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.

my dad wanted me to take nursing but i decided to take hrm instead. when he died last 2007, i realized that he is right, that's it.

I'm diabetic and suffered from infertility, and have been on the receiving end of some really terrific healthcare, and some really crappy too - I decided to be a nurse so that more people can be exposed to the really terrific side of healthcare...

Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

Dad is a doc. Huge pressure to go to medical school. Got a good score on the MCAT. Decided I wanted to be a vet. Realized that I didn't a) want to spend the next eight years, minimum, away from my husband in med school or b) have to relocate and wind up with $200,000 in student loans but only making $60,000/year as a vet.

And nursing fits my frantic ADD-ish mind. Don't like? Switch.

Hey all!

I just finished my first semester at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas for my ADN. I love it! Up until about a year and a half ago, I'd never even considered nursing. I'd been taking classes at BCC for a couple of years, changing my major several times. It all clicked on my first day of a speech class when we were giving our introductions. I noticed several of the students said they were trying to get into the nursing program. All of a sudden it dawned on me that, hey...that's a really good idea! I could have a job that makes a difference, save lives, and make a good living for myself. So when it came around to me, I said I was in pre-nursing...which technically was a lie at the time. But as soon as class for that day was over, I went to talk to a counselor and changed my major to pre-nursing. Over the following year I worked my butt off to get the grades I needed...I had previously been a less than enthusiastic student, and didn't make great grades. But, alas, I aced the classes that I needed and scored high on the TEAS test, and I was one of only 56 students selected out of 389 applicants. This program is the biggest challenge I've ever faced in my life, and it's also the most rewarding thing I've ever done. The teachers are excellent and clinicals are fun and exciting. I plan to get my BSN eventually, but only because I want to continue my education beyond that...possibly to become a physician's assistant or nurse practitioner. Now that I've finished my first semester, I can't imagine ever doing anything else!

Specializes in Derm, Plas, OB-GYNE & Internal Medicine.

I really wanted to be a Journalist or a Teacher just like my mom. But then, I was forced to take up board courses (by the time I'm going to college, there was still no licensure exams for teachers here in the Philippines), either Accountancy or Nursing. I took Accountancy for 3years, but because of the current demand for nurses before, I was asked by my dad and aunt to shift to Nursing. Undergone 4 years BSN, took and passed the Philippine Nursing Board 2 months after graduation.

Bow.:smokin:

Specializes in LTC.

Used to be in the military, but after I took a graceful drop from a rappelling tower, was forced to change directions. :D

Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatrics, Wound Care.

I just read through the 7 or so years and 113 pages of "why"s.. I saw my story in bits and pieces throughout.

My grandmother and my aunt were both nurses. My grandmother was a psychiatric nurse and had long since left the field and became a school psychologist. My aunt was a dialysis nurse and absolutely hated it (I think her coworkers were full of drama). I knew from them that nursing was not a career I would ever want.

I was a wild teenager, and started to "get my crap together" before 21. Did customer service and restaurant work for a few years. Started taking classes at community college. When it came "time" to find a major, I decided to study medical lab technology - I figured I liked blood and could study that for a few years. After I graduated, I decided, on a whim, to transfer to a 4-year college and study biology. Another 3 years later (and some burnout grades), I graduated and got a job as a research technician in an awesome lab.

After working about 6 years, my grandmother's health deteriorated. She had Alzheimer's (or perhaps another degenerative brain disease). My mom called one day saying that she "stopped drinking her coffee" and would probably die soon. My mom had been caring for her for a few years. The family knew that my grandmother wanted to be allowed to die at home and not in a hospital with feeding tubes. So, I flew to my mom's, and there were hospice nurses that came in every day. They showed my family how to "care" for my grandmother's dying body like cleaning and repositioning. Her death while sad, was very peaceful, surrounded by family at home. Nobody could have asked for a "better" ending for her.

