Why did you choose nursing?

Emergent, RN · Dec 21, 2013

I choose nursing after one of my children was in an accident requiring surgery and hospitalization. It gave me an up close view as to what a cool job it was.A year later I returned to school. I wanted a well paying, interesting job with unconventional hours.

Nursing has been very good to me.

LVN_it1995, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2013

I chose nursing when I was in high school after reading a little blue book that discussed what nurses do. It did not say anything about pay nor the many specialties just the basic stuff so I enjoy still just the basic floor staff nurse stuff. It was a booklet for RN but I was happy to get my LVN and so stay.

Marsha238612 · Dec 21, 2013

After high school i got an offer to become a construction project estimator which paid really well, had lots of perks, 9-5, and weekends off. Anybody would've been happy with my office job, but at the end of the day I felt emotionally drained, and unhappy. Nursing was always in back of my head. Why, I'm not sure if it's a calling or whatever it is, but I want to work in healthcare.

I'm fascinated with the human anatomy and physiology so I hope to fall in love with nursing despite all it's imperfections.

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313RN, BSN, RN · Dec 22, 2013

I went in to nursing for the glamor.

No, honestly it was for job security. I spent 15 years in sales and was tired of the stress and the constant stress of having my performance measured to two decimal points. Having a quota is stressful. The pointlessness of all the meetings, planning, forecasting, and manufactured urgency is soul crushing.

I have no stress at all now, and I work SWAT/rapid response at a large urban trauma hospital. I may have come for the security, but I stay because I have the best job in the world (after fighter pilot and cowboy).

I tell people that nursing is only life and death, but business is serious. It sounds a little hyperbolic, but for me there's a lot of truth too.

RunBabyRN · Dec 22, 2013

I have come back to it after telling my teacher in kindergarten I wanted to be a "baby nurse" after my brother was born.

I really enjoy helping people. My goal is to become a certified nurse midwife, but I've enjoyed nearly every rotation thus far (almost done with school!). I have spent time in acute care and LTC facilities with relatives over the course of my life, and I want to provide the care I wish they'd received.

I tossed around several ideas as I started thinking about college. When I decided to join the military, I had to choose a job. I became a hospital corpsman, which was more the medical side. I really, really enjoyed patient care, and it rekindled my desire to go back to school and do something about it. I started thinking about my options and what I wanted to do (first thought about med school, but I like nursing more), and landed on CNM. Never thought it would come around full circle the way that it has, but I'm really excited to get to it! I've attended several births over the years, including during my time in the Navy, and feel that it's a real honor to be a part of/witness to one of the most significant times in someone's life. I want to help make that experience for them as positive as possible.

I also like the pay, the flexibility, the variety... So many things about it that I love.

That's why I chose to be a nurse. :)

nekozuki, LPN · Dec 22, 2013

I enjoy the gruesome, obscene, and strange. That, and I was a damn good waitress at one point in my life. During clinical rotations when I had multiple patients and was pulled in ten different directions, I felt right at home. Nothing like being triple-sat in the weeds during dinner rush at a Disney restaurant to teach you how to handle a high-paced, high-stress atmosphere with a big smile! I went into LPN school thinking "Meh, I'm about to get fired, so I might as well give this 10-month program a whirl," but halfway through I knew I lucked into the right profession.

ORNursetobe33 · Dec 22, 2013

3 12's, scrubs and a ponytail. And I am paid MORE to work at night......a shift I LOVE anyways!!!!! Everyone wins! I am a good nurse, but it wasn't a calling.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Dec 22, 2013

Im one of those horrible people in it for the money. Sure I like helping people, the flexibility, the fun we get to have but it pays well too. Oh and I said I would never work behind a desk.

lovenotwar14 · Dec 22, 2013

My mother has been a nurse since I could remember. And I wanted.to be just like her. I started volunteering at the nursing home and the hospital. I got my cna while in high school. I always knew nursing is what I wanted to do. It makes me sad to think some people are just in it for the money...

barcode120x, RN, NP · Dec 22, 2013

Right when I started a CC after high school, I honestly didn't know what to major in. I picked nursing on paper because nurses run in the family (I'm Filipino haha) and my older brother is a nurse and I tend to follow in his footsteps. Other than that, I really didn't care much for my academic and career future. First couple years I did so-so in college and didn't work, basically had the time of my life while being a college student. I even took the pre-reqs for nursing half-heartedly. The only thing I knew about nursing at the time was that it was awesome pay and a stable job; then again, at that time I didn't care much for either. I was young and it sounded nice to mention that to people when they asked about my major.

It wasn't until after I started working in the hospital as a lift tech that I realized that nursing was what I surely wanted to do. To put things short, since I primarily work in the ICU and CCU, I fell in love with the compassion those nurses have for their patients. Sure, each nurse may have nasty attitudes or terrible personalities at certain times or they may seem lazy or they may seem like they are not a good nurse; however, the part I fell in love with was how they were always there for their patient. They listened sincerely to their patients and did everything they could to care for them, no matter how stressful they were. That's what I love. No matter how small of a thing you do for your patient, if it makes them smile or feel a just a tad bit better, then all that stress and hard work to become a nurse makes it completely worth it. Just turning a patient alone as a lift tech makes patients feel more comfortable. If turning a patient and putting a pillow under their side makes them happy, imagine what being their actual nurse would be to them :).

Halfway through nursing school, and it still 100% worth it, even as a student nurse!

SunshineDaisy, ASN, RN · Dec 22, 2013

Ya know, growing up I never had any exposure to nursing. No one in the family was a nurse, no friends parents were nurses, nothing. It wasn't until Sept 2002 that I thought about it. I was in preterm labor and the nurse was just awesome. She was SO kind and caring and compassionate. She knew the horrors we were about to face and did everything she could to prepare us. She knew when my babies heart stopped beating and took off the monitors so we weren't suffering with the dead silence while still being hooked up to them. She explained what would happen when my son was born, how he would look and what they would do. She was SO precious with him when he was born, she really did treat him like he was a living baby. That meant so much to us. Fast forward a few years and I was in labor with my daughter. The nurse I had then was just as awesome, even though the circumstances were different. She never questioned my craziness with my daughter, she understood why I watched everything and everyone like a hawk. It was then that I decided I wanted to be like them. I wanted to help the families who will go through what I went through. I wanted them to know that they are not alone and that I know. I'm just patiently waiting for that chance.