What's your story? Why did you take up nursing?

Nurses General Nursing Nursing Q/A

Every nurse has their own story to tell about how or why they chose to enter the nursing profession. Some may have been inspired by a personal experience with healthcare, while others may have been drawn to the idea of caring for others. Some may have stumbled upon nursing by chance, while others knew from a young age that it was their calling. Whatever the reason, each nurse has a unique narrative that led them to become a caregiver. These stories are a testament to the diversity and passion within the nursing community and the profound impact that healthcare can have on our lives.

Please be as detailed or as short as you wish. It'll be interesting to hear everyone's stories.

I became a nurse after several attempts of writing exams to get addmission into the university failed. While i was in primary sch i always wanted to work in the hospital and i grew up thinking that the only way to do so was to be a doc. An uncle told me about the sch of nursing form in 2000, i bought the form in 2001 got addmitted in 2002,finished 2005 and i've enjoyed every moment.

I always wanted to be a doctor when growing up, but then life happened. I was in my fourth year of college and was determined to apply to medical school. That same year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and she ended up passing away nine months later. Throughout her illness, I spent countless hours in the hospital with her. I fell in love with all of the nurses. They would give me extra juices and they comforted me when I was feeling sad about losing my mom. The doctors, on the other hand, would come into the room for about 3 minutes and then would leave. All I ever heard was bad news from them. So i generalized and believed that all doctors are cold hearted and I didnt want to be one of them. I wanted to spend time w/ patients and unlike doctors, "actually" take care of them, not just give orders. So, I finished up my BS in biology and now I am going to be starting nursing school next month. When i got my accpentance letter, that was the most happiest day of my life. I cant wait to be a nurse and help make somebody's elses life a little more liveable.

Specializes in PCU/Hospice/Oncology.

Hey guys, I will give you my scoop:

I am a very compassionate person, and it is in my nature to care for people on many levels. I am the second oldest of 6 kids. (my twin brother is the oldest) and I have three special needs adopted little brothers. I was always the sensitive one that took care of everyone else when mom needed the help. I am also the guy that the family goes to when they need any kinda of help. That is just how I have always been.

A few years ago my mom got cancer, started kemo, it was bad. It was really hard seeing that going on to my mom and not being able to help in any way. She kept getting better and getting worse. Also my little brothers all needed to be taken care of med/physically while all this was going on. Needless to say, I began to start asking questions about thier meds, and ways I could treat my mom at home to help her with her problems. At the time I was in film school even though I am a math and science oriented person.

With all that going on in my life, I decided it was time to switch majors so that I could learn more about what was going on with my family. I enrolled as a biology major. I was taking 6 classes of math/science/chem ect a term, while taking care of my family. By the 3rd semester I had knocked out all my math core, chem and Biology up to micro and aced them all. A friend of mine told me that since I was so caring about people and so very good at the math/science side of school that I should look into nursing.

This was like one of those moments where a little lightbulb went off in my head and said "Well duh, a callings a calling, gratz on finally coming to terms with it." I went home, did some research and I just got this overwhelming feeling of "Wow, this is a job i could love!" So i started applying to nursing schools. I told my dad, who lived seperate from us, what my plans were. All he could say was, "You wanna clean asses and feed people? What kinda of a life is that?" This made my laugh. Human biology is human biology. Someone has to clean up after people, feed them, give them medications, and nurture them with caring support in order for them to get better. Thats just life and who better then me? I had to explain to my dad that those kinds of things didnt bother me because as I stated before, biology is biology.

My GPA at the time was 3.6 and I got rejected for 3 terms in a row. But I wasnt going to give up. I am a plan maker, and make back up plans for my back up plans. I kept sending out applications, but in the mean time I enrolled in the local EMT program. This way I would get a taste of the field and see at the same time if i could handle the bloody stuff.(I didnt know about CNA at the time) I did my EMT, aced it, and found out that I loved this "helping people" line of work. A lot of our clinicals were in the hospital, and I would spend hours assessing PTs and talking to the nurses about this and that. I really felt very comfortable in the ER at with all that chaos around me. I learned that I work very well under pressure and stress. It really solidified my wanting to be a nurse, and a damn good one. So fast forward to now.

I got my shiny EMT Certificate and took it to the local LPN program here in Broward FL. The staff at the school I applied to was amazing. I already had my AA in nursing, and EMT cert, so they let me skip the 1-2 year wait list. Also they allowed me to buy the books and take the first semester in tests and clep out of it. I passed. So now I am starting in jan. as an 2nd semester LPN student.

I am SO very excited. I heard that this is a very hands on curriculum and that really excites me.

My plan is to get my LPN, and then do an LPN -> RN bridge program. This will A) put me at my goal of becoming an RN. And B) I can work as an LPN IN THE FIELD till I get accepted to a RN program. and C) I heard it was much less competitive going from LPN -> RN as opposed to the full RN program. Once I get my RN I will get my BSN and then stop for a few years. I want to work with the patients and perfect my skills before I even consider moving on to anything else. This term is med/serg so it will really be a test for me, though I will be frank, I love the hospital and patient care, so I am actually looking forward to this, even though I have read that alot of nurses hate it.

