Why nursing?

WoundedBird · Jan 23, 2013

I did my first degree in athletic training, and even before I took my boards I was thinking about nursing. I ended up passing my boards on the first try (shocked bc I was the first month of testers taking the new format and finished a 4 hr test in less than two). I ended up landing a job as an AT after a year away from the profession. I loved the kids I worked with but I was finding out that I was hoping that the kids would come to me with only lacs and other emergent issues and not 'my knee hurts'. I would much rather steri-strip a chin back together or stabilize a potential C-spine while waiting for EMS than rehab a hamstring strain.

I'm hoping to go into trauma because of knowing what I enjoyed as an AT, however I'm also keeping an open mind to all of the specialties I'll encounter because I've had more than one friend start out with on focus in mind only to have a clinical rotation change it.

StudentN123 · Jan 31, 2013

Very interesting topic. I found your story quite remarkable :-). I myself, sometimes feel a bit skeptical if I made the right career choice. My reasons are quite ordinary of any undergrad college student.. :shy: Looking back throughout my childhood, I remember I would enjoy opening up health prevention books, and reading on all sorts of illnesses. Apart from this, my older brother was an EMT, and I remember I was very inspired by his stories and kinds of things he saw. Today, I now even notice that most of my "hobbies" and things that I enjoy reading best about revolve around medicine, excercise, and nutrition. These things make me happy, and I wanted to be able to pursuit them as a career. I decided to settle for RN because: I enjoy science and applying it to real life every day, nursing is a very altruistic career, I wanted to start working soon to get experience, opportunites for travel nurse, being the "family doctor", and knowing that I will see new things and make a difference every single day. :) In additon, in the future I might later settle to become a Family NP, or a Nurse Educator. :)

Exhaustipated, ADN, BSN · Feb 1, 2013

If you had asked me straight out of high school what I wanted to do career-wise, nursing would not have even been anywhere near my list. Twenty-five years later I'm a different person with different interests and responsibilities.

The year before I registered for school, I knew I would be going back, but I didn't know what I would be studying. Then my son, who has had health problems over the years, got very sick. We were in and out of Emergency Departments for a few days, and were finally sent to a Children's Hospital after being told my son needed a hospital better equipped for children since he "had too much going on" for the last hospital. At the Children's Hospital, after spending a couple hours in the ER (mind you, it's after midnight at this point, and we had started at 9am that day) the doctor came in, and from the way she was talking to me, I knew she was going to send us home.

I knew my child was very sick, and I knew that if we went home, we'd only be back again within a day or two. I knew he looked better after being rehydrated, but I also knew that wouldn't last. What I didn't know was the best way to communicate this to the staff. What I didn't know was how to not sound like a neurotic parent. At that point, there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty. I needed to get educated. I decdided when I went back to school, it would be for something in the medical field.

My son was finally admitted to the hospital that visit (at 5am -- I had been up and ferrying him around for tests and treatment for 20 hours), and during our 10-day stay, I paid attention to the nurses and the techs. I had conversations. I wish I could remember one particular PCT's name, because it was her compassion and encouragement that finally made me decide for certain I would be going into the medical field. I would love to thank her.

Beyond that, I looked at the different options available, did my research, and now here I am, preparing to take the Kaplan exam for admission to the ADN program at my school.

mandilee428 · Feb 1, 2013

My parents inspired me, but not in a way most people would think. Growing up, it was obvious that my parents did not enjoy their jobs. I started working after school when I was 15 and always complained about my job and my parents response was always "that's why it's called 'work' and not 'fun'"; so I just grew to accept that. When I graduated high school, I spent my time just bumming around, not doing much of anything, and by the time I was 20 I had a newborn baby. Once my daughter was born I had to find work, so I followed in my mother's foot steps and got a secretarial job. It was awful, I was so miserable, and at first I just accepted that and figured this was how it was going to be for the rest of my life. After a couple years, though I got to thinking that maybe things didn't have to be that way, and that maybe there is something out there for me that I actually would enjoy, and if I had a job like that I could be an inspiration to my own daughter, but in a more positive way :). I could never really explain it, but nursing appealed to me; of course I like people and like to help them but there is something else that has always drawn me that I could never really explain- but I decided that instead of questioning it, I will just listen to it.

Anyway, my daughter is now 11 and about 6 six years ago I got married and have had 3 more kids and I've been staying home with them while working on my Bachelor's and about a year ago I started taking my pre-req's for nursing school. I have applied to 2 schools for Fall 2013 entrance and keeping my fingers crossed. It will be so nice to finally accomplish this goal I've had for so long!

ky88 · Feb 9, 2013

Your story is so inspiring!

Tyler626 · Feb 10, 2013

I chose nursing because it has always been a passion of mine ever since I was 5 years old. I remember I use to pretend to do "surgery" on my stuffed animals as a child. My mom and dad worked in a hospital as well, so growing up I have always been around it and learned to love it. I always remember telling my parents as a child "I want to fix people's hearts" and that's why I want to become a Nurse Practitioner and specialize in cardiac care.

When I hit high school, and was able to take my first anatomy class I was in heaven. When I was bored, I would read my anatomy book for hours and legit have fun doing it. That book went everywhere with me and I read it during every second of down time during my day. After I finished A&P my senior year, that following summer I went to Borders and dropped about 200 dollars on a&p books and spend my summer reading them because I have an extreme passion for the subject.

However, besides my love for learning about the human body, the other catalyst to my decision was due to my father. My father suffered a traumatic MI when I was about 9 resulting in him having to have bypass surgery. I almost lost my father due to that MI and ever since then I knew nursing was for me. My love for learning about the nursing field, the personal experiences I have had, and my tendency to put others' needs before my own I know will make me not only acquire my dream of being a cardiac care NP, but always deliver outstanding nursing care to my patients!