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.

Specializes in ER, tele, vascular.

Sat with an elderly lady in the ER one night during my EMT/P rotations. She was in from a retirement home for being combative with Alzheimer's. She had a period of reality I listened as she told the story of her life. I had to leave to go help set up for a trauma case we were getting and told her I would be back to ride up with her to the floor she was going to. Two hours go by and I come back to find her only to be informed that she had passed away. When I inquired as to when this happened, the response was; "About 2 hours ago". Her last words to me as I left her ER room were, "Thank you for listening to me". It was the first time I felt like I had made a difference in someone elses life and knew that I would go on to be more involved in the health care setting. That night has not left my memory in over 15 years. Now I am a nurse. What else can I say?

Craig

Specializes in Licensed Practical Nurse.
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.

Well my most of my family is in health care & when I was young my mother used to take my to work with her in the hospital. But thats not the real reason why I became a nurse. Im a people person, and I know just how to relate, adapt, and try to understand everyone, especially when their sick!. I also loooove the high tech and fast pace of the hospital! and lastly Its a great paying job

When I was in my first and only pageant at seven years old, they proudly announced that "Tara says she wants to be a nurse when she grows up" I don't know what made me want to be one back then but I apparently did. I then grew up and changed my major a bazillion times. Having my first daughter is what got me interested in Nursing again. I had toxemia, severe anemia, and a blood tranfusion with her, pre-term labor at 28 weeks with my second daughter. (she made it to 39 wks though!) I can't get enough pregnancy/baby talk. Now I am having quite a few issues with my Crohn's Disease. Been hospitalized twice in less than a year. For some reason the many doctors visits and hospital stays i've had in the last 4 years of giving birth and being sick has really made me anxious to begin my nursing career and make a difference in people's lives as much as they have in mine! It just "feels" like the right career for me. :)

Specializes in ER and Hospice.

My Mom was paralyzed from the waist down when she was 27 and I was 7. My grandmother was a LPN until macular degeneration took her sight. I always tell people at this point in my career..."Nursing isn't what I do it's who I am!"

in about 1975, my then husband and I both enrolled in RN school. Fideltity was never his strong suit and towards teh end of our first year of school,,he had yet another affair. My nerves couldnt hadnle it and I flunked that semester by 3/4 of a point. I could have repeated but just couldnt take teh strain of a failing marriage. He graduated while I worked to support us and after about 2 years, he dumped me. (Glad I didnt' out him thru medical school,,lol,,thank God for small favors!)

I continued to work in the health insurance industry,,reading anything medical I could get my hands on,,,kept abreast of nursing issues, worked with reviewing medical records, histories and physicals of enrollees, etc. Everyone always told me I should go bck to school. I remarried about 2 years after my divorce and had a child. After nine years of marriage, I divorced,,raised my child,,all the while,,everyone kept tellilng me I should go back to school. My Mother died in '01 and I moved in with my ailing Father adn became his primary caregiver until his death in March 05. The community college in my area started up an LPN class at one of its other campuses and I was accepted, so I started in March 05 and graduated March 06. I"ve always belived that nursing was my 'calling',,,it just took a while to come to fruition. I"m 52 now and couldnt be happier and I'm so very proud to say,,I am a nurse. Never give up your dreams!

Specializes in gastroentestinal and vascular surgery.

sometimes i have no idea, but i do know i couldn't imagine doing anything else at all! lol i certaintly was not attracted to the salary, but enjoy what i do,

i decided to become a nurse the day i delivered my son. my best friend is an er nurse and i told her about the excellent care i recieved in l &d and i was inspired by the compassion of my nurse(she even stayed past her shift to get me settled in recovery), and i told her i wanted to be a nurse(maybe even a l&d nurse)she told me i was crazy, it was just my hormones......anyway my son was born in jan i started pre reqs that may--now i'm a junior in an rn program....hoping to specialize in peds!!!!

Specializes in Pediatrics.