What kinda strikes me as funny though, is that ALOT of people I have talked to complain about having to "clean up ****." (mostly nursing studnets) Maybe it is because I am male, or because I am not squemish.. But last time I checked, total patient health care meant TOTAL patient health care. If that was my mom in the hospital bed and you were her nurse, I would want you to keep her clean, medicated, fed, and hell, shoot a smile and a kind comment here or there when you pass by her room. THAT is total patient care.. Alot of these nursing students have the idea that only "lower downs" do the dirty stuff.. Last time I checked, as you got more education, you progressed more. But we ALL start at basic hygiene and patient care. I.e. Poop, pee, and bed changing. Just because they get a shiny BSN off the bat, I guess they assume they are above it? Makes me giggle :lol2:

Anyways, I think that sums up everything. Im a goofball at heart. :monkeydance:

- ian

Specializes in Developmental Disabilities, LTC.

I think I was about 25, working full-time @ a hotel & taking general liberal arts classes when I could when I decided it was time to get serious about going to college & getting a degree I could actually use. Had never worked in healthcare before.

I opened up the classifieds one Sunday & thought, "Mmmm...Nurses make a lot of money." After doing the initial research @ my college, I learned that the first step would be taking a CNA class. Took the class, decided since I had this CNA-thing that I should probably use it. But I absolutely positively did not want to work in a nursing home. I had a major fear of nursing homes being absolutely depressing places, that the residents must just be humiliated now that they can't even dress themselves, etc.

I was talking to a bartender about it one night & he said, "Well, you can come work at the place I work at, but I'm warning you, you're going to hate it!" Larry told me he was the maintenance engineer @ a center for mentally retarded people. He said the turnover for CNAs there was constant. But...it wasn't a nursing home.

When I went to pick up a job application there, there was a wooden sign permanently staked into the ground that said, "Now hiring for CNAs!" Not a good sign, I thought. I filled out the application & went through the interview process. I told the people interviewing me that I had absolutely no previous healthcare experience, that I was terrified of getting my first job in healthcare & I told them point blank that I did not intend on working @ this facility long at all because they had an absolutely terrible reputation. My friend Larry told me later that the ladies who interviewed me had decided to hire me on the spot.

This place puts you through 2 weeks of classes as orientation before they even let you see a resident there. Before I started working there, I think I'd probably seen about 5 mentally retarded people in my whole life. Once I got to my assigned unit, my co-workers just threw me to the wolves, which was exactly what I'd needed. My first day I had only 1 pt, a 1 yr old little boy, trach, feeding tube, non-verbal. I remember the first time I picked him up, I almost dropped him twice...every baby I'd ever held hugged my hip. This one's muscles were so rigid he was nearly flat as a board. I bawled my eyes out from the second the unit doors closed behind me once my shift was done until it was time for me to go to bed that night.

I cried that way every night for the first 2 weeks I worked there. I could not believe there were actually people in this world that physically & mentally disabled. I saw residents born with their arms on backwards, male & female genitalia, little boys & girls that would chew their own arms down to the bone, grown men & women that were no bigger than a 1 year old child, one resident with elephantitus, another with his nose literally turned inside out, near-drowning victims, shaken babies, fetal alcohol syndrome babies, crack babies...oh, my heart just broke. I remember thinking, "I thought there was a limit on how disfigured God could make somebody." And I could not, for the life of me, figure out why God would make people like this.

I remember one night my mom called me to see how my new job was going. I was in the middle of one of my crying rants & she asked me if I had a cold. I told her, no, it's just this job. I told her about some of the things I'd seen there & how sad it made it me. She said that maybe I should think about working somewhere else.

I don't know what made me stay. I think maybe I had something to prove because I'd heard so many horror stories about what it was like to work there. I'd met so many CNAs that had worked there at some time in their lives & almost all of them had the same thing to say: "Yeah, I worked there for a few months...they treat employees like garbage & the work is really hard..."

After I'd worked there for a few months & had fallen in love with a few of the residents, it kinda hit me: I'd gone into nursing for the money. Pure & simple. Never had a desire to help people, or take care of anyone. I went into it for purely selfish reasons. So maybe the reason God made people like this was to create compassion in people like me.

I had to leave that job to start nursing school nearly 2 years ago & I miss it so much. I miss the people I took care of. I was so good @ that job...certain residents would be assigned to my unit that nobody wanted to take care of that would only respond positively to me. I'm actually worried that I'm going to miss being a CNA once I become an RN.

So that's my story. I definitely think Developemental Disabilities is going to be my specialty, but I'm one of those that believes every nurse should work MedSurg for at least a year before going anywhere else, so that's my plan.

Specializes in PCU/Hospice/Oncology.

@ Jessica, that was a very good story. God does work in mysterious ways!

Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology/Telemetry/ICU.

It was actually my parents' idea because I was Music/Pre-Med at the time. I've played the piano since I was 4 years old and I wanted to major in that and then go to med school. Well, after 2 years of that (and an PRICEY private school) I decided to go into the nursing program there to make my parents happy. They wanted to support me going to med school, but they kept asking me what I was going to do if I didn't get in, etc and it was getting really old.

