Updated: Published
I guess in my young life, there are very few things I could have done successfully, but being a Nurse is sure one of them. + My 2 older, sisters one is a Nurse one is an Accountant so I had that craving wanted to prove to them that I'm worthy, that I'm a man and that I belong in the same breathe as they do.
OK, enough of my story, what is yours?
I’ve been an RN half of my life now. I KNEW I was gonna be an RN since I was 5. How I knew that back then, I can’t explain it. But I knew. I’m good at what I do. Even though as a night shift RN, we don’t get the recognition that day shift does. But I’ve saved plenty of patients from death in the middle of the night, even though they won’t remember my name. I don’t do it for the recognition.
I do it because I love it!
Speaking of awful nurses, I had my wisdom teeth removed under general anesthesia at a surgery center when I was 15, since they were all impacted. When being taken to the PACU area, as my mouth was stuffed with gauze & I couldn’t speak, I recall snapping my fingers.
All I wanted to be told was that I was OK. I distinctly recall the nurse telling me that if I snapped my fingers one more time, she’d tie them up!! Mind you, I hadn’t gotten to see my mother yet. I just wanted reassurance from somebody that I was OK.
I always tell my patients, whether they’re post-op or in a state of delirium, that they are safe and will be OK no matter what colorful names they use towards me.
I was motivated to learn to manage my stress better. I'd already graduated college with an English literature/Art History double major and planned on a journalism career. En route to a fall internship with CBS, I volunteered with a nurse midwife in Kentucky. She delivered a breech baby with the cord around the baby's neck at her patient's home. The nurse midwife never batted an eyelash.
I said I wanted to be cool under high stakes stress like that.
So I turned around and went to school for nursing. Best decision I made.
So, so long ago I watched Dr. Kildare and also my next door neighbor was an RN and was always called upon when kids, pets, you name it, got hurt. I admired how calm she was no matter what. However, when I went to college, I chose psychology as a major with plans to get an advanced degree and practice. As luck ( or fate) would have it, I applied for a part time job in the kitchen of a locked facility for patients with psychiatric illness who needed care in an institution. This was the early 70's and I was in my junior year of college.
There were no jobs available in the kitchen but I was offered a job a a nurse's aide. ( no certification then) I said " sure, why not?" and got $1.70/ hour to start.
I LOOOVED it- my favorite job ever! I saw all the psychiatric disorders my heart could desire. This was before all the regulations on meds, restraints, etc so kinda like the wild west. I so admired the RN's and LVN's who managed these patients. I was hooked!
I graduated with a BA in psychology and promptly enrolled in a trade school for LVN. I left nursing for awhile to have/ raise 2 children and returned to community college in the 90's for my RN.
Always could find a job no matter where we moved and made decent money. Ended my career working hospice for 13 years.
I always tell people I got into nursing because there were no kitchen jobs!!
I loved biology as a kid, and as I learned about human physiology, I was fascinated about disease and how it’s treated. I love the aspect of helping someone, and I wanted to be financially independent. I read Cherry Ames and thought it would be a cool job! After 32 years, despite the changes, the ups and downs, I still love it. Spent some time in med-surg, OR, GI. The last 23 in the ED. I’m fortunate to work in a facility with good management. Gonna try to make it 6 more years to retire with full benefits. I’m now the oldest nurse on the unit, which is kinda weird sometimes- I enjoy precepting the new nurses- I learn from them as well. Made it through Covid and found I’m more resilient than I thought. All in all, glad I made this choice!
On 10/24/2021 at 12:48 PM, NurseLove78 said:My motivation for becoming a registered nurse was the desire to belong to a highly professional group of women. I’ve found my practice is lacking in that area and am looking forwarding to finding another reason to remain motivated.
highly professional group of women. Wow! You do realize that many nurses are men, right? It's true in 2021 but has been the case for a very long time also
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On 10/27/2021 at 12:08 PM, morelostthanfound said:highly professional group of women. Wow! You do realize that many nurses are men, right? It's true in 2021 but has been the case for a very long time also
I don't know how long Love78 has been a nurse but, while there are many men in nursing, this has not always been the case. In the 60's there was maybe 1 in a class, in the 70s it jumped to 3% and now it is about 10%.
I became a nurse in the 70s. There were 3 areas you could become a professional: teacher, nurse or stewardess. The nurse was my choice.
At the same time there were many more professional roles of men. Those male professions paid more and so more men gravitated toward them.
I was an Executive Assistant in the goofy corporate world, longing for a sense of purpose. Fought off being an RN for years, and made myself miserable in the process. One day I had an epiphany that I wanted to help people in a meaningful way, and ordering overpriced lunches, booking travel and setting up mindless meetings was not the way...
Additionally, I wanted a career where I could not be pushed out due to title, education or skill set, I.e. a receptionist or a clerk could do my precious assisting gig if that's what the job wanted. And no one had to be smart or talented, just manipulative and sneaky.
So I became a nurse and went from MedSurg to Psych to Peds Psych and I love every minute of it!
Hoosier_RN, MSN
3,968 Posts
I'm sorry you didn't find it. There are so many that are climbing the ladder, they don't care who they stomp on. Many are just looking at finances, and don't a rats patooty about professionalism at all