When did you know?

Six years in, I'll let you know when I know.

Last semester of nursing school when I got my clinical capstone placement in the ICU. Do I still have moments of doubt about if I made the right decision, sure. I honestly knew nothing about nursing before I got to nursing school and it worked out for me. Some people came in to nursing school 100% sure about it and ended up hating it, some came in not so sure and ended up loving it, and many are just figuring it out as we go :)

I've always just done what I needed to do and learned to like it. Love has never crossed my mind.

I personally knew from a very young age, I wouldn't call it "a calling" just more of a love of science and puzzles...

I knew 2 1/2 months ago when I left the bedside for good...31 years after the fact. The only thing that would be close to pulling me back into it is a job with the VA....or extreme dire straits.

24 years later still not sure, but it has been a solid middle class living with occasional moments of meaningfulness.

Just was good at science and wanted a well paying job that could support myself and my family. All other sciences seemed to need advanced degrees before becoming marketable.

It was a calculated decision.

Since I was 16 and a new CNA. That was over 10 years ago and nursing is still my Thing !

As a 5-6 year old, I would flip through the pages of my deceased grandmother's nursing book, spending extra time looking at the "creepy" pictures of the cartoon drawings getting shots and taking their insulin. I think that might've helped open my eyes to the world of health and science.

I don't feel like I fit the "stereotypical" nurse type, where I just feel this passion for taking care of people and want to make the world a better place, yada yada. I want to go into nursing because I love science, studying diseases and injuries, and because the pay is good and the career- stable. Although I'm not a people-person in the very least, I am a compassionate person, so I think I could learn to step a bit out of my comfort zone and build relationships with people, or at least open my heart to strangers. I think I would get fulfillment, in some way, from that. Coming home each day knowing that I did what I could to help somebody. Again, it's not in a mushy way, just in a "I did something productive for society, even if it's very small" kind of way.

I also love the idea of being a life-long learner. I can't wait for a road ahead filled with medical mysteries and new technology.

To answer the question specifically: I don't feel like nursing is my "calling", rather, I think of it as something I would like doing because I would get to take a lot of science classes and put those skills to good use. Growing up, nursing crossed my mind a few times, but I've only recently decided that I'm going to go ahead and do it because I see it being a career that I'll like and will give me stability.

I always knew. I would say I was going to be a nurse when I was five! But it wasn't till I was 13-14 that I was serious about. Never knew why I wanted to be a nurse though, just did. Even when I started nursing school I had no idea what a nurse actually did in real life. But when I did my placement in ortho that's when I had my aha! Moment. Any doubts I had were gone, absolutely fell in love with it.

I had one. 5 years ago, I rescinded my medical school applications, because I knew I did not want to be a physician. I had already been thinking about nursing, but I was not sure. I moved to a new state, and went into a different field (engineering), then a little over a year ago, I joined a charity organization. One of the requirements was to volunteer at the local Children's Hospital (one of the best in the nation). The moment I walked into the hospital for orientation, I got this feeling. During the presentation and while hearing about the hospital's mission and everything they do for patients, I knew. I went home and started applying to nursing schools and registering for the final missing pre-requisites. Programs here are very competitive, and I kept at it... I was rejected twice before I applied to 2 final schools (finally having completed all their requirements) and was accepted to both! Couldn't be happier. However, I'm also an older student, with lots of life experience that helped bring me to this decision.

When did you know that nursing was your thing? In my school, it's a very large commitment before you even apply and I'm wondering if there is an ah ha moment. I've completed most of my pre requisites and I'm applying this fall but I wanted to know from people that are nurses if you just kind of fell in love with it as you went through school or if you knew from the moment you started working on your degree. Thanks everyone!

I've been a nurse for a little over 2 years now and I still don't know if it's my "thing" and for me it's certainly not a "calling" as other people say. My particular drive (or "calling" if you will) is to help people heal. I've been an athletic trainer, Paramedic, and now an RN. I just choose to express that drive through nursing. Why nursing? I already have many of the "skills" required through my Paramedic education. The athletic training education made learning Paramedic and Nursing fairly easy (it's a lot more rigorous than you might otherwise think). Nursing has lots of career avenues available, the pay is generally decent as are the benefits. Good for supporting a family!

In short, being a nurse for me was more a choice of convenience than a calling but that doesn't mean that I don't love the work. I actually enjoy doing bedside care and have for a very long time. As long as the family needs are met, I'd be equally happy rehabbing broken athletes, transporting someone via ambulance, or working in the ED or doing whatever else I happen to do at the time.