I don't know if I should have let them pressure me into nursing, but I wasn't happy about it, regardless. Well, I decided to stick it to 'em and keep my music going at the same time. I ended up with 23 units of music:Melody:, nursing, and lessons, not to mention practicing 3-5 hours a day and recitals every other week PLUS concerts on the weekends. Oh, and I workd 20 hours a week too and taught 2 piano lessons a week. I kept it up for a while (sometimes only getting 10 hours of sleep for the whole week!), but when I hit my second year of the nursing program I failed two nursing classes.

By that time, I really did want to be a nurse, but it was a little to late for me to do it at that school :o(since most schools only let you fail a couple classes) and I still miss it there.

I transfered to another school and only had to retake one class, which was great (and it was OB! How good does it get?!?) and passed with flying colors.

Sure, I wish I'd graduated 3 years ago like I was supposed to, but I didn't and I've learned so much from my past experiences. I'm so glad I found allnurses cause it's going to be a great support system!:D

Hello! Well, this is my first post and I hope that it will be a good one! I decided to become a nurse for a couple key reasons. I grew up in and out of hospitals with some different medical conditions while I was a kid. While going through some difficult operations and recovery, the doctors seemed like they didn't really care, just came in and out of the room to check on me once a day for about a minute. That turned me off from doctors, but nurses were an exception. They took care of me when I needed it the most and were the nicest. Ever since then I've wanted to be a nurse... I'm takint the prereq classes right now and I should start the program in about a year!

My name is Robert and I hope to enjoy this place.

Specializes in ER, Occ Med, ICU, Psych..

I started out working on the ambulance as a advanced first aider, first responder, EMT-B and finally a Medic. Things just kind of kept pointing me toward that career choice. I had just started a good easy factory job when the union went on strike. Stupid niave kid that I was, when offered triple time to cross the line, I did. I spent everything extra I earned on fixing the damage (I believe they prefered to call modifications) that the union individuals did to my car for crossing their picket line. I was laid off after the strike. All my friends and EMS cohorts said I should go get my RN license. Since I had nothing better to do, I did. Now I enjoy my job and the autonomy I have. And am even furthering my education and hopefully licensure in a few years. I met my first wife when I started EMS and when I left EMS I left her too. (couldn't handle my study hours?). My current wife met me while I was an RN and I bet she's glad I'm staying in nursing!

Walkin a thin IV line.

Specializes in telemetry, stepdown.

I completed an EMT class, and at the time I worked at the Firehouse and did volunteer firefighting. I found it very fascinating and it was easier working with guys. I was on the fence should I go to school to become a paramedic or nursing. I wanted to travel so I thought I would be to tied down as a paramedic. Then when I met my now husband who lived in Canada, it was a lot easier getting a job as a nurse then a paramedic/firefighter. Although, I miss the action!

Specializes in PICU, surgical post-op.

I was 15 years old when my cousin, a crazy, energetic 17 year-old guy, drowned in a lake at a summer camp he was working at. I live in the States, my cousins live in Canada. We drove through the night to get there, and I remember walking into the PICU where he was at around 8 in the morning. Those 2 days were the worst of my life, and most of it is a blur. But I remember his nurse ... she must have just finished bathing him. She was putting vaseline on his lips, lotion on his hands. She was so gentle and she was talking to him quietly. "It's a sunny day outside. I think it's going to be hot again." I watched in a fog as she cared for him, making sure he looked calm and peaceful despite the vent and lines and chest tubes. My cousin was later declared brain dead and we took him off the vent and donated his organs.

Eight and a half years later, I remember that nurse almost every day that I walk into the PICU where I've worked for the past 15 months. Whenever a family acts crazy or yells at me or breaks down crying, I remember how it felt to be on the other side of the bed. And that nurse's compassion and care has been the standard to which I hold myself.

I wish I knew who she was so I could thank her and tell her how much she's meant to me. So hey, PICU nurses at Sick Kids ... keep up the good work. Because of you, there's at least one more nurse in the ranks today.

I always wanted to be a nurse, since I was in Kindergarten. I could not go to college right after high school. Long story....

I always had respect for nurses, especially the ones that worked in the medical department of the prison that I worked at as a Correctional Officer.

When I went on maternity leave last summer (3rd child), I decided to go ahead and resign at the prison. I was sick of the job.

When I had my baby, the nurses at the hospital were sooo nice, except for one. One nurse even sat in the room with my husband and me and watched football with my husband when she didn't have anything else to do.

I do understand that nursing is a very rewarding career, but it is not all 100% "peaches and cream".

So anyway, I contacted the local community college. And here I am. I start school on the 16th!!!!

In all honesty it was the money and the job security. I have a degree in business and could not find a job. I looked around at the time (early 80's) and saw that nurses had a steady job and would continue to have a steady future. I went back to school and got my BSN and have worked since then with what I must say a is nice wage now. Where else am I going to work 3 days a week and take home over 100k a year?

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