Why I decided to become a nurse or better late than never!

[jennrog33]

Why did I decide to join the nursing field? I have answered this question many times but never honestly. Yes the economy tanked and yes my position at work no longer existed but this is not why I chose nursing. I am an older adult returning to school and I have just completed my first semester of ADN School. It is tough and rewarding and exactly what I needed to do. I owe it all to a nurse that reached out to me and made such a difference that I have never forgotten her. I haven't forgotten her face, the school she attended, how caring she was, how supportive she was, but I have forgotten her name. I am ashamed of that. I wish I could thank her for all she did for me. I was 18 and sitting in a hospital room about to have my first child all alone. She spoke to me about her own early motherhood and her determination to continue on with school to become a nurse. She told me about the struggles and trials she faced but she succeeded and became a wonderful nurse. She will never know what a difference she made to a scared little girl sitting in a large hospital waiting on a tiny baby girl to come into this world. Life happens. I had my baby, met my spouse, had another baby, found a career, had another baby, lost my career, and began my immersion into what my calling is. We have made sacrifices and given up the nicer things but I hope I am doing this nurse justice and working as hard as she did. I wish I could find her to share with her my four a's and 1 b (darn pharmacology!). How many other people has she touched? Will she ever know? There is a saying that is pretty popular with the men in my family that goes something like "A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work!" and I think the opposite applies for nursing. Even a bad day at work is better than not being at work. You never know when your kindness or caring will make a lifelong impression on a patient or family member or visitor. My nameless nurse made that impression on me. She will always be with me, when I walk across the stage, when I take the NCLEX, when I start my new career in health care, and when I make an unknowing mark on another's soul. I am embarking on a pathway to a new career that will change not only my life but those I am blessed to help. I owe it all to my nurse on floor two that worked that Friday in July sixteen years ago. Thank you.