When did you "Know" you wanted to be a nurse?

Nurses General Nursing

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What happened that made everything finally "click," and you absolutely knew without a single doubt in your mind that you wanted to be a nurse? Mine happened tonight.

I've been working towards nursing for a year now.. two years of pre-req, but decided nursing a year ago. Well, my grandmother of soon to be 89 just got out of the hospital a week ago for fainting.. stood up, BP dropped. Last night, she apparently stood up, and without fainting, fell back down and broke her hip.. clean break at the epiphyseal plate. I know surgery, hip surgery, is high risk at her age. I went with my parents to see her tonight. I wasn't blown away with emotion or anything, but I "felt it." I felt the empathy and urge to help. With all the family there, I leaned down next to her whispering words and questions to her. I wanted to make sure she was as fine as could be in that circumstance. I was holding her hand. I was just trying to keep her aware. It had been seven hrs. since her last morphine injection. In a gasp, mumbled moan, she said her leg hurt. I got the nurses. I talked with her until she started drifting off from the meds. Barely mumbling, she said verbatim, "y'all let me go." She had finally opened her right eye a little. I truly heard her.. heard the pain and the call for help. I wasn't scared or sad.

I was simply as wide awake as I've ever been. I wish I were able to help her now. If she passes tomorrow, I just want it to be painless. She's been "off" since '95 when her husband died. I feel it's her time.

So tonight, I know, without a solitary doubt, that I want and will become a nurse. I'll never have the desire to be an MD. I want to be there to directly care for the patient--- the person.

When did you know?

Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.

I knew i wanted to be a nurse when I was ten years old and my brother was diagnosed with juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma. Thought I wanted to be a peds nurse until I took the job I have now in geriatric rehab :heartbeat

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

I was sick a lot with severe asthma as a kid, and ended up in ICU when I was 17. I met a nurse named Sarah there, who had such a heart of gold. I decided soon after that that I wanted to be just like her.

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Specializes in Neurovascular/Stroke Nurse.

I decided to go to nursing school after working in a hospital for about a year. Everytime I had to go to the Mother/Baby unit, I could literally feel the electricity of life buzzing all around me. It was then that I made up my mind to become a labor and delivery nurse. I veered off path slightly to obtain a year's worth of experience in Med/Surg, which I enjoy, but the "buzzing" in my ear is getting louder as the 1-year mark draws closer.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, , Home health, Education.

I was 7 when I decided I wanted to be a nurse and work in a hospital. My Dad also had chronic kidney disease so I'm sure that made a difference. Still one of the best decisions I've ever made.

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Specializes in NICU.

When my Dad went through nursing school when I was about 15. Afterwards, he latched onto the idea of me following him, and so went on a 3 year campaign to get me to agree. I ended up job shadowing on his unit and it was surprisingly fascinating. But I didn't really KNOW for a fact that this was what I wanted until this last semester when it was kind of a 'do or die" regarding whether I could get accepted, and I started looking into it on my own, and began to see that this wasn't just what my dad wanted, but something that i really wanted as well. I began to realise what kind of an impact I can have and just how well it suits my nature. I was thrilled when at the end of this semester I received my acceptance letter to the nursing program.

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Specializes in LTC.

When I was in fifth grade I wanted to be a pediatrician, but after research I decided it wasn't for me. I think I wanted to be a nurse when I worked in the hospital and was exposed to nursing. My mother is also a nurse and it just felt right to me.

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

I hate to show how base I was at age 11, in 1950. Airlines then required "stewardesses" to be R.N.s. I had taken my first flight, and was so enamoured of the professionality of the crew (at that time, girls didn't have a chance to dream about becoming a pilot), that I wanted that!

When I went to nursing school in 1957, after many pieces fell into place for me, I still wanted to be part of the daring darlings. Yet, as I learned more about being truly essential to the lives of patients, I turned to other more nursey goals, went to university for my degree, and within 15 years I'd climbed the career ladder to heights I never anticipated that I would.

It was being responsible for making decisions for patient care that grabbed me, realizing that nurses impact patients lives more than any doctor could, and being recognized for my capability that impassioned me.

Teaching was an amazing new task, that made me realise that I could empower others to do more for their own health maintainance and disease prevention, with greater success than HCPs, especially women, by doing breast self examination for detection of breast cancer. It was breathtaking to see more full recoveries from that disease, due to early detection. Public Health Nursing was my calling.

So I guess I knew I wanted to become a nurse after I became one!

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I knew when I volunteered as a "candystripper" at 13.

Sorry about this. It should read "candystriper". :lol2:

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Specializes in skilled nursing LTC.

when i was a kid i used to carry a first aid kit on my bike!!!!:chuckle

thats when i knew...

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Specializes in ICU.

I "knew" about 3 years before I quit my engineering job & started my nursing prerequisite courses. My wife & I were down in north GA visiting my parents, talking about possible career options for me. I'd always (OK, almost always) loved my patient interactions as a paramedic, and felt that nursing would offer me challenges & the opportunities to learn that I was missing after nearly 20 years as an engineer.

The hard part was walking away from my job of 22+ years. When the company locked out the union employees (some of whom I'd worked with for my entire career) after a labor dispute, I knew it was time. I gave my notice, stayed another 2-3 weeks, then left.

Good thing, too. The company closed "my" plant last December, about 2.5 years after I resigned.

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