Why did you become a nurse?

lady_jezebel · Feb 25, 2004

:chuckle

Had another degree that was a waste of time to acquire. Had to choose a career that provided more guaranteed income. Knew it would be an easy transition, since completed most of the pre-reqs for the prior degree.

Simply, for the $ (income doubled), a guaranteed job in a bad economy, and hopefully a little job satisfaction (easing the suffering of others).

CelticNurse · Feb 25, 2004

Why did I become a nurse?

Three reasons.

1) The money

2) The glamour

3) The uniform

Blackcat99 · Feb 25, 2004

Why did I become a nurse? I was young and foolish and listened to my mother's advice. Big mistake. The only reason I do it now is for the money. I had wanted to become a social worker. I wish I would have listened to my own heart instead of pleasing my mother. :crying2:

orrnlori, RN · Feb 25, 2004

After 20 years behind a desk I thought it sounded glamorous (can you believe that?), thought it was relatively quick to complete the degree (not so, took 3 years to complete the program full time) and thought I would enjoy it (only marginally enjoy it, mostly I don't like it as opposed to what I used to do, everything is relative).

Hated floor/unit nursing and went to the OR, one of the best kept secrets in nursing. Still not crazy about what I do but think I have one of the best nursing jobs there is with the degree I have, again it's all relative.

So now I'm finishing a BS in psychology and have applied to a MSN program. Looking for the white coat/clip board nursing job where you can sit down once in a while and make much better money.

I wouldn't do it again, but I also don't discourage the nursing students I precept, something I hate when other nurses tell the poor kid to run as fast as they can. That is so wrong.

For all those who feel it was their destiny and love the difference they make I say GREAT. :) I am so glad there are nurses like that. Every once and a while you have one of those wonderful patients that just makes the whole trip seem worth the cost. That's when I love it, but boy, those are few and far between.

javagirl · Feb 25, 2004

When I first got out of high school I went to nursing school. After the first clinical rotation I decided I did not have the emotional fortitude to be a nurse. Now, many many years later, 1 chronic illness later (that I actually recovered from), I'm in the process of visiting various nursing schools and I'll be taking the 2 pre-reqs I need over the summer, applying to schools in the fall 2004 and hopefully starting Spring 2005. Apparently my desire to be a nurse never left me.

I know I have the emotional fortitude now that I once lacked and I feel very strongly about comforting people who are scared and in pain (I've SO been there!). Yet, there are aspects of the profession that terrify me. :uhoh3:

I look at it like this. Take windsurfing. Looks like a great idea. Then you get on the board, could fall, drown, land in a bed of sea urchins (this has happend to me :crying2: ), fall and have the mast land on your head, get trapped under the sail, blah blah blah. All in all very hazardous. But when the wind is just right and the water's just right, there's no greater ride. I think of nursing is the same way... exposure to risk with some great reward. Maybe I'm naive.:stone Maybe I'm correct . Time will let me know.

Javagirl (coffee drinker, not java programmer)

orrnlori, RN · Feb 25, 2004

Excellent analogy. I think you have the right attitude. I worry about those who think it's going to be all wonderful all the time. Being realisitc will make your journey much better. :)

callacodebrown · Feb 25, 2004

I am a second generation nurse. I grew up with a nurse as a mom. I liked the flexibility the nursing offered. My mom worked nights and it was like she never worked. I knew that someday I was probably going to be a mom and I wanted to give my kids the greatest thing I could give them---my presence! I think nursing is a great way to have a career and not have to work full-time.

I liked science and people--and unlike many people I have no right to complain because I knew what I was getting into from the get-go.

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Feb 25, 2004

I'm a third generation nurse. I decided to become a nurse because I wanted to help others. I also saw how my mother and grandmother (both RN's) were able to work their scheduals around me when I was younger. So when I had a daughter myself and decided to go back to school, nursing was a logical choice. The pay is a plus... if I had to cut back to part time after I got my license, I could learn to survive. There's always job security. And the benefits are awesome.

I'm in my last semester of nursing school, and I have many times wondered why I decided to put myself through it (my nursing school is SOOOO tough! But, I hear they all are!). But I think the satisfaction I will get from writing "RN" after my name will make up for all of the torture!:balloons:

laurasc · Feb 28, 2004

I'm a nurse because when I was 4 I was badly burned when boiling water was accidently spilled on me. Having just arrived in Canada my parents were too afraid to take me to the hospital so they dressed my burns themselves. One day one of my dressings stuck and I wouldn't let my mom near me to remove it. So she got one of her friends to pretend to be a nurse so she could change my dressings. Ever since then I wanted to be a nurse just like her.

BTW, here's another question....how many of you "junior nurses" gave needles to all their dolls? All my dolls were covered with punctures on the fannies and arms thanks to my playing nurse. (I used straight pins, safety pins and anything sharp I could find...my mom nearly went nuts trying to keep me safe. :rotfl: )

Oh yeah, is there anyone here who's as good as me at making paper nurse's caps? That's another "nursing" skill I cultivated from a very young age.

Gumbi · Mar 2, 2004

I want to be a nurse because being able to help people totally excites me. The fact that I will be getting paid to do something that I love is awesome. Nursing is a great profession to go in. It allows you to meet all different types of people and get to know them and also their families. Knowing that you can make a difference in someone's life is a reward in its self.

Thanks... Gumbi

Brenda-RN,BSN, WA. · Mar 2, 2004

I became a nurse becasue I can nto imagine doing anything else. I work in a post-partum unit and have been there for 8 years. There are days when I seiously can't believe that I am getting paid to do what I do. There are also days that I think that there is not enough $ in the world to pay me! But, there has never been a day when I have questioned my decision to go into nursing as a career. It is challenging, exciting, it's just the best job I can think of. Especially in post-partum, working with newborns, and their parents, and siblings. There is so much teaching involved, it is just wonderful. I have met some of the most wonderful people in my job, both staff, and patients. I look forward to each and everyday that I work. I can't picture myself doing anything else, ever.

nekhismom · Mar 3, 2004

It was because of the $$. Plain and simple. But somewhere along the line of school, it all changed. I actually wanted to help people, and to make a difference. I now realize that it was divine calling.