Funny, because I don't remember when the decision was actually made. My nursing autobiography--

When my mom graduated nursing school, she was pregnant with me. I think growing up-- she never pressured me into doing nursing, actually she told me to run the other way. Since day one. I was an avid reader as a kid, and by the time I was about 8 I had read her nursing books twice over and have conversations about the things I learned. In middle school, we took an interest survey about what careers would suit us well based on personality and such, and then had to arrange to shadow someone in the community for one day each semester in related fields. I shadowed an ophthalmologist first (I just quit my job of being an optometric tech of 3 years) and then a county health dept nurse my second semester. In high school, I totally excelled in biology, anatomy and AP Bio. I took a few health careers courses and became a first responder and did the drills and shadowed paramedics and the ER nurses. I volunteered at the LTC my mother worked at.

In college, I have always known what I was doing. Always on one set track. Minored in gerontology. Got into heated arguments with my freshman roommate because she had the audacity to say her music major was harder than my nursing one. I even told her once, "Good luck saving someone's LIFE with your cello." Anyways, at school you couldn't declare nursing as a major until you were actually IN the nursing program. And after many sleepless nights and some crazy anxiety I got in. One morning before clincials, you know, at 5 am, I looked in the mirror and something about me-- I looked just like my mom. My hair, my makeup, I don't know. But I definitely thought, "Oh my goodness." And then I graduated, finally!

My brother is also an EMT, but has no desire to go into nursing. My poor dad, an accountant, just wonders why noone wanted to do business. Family trade perhaps?

Specializes in nursery, L and D.

I really can't remember not wanting to go into some kind of healthcare. In highschool I wanted to be an OB/GYN. I had a little accident when I was 15y/o, I named him Nicholas and he is now 11y/o. One of the brightest lights in my life. So, when I was having him, I noticed I only saw the OB for about 20 min. the entire labor, including delivery. I wanted to be hands on, not come in for the glory, at the end. Guess who was there for me during the entire labor? My nurse. I work with her now. Went back to school at 16y/o, during my pregnancy, my husband didn't want me to, but I did it anyway. Started the nursing program when my 2nd child (born when I was 18y/o) was 3 weeks old. I only waited that long because you had to be at least 18 to get into the program. Graduated in 2000, I was 19. Its kind of funny, the only person I knew in healthcare my entire life was my aunt. She was an RT. She had always had a lot of health problems, and eventually contracted a virus from one of her pts, her liver shut down and she died at the age of 49. She begged me not to go into nursing. She had a lot of respect for the nurses she worked with, but said they worked so hard and there were easier ways to make money. Plus she was worried about me getting something, like she did (she had a very poor immune system and really shouldn't have been working at all). I just couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do, nursing really is my passion, and I know that sounds kind of corny, but there you go. I wouldn't change a thing.

Job Security was my only reason to enter this field,,,

Great Thread!!

Well, I can remember always wanting to be a doctor since I was little. I even remember begging for a Doctor's kit with the candy pills when I was little and one Christmas morning woke up and was sooo upset because I just knew I had a doctor's kit, and it was missing!! (I dreamed I got it) and so ever since then I wanted to be a doctor.

Problem was I was too lazy to study for the grades necessary to be a doctor, I hated school, and frankly just wanted to go to the University of GA and party!! No ambition. I went to an all girl's school and many of the girls in my sorority were nursing students (too bad I didn't figure this out back then....85) because my school has a great nursing program, even back then. I was waaay immature back then.

So, I moved back home in south GA and went to the hospital looking for a part time job while I went to the Junior College. The laboratory manager said I would be good with patients and put me in as a phlebotomist at age 18. So, I went on rounds and fainted dead away, although I knew I was not afraid of blood. I was pregnant by my old boyfriend whom I had broken up with.

So, I ran a blood test on myself and all the lab techs were telling me to have an abortion, and my ob/gyn was on rounds on maternity and he told me to come see him, I was having major problems.....Off topic a little.

So, I called my (husband now) boyfriend back then, and told him I couldn't have an abortion and he was sooo happy and said he loved me. Well he was in the Air Force, and I had my son, and we got married in December 86' and half way thru pilot training.

I had the burning desire to be a nurse after working in the hospital even though I loved the lab. I felt important and like I mattered for the first time ever in my life.....well, the Air Force moved us like a billion times, to the Philippines, Japan, IL and other places. I had another son in 87, and then thought well, I can take classes while in the Philippines, but no lab classes. So, I took a class here and there. Got to IL, and finally thought I can do this, I can go to nursing school. I applied, was accepted by an LPN program and all my neighbors were doctors on base at Scott AFB. I felt so low to be an LPN, I was shamed out of the program, along with a bad gallbladder. I was top in my class and only had 4 months behind me, and I should have stuck it out. Oh well, I transferred to the college and started taking classes to become Pre med. Well, I finally thought I cant do this with small kids, so I finally started taking pre nursing ADN classes.

We moved again, and this time to Charleston SC. I went to school there and was accepted to the BSN program at MUSC and was scheduled to start the following fall. My hubby got us re-assigned again to Germany, so once again I had to put everything on hold.

I then went back to school at Scott AFB again, and finished all my lab classes and started my RN again, for the 3rd time and we moved again!!!

So, back to Charleston and this time there was a 5 yr wait list for RNs!!!

So, I gave up. I took my Real Estate license in IL before we actually moved to Charleston since I knew there was a huge wait list.

So, my hubby retired last year, both kids are in college and I am in CA now because he works for Boeing. I began acting last year for something to do and I am pretty good at it in my short time. I have been featured on Boston Legal with Megan Mullally, and I filmed a new pilot about military wives and also a pilot called Sunset Tan, and I was a guest star on that show......I had gastric bypass 18 months ago and lost 150 lbs, and they did a story on me losing weight and getting a tan....how embarassing!!!

So, the acting thing is okay, but the burning desire that God put in me to be a nurse has never gone away, so I thought, hmmm, now or never!!!

So, I am going tomorrow to sign up for an LPN/LVN school because the RN schools here take like 3 yrs to start once you have your pre-reqs finished, and that means it would take me 5 years plus to get an RN?? If I have an LPN, I can pass go and collect $200, and start the RN next July 8th, 2008, so I will do the LPN thing in one year and go straight into the RN program which is 18mths part time.

I am finally fulfilling the dream I had over 15 yrs ago!!! Bout Time!!!! I hope I am up for the task, and now that I weigh a whole lot less, I can do it.

My nurses and doctors who have taken great care of me with my RNY, and I volunteered at MUSC and was the person who headed up the new volunteer and gastric bypass program at MUSC, to help patients who were new, I want to give back. My nurses and doctors were so wonderful I feel so blessed. I just want to help other people who want gastric bypass and also to go on mission trips to help the needy in other countries who can't have basic nursing care.

So, that is my whole LONG story!!!

I have a lot of medical background, and I have worked in both PACU and NICU because of a caring lovely RN who allowed me to do lots of things I had no formal training of, but knew how to do! (Military hospital). My medical history and years working in L&D, NICU, PACU and ER really inspired me to be better than the bozo nurses who were mean, and to give back to the ones who inspired me and took great care of me!!!

:)

So, hopefully a year from now I will be on here getting ready to start my RN, again, FINALLY!!! :)

Blessings!!

Deborah

PS, I know Deconess Hosptial and Barnes Jewish, We lived in O'Fallon IL, and also the Philippines and Charleston SC

It was 1972 and I had a liberal arts degree but jobs were in short supply- even people I knew with doctorates were driving cabs for a living but not because it was what they chose to do. My roommate said, "Be a nurse- you will always have a job." I was very nervous because I had been a drama major- something very different from taking science courses and having people's lives in your hands, and I was petrified. But once I started school and began to feel the gratification that is so amazing, I fell in love with what I had chosen to do. That was more than 30 years ago, and it was truly the best decision I ever made. I only hope that it is as rewarding for everyone. I am one of the fortunate people who say "I love what I do."

+ Add a Comment