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.

Although I'm Not A Nurse Yet,my Desire Started After Years Of Construction And Breaking Myself By Falling Off Roofs. While Healing In And Out Of The Hospital It Just Amazed Me The Way The Nurses Treated Me. I Don't Know How Complete Strangers Can Be So Compassionate To People The Don't Even Know. That Is So Opposite From Where I Worked. As A Cna I Thought The Nurses Were Terrible Toward Each Other, But To The Patients, It Was Impressive.

Specializes in nicu.

Being in medicine has always been my dream. When I was a child I always wanted to be a doctor because my great-grandfather was a doctor and it seemed like something I wanted to do. As I got older my feelings about it all changed. My great-grandmother was a nurse and I learned so much about her from my mother that it fascinated me. I started to realize how much personal contact a nurse has with their patients and that is more of what I wanted...to be able to help the person, learn about them, not just spend a few minutes with them and then leave. I graduated in Dec 06 and just passed my boards last week. My mother and I always joke that this was my destiny because I was delivered by a nurse.

Specializes in RN.

I am not a nurse yet, but hope to be soon.....My fascination with the medical field started when I was young. I had an uncle who was parapallegic. My grandmother cared for him until he was 50 years of age, she was 70. They had to be put into a nursing home. My father has Parkison's disease, which I know that one day he will need me. These life experiences have definetly had an impact on my decision to become a nurse. I have 2 young daughters, whom I want to be able to know what to do incase they need me medically. I want to have a job that is rewarding, and feel that I have done something awesome for someone. I have worked for a steel mill for 5 years....the pay is good, but the job sucked....plus I never knew if I may loose my job due to job cuts.....which has happened to me before.....Not fun:crying2: So.....Hopefully I will find my rewarding path of nursing. I am dedicated to becoming a sucessful nurse....and I believe that I will enjoy my career as nurse...:nuke:

Specializes in RN.

I am not a nurse yet, but hope to be soon.....My fascination with the medical field started when I was young. I had an uncle who was parapallegic. My grandmother cared for him until he was 50 years of age, she was 70. They had to be put into a nursing home. My father has Parkison's disease, which I know that one day he will need me. These life experiences have definetly had an impact on my decision to become a nurse. I have 2 young daughters, whom I want to be able to know what to do incase they need me medically. I want to have a job that is rewarding, and feel that I have done something awesome for someone. I have worked for a steel mill for 5 years....the pay is good, but the job sucked....plus I never knew if I may loose my job due to job cuts.....which has happened to me before.....Not fun:crying2: So.....Hopefully I will find my rewarding path of nursing. I am dedicated to becoming a sucessful nurse....and I believe that I will enjoy my career as nurse...:nuke:

I never remember considering nursing in high school (or ever for that matter). I became a bookkeeper/accountant and worked at the phone company (back in the days of AT&T and The Bell System - and we did our work on microfiche and paper :roll ). When my first was born I quit working but after the second was born and we made a couple of moves we needed a second income so I spent 10 years doing home daycare. My son loved all the built in playmates, but those of you who have kids know that next to 14-16 year olds, 4 year olds are probably the most difficult age. When 4 of my daycare kids were all hitting 4 at about the same time I took it as a sign from the universe that it was time to move on. I knew that I wanted to probably divorce my husband (who even so is one of my best friends - long story) and needed something to support myself and the kids. My son is asthmatic and was in a study at a national pulmonary care hospital here. I learned so much from the nurses there, I wanted to be able to teach people to take care of themselves too. They told us the median age of our nursing class was 43 - exactly my age at the time. I'm 50 now and still love my job. Teaching is a big part of it as well as caring for those who can't care for themselves. I still am amazed I'm a nurse. Who woulda thought!

Side note - My son used to be a great experimenter in illegals. One day he called me while I was on my way home from work to tell me his tongue felt like it was swelling and his mouth itched from some "tea" he and his buddies made - he has a lot of allergies. I managed to get to him in time and treated it before it required drastic measures. The whole school thing was worth it when he said (and this from a 14 year old ((you see where the above comes from now)) - I think thats so amazing you knew what to do. That's what I'm going to do after school too!

Specializes in ICU/ER/TRANSPORT.

I was a army medic and around alot of fine nurses both military and civilian. Just being around them and watching what and how they did it made me want to be like them. And plus I wanted to expand on my reponsibility with pt care. So I traveled the road from Army Medic/Paramedic to Rn.

My mom was nurse, my aunt, a cousin or 2, so I guess it made sense that it was something I could do too.

I was in college to be a teacher and needed a PT job. I got a job as a NA for the summer and when I went back to school, got another close by. Every break I had I went back home and worked at the original place.

Then I decided I shouldn't be in college anymore, I didn't know what I wanted to do.

I then moved to a big city and did a temp agency's HHA job. I learned my way around and met some incredible people and think I made a differance in their lives as they did in mine.

