When did you know you wanted to be a nurse?

Scottishtape · Oct 24, 2015

This is going to be odd, but I didn't know I wanted to be a nurse until my first set of clinicals in nursing school.

I became a CNA only because I was a single mom and in the town I lived in, that was the highest pay for someone without any education or specific job experience. A good friend of mine at the time wanted to do the LPN program but was too scared to go by herself. She said if I went with her, she would pay the fees for me to join the college and take the nursing entrance exam, so I said sure.

I had honestly completely forgotten about the whole thing until I randomly got a letter in the mail a month or so later saying I had gotten in. I was like.. Oh, that's cool. I guess I'll do that. So, I did. It wasn't until I was in clinicals in the role of a student nurse that I was hooked, and have been ever since.

I got the email tonight from the school I applied to saying I was accepted into the lpn-rn bridge program and no lie, I cried for a good hour straight when I got it. It probably sounds stupid to cry over that (and for that long - because I'm still teary eyed), but it really shows me how important nursing is to me.

Shawn91111 · Oct 24, 2015

This will be my 2nd career change. Went to Culinary school, and was set on having a life in cooking. Ended up losing my passion for it as I had been doing it since I was 10 years old. Nursing was never something I thought of doing, however it is something I wasn't against either. 5 years ago when my son was born, I was looking for a change, something that could challenge me, also while having pressures of the job, as in cooking there is immense pressure and it is something I truly enjoy. Long story short, 5 years ago I wanted to try this, I didn't go back to school until last year and that feeling has not gone away.

mindofmidwifery, ADN · Oct 24, 2015

I figured out almost two years ago that I wanted to be a midwife, so I looked up the steps. Here I am now, almost done with my nursing pre-reqs :)

Dd04321 · Oct 24, 2015

I knew I wanted to be a nurse when I was 15. My grandpa had Parkinson's disease and leukemia. He received hospice care at his home but was later moved to inpatient hospice care. He stayed for 5 days and then passed away. I was there nearly every moment of it and I got to observe the nurses day in and day out. Before that, I thought about physical and occupational therapy, veterinarian, etc. I've noticed that no matter what, my mind has always been set on a position of helping, whether it be animals or people.

My mom went into acute renal failure and nearly died during the summer, while I was working 2 jobs and taking my final science pre-req. I can say that I don't remember a darn thing from the summer, but it reinforced my drive to become a nurse.

I'm 21 now and I've had no doubts about nursing since I was 15. I'm about to start the 11th week of my first semester of nursing school and my first clinical day is Thursday.

I couldn't be any happier with the decision I made, as stressful and crazy as nursing school is!

NNP_Gonnabe · Oct 24, 2015

Fell in love with hospital when I was about 7 years old and a nurse walked me around the Cleveland Clinic while my Nana was at an appointment. My Junior year of high school I knew I wanted to work with infants as a nurse.

Now here I am at 24, about to start nursing school in January. Plan to become an NNP further on down the road (after5-7 years bedside).

Future NNP

HIPAAPotamus, BSN, RN · Oct 26, 2015

I've had a highly successful stage career, have a master's level degree in music, and one day, my mom (a 50 year nursing veteran) walked past me and said, "Oh, I always thought you'd be a phenomenal nurse."

The roof opened up, the horns came in, and I've been hellbent and super focused ever since, destroying my pre-reqs, one by one. Most people don't get that obvious a "calling", and I consider myself fortunate to have experienced multiple careers in my life.

goddess9 · Oct 26, 2015

It's been a few years coming. I should have listened to the signs. I was in undergrad for Psychology and I bumped into a nursing supervisor when I was working retail. She saw me and we got to talking... She asked me why I am not going for nursing. I made excuses, but she insisted on telling me a few resources and programs before I left. Over the last few years, I've bumped into nurses and I've felt a growing urgency. My job taught me that I want a more direct role in care. It wasn't a calling from a young age, but it definitely was in my mind for years. I'm almost done with my prerequisites and I always thought I wasn't a science person, but I'm capable. I look forward to applying and hopefully being given the opportunity to be a nursing student.