A few months later, while talking to my other aunt, I saw there was something in nursing that I may not hate. I was getting somewhat "bored" of my current job and had been halfheartedly looking for new jobs. So, instead, I looked into nursing schools and worked on pre-requisites (like "current" sciences - had to take A&P for a THIRD time, heh). I applied to one school, and as I was waiting for acceptance, I was about to start applying to others when I got the good letter in the mail. I went to school, had its ups and downs, but found that I really did enjoy all aspects of adult nursing (peds and ob did nothing for me).

I graduated, moved states with my husband, and found myself gravely ill in a hospital. I spent 20 days in hospitals, 2 surgeries, 3 ER visits, 3 days of ICU. In that time, I developed a much greater understanding of the nurse from a patient's viewpoint. I understood the little embarrassments of a patient who cannot even roll to one side unassisted and was unable to gt up to a commode. I realized how lonely it was in a hospital with few visitors (my stay was an hour from home). I know I felt more "satisfied" from compassionate nurses even if they had no more time than the ones that just came in and out.

Finally, a month ago (and 18 months after graduation), I got my first nursing job. I am happily working with the geriatric population on a medicine floor in a large hospital. When I had the interview for the unit, I thought "wow, just what I want!", and after the interview, I nearly cried because everyone seemed wonderful. A month in, and I still think my coworkers are great. While in the long-run, I may still want to do hospice care, I think for right now, I'm in the perfect place.

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I used to dream of being a certified nurse midwife. Dream being the operative word. I was not smart enough, rich enough, qualified enough or good enough to do it, not in my own mind. The dream itself was another way I beat myself up yet wished for something different, something more. So I dreamed and worked in medical offices and stayed comfortably resentful, dissatisfied, well armed with every excuse my fear could ever create to not go for it.

Then one day in my early 30s I got divorced. Immediately after which my youngest son got diagnosed with a brain tumor. Immediately after which my dad fell out of a boat he wasn't supposed to be on and drown. Immediately after which my oldest son got diagnosed with AML. 18 months after which he died. It was seven years of sh*t sandwich.

Nothing I thought I knew about the world or myself turned out to be true. As I said goodbye to my son, I felt acutely the way his potential was robbed from him. From all of us. And I realized I was a coward. He'd fought so bravely, faced so many things he didn't want to have to do, regardless of his fear, because he had no choice. I felt the futility of my existance descending down as he faded away and reached out to find some way to give meaning to the whole experience of his illness. I promised him I would return to school and become an RN. It was the hardest thing I could think of to face about myself and it was as precious and binding as a blood oath to me.

I long ago forgot about being a CNM and thought I wanted to go into oncology and hospice after Joseph died, but soon learned that was all about me. Not about my patients. The journey of grief has been heavily tied to the journey of becoming an RN. Part of saying goodbye to my son was learning that even though it was about what we went through when I decided to become a nurse, it could not be about that anymore when faced with someone else's crisis and my role in helping them. It was about them now. So I dropped the idea of oncology and hospice, at least for now, and floundered painfully for a while with a lack of identity. I got over it, accepted a job in ICU stepdown and am now in the aftermath, learning to become a "real" nurse on a very difficult floor that I feel will give me a great foundation.

So there you have it. I'm not done yet.

Quote
I was a bad kid. I ran around with the wrong crowd. Got into some things I shouldn't have and saw some things I shouldn't have.The things I saw stuck with me due to the violent nature and the impact and I wished then I could help out in some way.... and vowed to do great things later.

I knew then I wanted to be a nurse.

PS: I'll write more detail later..when it's not 3 am.

Hi Z ,

Do you Stay awake all the time ?

or are you night owl like me ?

Specializes in Critical Care.

I am at work and my story is a bit detailed so I will write it up when I get home and post it on here. I think it's interesting to know what drives people to chose this as a career.

laurlaur said:
well i applied to the local supermarket and they didn't have any vacancies, i was gutted, all my life i'd dreamed of stacking shelves. as a last resort i went to nursing. :chuckle

ha ha! that is hysterical!

earthlovers123 said:
Hi Z ,

Do you Stay awake all the time ?

or are you night owl like me ?

Nope. I never sleep. ?

Just kidding.

Sometimes I'm a night owl. Last night I had a headache so I was up late.

Z

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