Got into a private nursing school, but it was tough while supporting myself, so I quit. Got a great job at a chronic care hospital. Left because the love of my life left me so I moved back home, worked in a hospital (one I volunteered in as a candy striper in high school), and took a job as a OT aide, then worked on the geriatric unit, then as a Rehab aide while I was expecting my 1st child.

Then I worked in a NH, then back to the hospital where I was laid off. It was then I decided, health care was my calling, but I wanted to be in a position where I wouldn't get laid off anymore, could support my son and I a little better, and I had these wonderful mentors all my NA career who taught me so much, they involved me in what and why they did what they did. I heard their tales of what nursing had evolved from, what they used to do. I knew I was part of something big.

I have my Associates in Nursing, and want my Bachelor's, but I have to wait until my oldest son and my husband get done with their schooling 1st.

I've been in healthcare for 23 years, and 12 of those years as an RN.

I was a Unit Manager for a year at the 1st NH I worked at, but decided that was just NUTS! hahaha. I didn't do too badly, but I was only a nurse for 4 years at that time, and it sucked up my life. I'm too much of a perfectionist in the paperwork end of the job, and it took up alot of my time. I'm perfectly happy being a staff nurse and doing my share of supporting/gathering info etc. for my supervisors and DON, working behind the scenes so to speak. :typing

everyone has his or her own story about how or why they became a nurse. what's your story?

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

took up nursing as soon as i graduated from highschool. due to unacceptable way of teaching and behaviors of my professors, had a head on collision of ideas with them. pride got into the way. i flunked in their subjects, and got kicked out of school. when i tried to talked it over with our dean, she told me nursing is not for me. and its not the only life i could have... worst, she told me i could not really make it! :angryfireand its time for a graceful exit. at a very young age, i was so foolish... i believed her. took up another course, b.s in occupational therapy. was able to graduate, but never practiced it. one day,(11 years after) i dont know what got into me, i found myself submitting myself for evaluation in this nursing school. thank god, i followed my instinct, and i will never let anybody stop me now... graduated in 2006, took my first licensure exam in dec. 2006, and passed!!! with an average of 83%., not bad for someone who could not finish nursing. now im preparing for nclex. moral of the story.... dont let anybody snatch your dreams from you, (i just took mine back!!) .... and anybody who angers you, conquers you!!!!!!:nono::nono::nono::nono::nono:

Hmm....thank you for this story...mine is somewhat similar to that I was also kicked out. However, I'm just applying now to go back (and hopefully, I get accepted to the university as my first step)...

Thank you...

Specializes in Surgical trauma ICU.

I was working at a piston manufacture as a moldmaker that was not doing well due to the economy. A good friend of my wife suggested I try nursing a RN herself. So at 45 I went back to school, graduated passed boards and went to work in a level 2 surgical trauma unit. Retired one year ago after 16 years of working with some of the best.

lot of story ,,

every story diffrent from the others ..

actually im still student and i hope graduate soon ..

how or why i chooe nursing ?!

in my family , theres my father was nurse . and now my sister , my aunt , and 3 of my uncale sons >>>> all of them are nurses ..

so u can saied that my family history of nursing and also my desire to become nurse all of these make me want to study nursing ..

i like this job and i interested on it ..

Specializes in L&D, OR, postpartum, pedi, OBGYN clinic.

This is going to sound formal but it is part of my Statement of Purpose but it sayd the right stuff :)

My first motivation in my career path was never nursing. I wanted to be a high school history teacher. I got BA in American History. I tutored and prepared to take the CBEST. Being a teacher required so many things that I need to be happy in career choice; emotional satisfaction, good people skills, the ability to pass knowledge on to another, the opportunity to take pride in your work, and most of all, the ability to make a difference in the lives of the people you come in contact with. However after I really started researching the aspect of teaching and tutoring I found that it wasn't my calling. I also found that I liked history lectures but they never ignited excitement and enthusiasm.

After I graduated I went searching for a career that had the same values and opportunities that I loved about teaching but in a field that I found myself impassioned with. I thought about business, marketing, art, even goldsmithing, but an incident in Abilene, TX with my pregnant little sister helped me decide that a career in healthcare was where I could shine.

It was 9:45 pm and her water broke. We were so excited! Her first baby was on the way, my first niece! We got everything ready and drove to the hospital. We walked up and said "Her water broke!" and the first nurse replied "Well, we'll just see about that." Wow! I couldn't believe we had heard such pure impoliteness. I was completely taken aback. The rest of her stay of two and a half days had a similar feel. With the exception of one wonderful labor and delivery nurse, everyone on staff was indifferent, cold, and sometimes flat out offensive. They all seemed to have an "I've seen this a thousand times, you are not special" attitude. Having children myself and knowing what a good delivery experience is like I found her experience utterly disappointing. The lack of interpersonal communication skills, the lack of sympathy, excitement and helpfulness was so inadequate that I found myself, for the first time in my life, wanting to find a way to truly make a difference.

I have one year left and L&D is my passion. I want a birthing center one day...

+ Add a Comment