HIPAAPotamus, BSN, RN · Oct 26, 2015

First, I love the name, especially because you spelled HIPAA correctly. Secondly, I'm fascinated about your musical background for reasons that will be made clear below.
I was determined to major in music because it was my life. My first voice solo was at age 4 and I was always singing or trying to play some instrument. I still have the clarinet my 62 year-old aunt played in her youth and handed down to me. I love my upright grand piano, and bought a violin to learn to play, but my daughter has taken to it better than I. I wanted to teach music or be "in the industry." Musicals are my precious!
But this one time at band camp (no, seriously, it happened at band camp) I was walking down a hill toward the bus while carrying a jar of olives. A little drummer boy (really... he was 5'4'' and played the drums) took a running leap to get a piggy back ride from me and knocked me down. On the jar. I don't remember the next 45 minutes but I had a small laceration to the palm of my right hand. It was half as deep. But deep enough to do damage.
That was on a sweltering Friday in July of 1993. The following Tuesday I had surgery to repair the severed tendon and artery. I had to pretend to play the clarinet in our football games that year. And I was so disappointed.
Meanwhile, I'm in chemistry and am tasked with finding a job with science involved. As a patient I was exposed to doctors, nurses, technicians, OT, PT. I chose to write about nursing. Then there was a college fair at the mall and the booth for Georgia Baptist School of Nursing lured me in.
So an amalgam of events transpired and turned me in that direction. I even have a gnarly scar (that looks like the constellation Casseiopia (sp?) to remember it by.

Music nerds unite!! Maybe you can find a different story for every patient for your scar. Though the original is pretty interesting. Do you still play at all, even for fun?

One of the things I find invaluable from my other degrees, and it still serves me well in class, is stage presence. I'm not afraid to talk to people or answer questions. I'm obviously not using my opera projection in group discussions, but I speak clearly, enunciate, and maintain composure (and believe me, it can be a challenge in A&P to maintain composure).

ladysushi · Oct 26, 2015

I originally wanted to go to medical school and become an MD. But once I started working on my Bachelor's degree I was having a hard time with all of the math and science courses. So I decided to leave university and do some more research on what I wanted to do. I found a local program that did medical assistant training and decided to give it a try. I knew that I wanted to work in the medical field but I just didn't feel the passion to go for my MD. While going through my MA training I learned about all of the different healthcare team members that existed. But I fell in love with the nursing profession after I started working as an MA along side other nurses. I really enjoy working with patients one on one and being an instrumental part of their recovery process. I start my ADN program in January and plan on getting my BSN after I finish. I am interested in going into FNP, but I will figure out if I will pursue it after I finish my BSN and practice bedside nursing for several years.

Compassionate22 · Oct 26, 2015

During my undergrad I had a few nursing friends and whenever I would see the things they were doing in their classes, I was really intrigued about what they were learning. At that point I was already set with Sociology plus I didn't want to stay more years and hope I go into the program. One course that I truly loved with Anatomy and Physiology. It's been a year since I've been out of school and now more than ever I have a strong interest in becoming a nurse, plus my aunt was one before she retired and she said it was a very rewarding career for her. I'm currently in the process of taking pre req's and hopefully soon applying to Accelerated programs in my area.

KThurmond · Oct 30, 2015

I've said I wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl. I wrote a paper in 5th grade about it. In my high school in your 3rd yr you choose career pathways. I chose healthcare and CNA. I was certified my senior year. Working as a CNA made it sure for me. I like helping people, the patient interaction, & I've noticed I soak up information about medications. Ive also noticed bodily fluids don't bother me. I was the only person at my retail job who didn't freak out when a kid vomited in the floor. I'd give them sprite & grab gloves & paper towels & cleaner & go 4 it. No biggie:smug: