of college/last semester that i got to experience what being a teacher was REALLY like - and although i think i could've gone through life doing it and being "content" - it was NOT something i LOVED. that coupled with the fact that it's practically impossible to get a job in my area got me thinking about the other path i had considered - nursing. i knew i didn't want to spend another 2 years in college only to find out i didn't want to be a nurse either so i signed up for a CNA class. honestly i thought being a nurse involved a lot of "nasty" things that i wasn't sure i'd be able to stomach. i was proven wrong and realized that i LOVE working with patients. of course there are some things i've had/have to do that aren't lovely - but to my amazement, it doesn't bother me at ALL to do them. i thought that might be the case because so many women become nurses and i thought, "if they can do it, i'm sure i can!"

my only regret is that i didn't do it sooner.

BrookeeLou_RN · Mar 21, 2011

When I got my Nurse Nancy doll at age 3 and proceeded to do assessments on every relative, then when in A&P I and truly feeling as if I had already taken the class... perhaps I was a nurse in a previous life.

surfermom · Mar 21, 2011

I think I always knew I wanted to be a nurse. I remember when I graduated high school and started to apply for college I wanted to go in for nursing but my dad kept pushing for me to become a lawyer. Then I got married and landed a great job at the airport making 20+ an hour.. That lasted 5 years, and then we moved to San Diego and here I am at 25 starting my pre reqs this summer :)

But what made me know for sure that I wanted to be a nurse was when we had our daughter. I hope to one day become a CNM or a WHNP working in an IVF clinic. Sorry for any misspelling English is my second language.