Why did you take up nursing? What's your story?

Every nurse has their own story to tell about how or why they chose to enter the nursing profession. Some may have been inspired by a personal experience with healthcare, while others may have been drawn to the idea of caring for others. Some may have stumbled upon nursing by chance, while others knew from a young age that it was their calling. Whatever the reason, each nurse has a unique narrative that led them to become a caregiver. These stories are a testament to the diversity and passion within the nursing community and the profound impact that healthcare can have on our lives.

Please be as detailed or as short as you wish. It'll be interesting to hear everyone's stories.

I have always wanted to be a nurse.

Growing up I had an amazing pediatrician and she had an amazing nurse. It seemed like the nurse could take care of anything and it was always better when she was there. I really looked up to her.

I hated high school and did not even think about going to college. I got married as soon as I graduated and had my first baby with in the year.

When I was in labor I went to the hospital the first nurse I saw looked me over real fast said your not in labor go home! So I started to get dressed then this second nurse walked into the room and saw me crying and asked me to stay and see the doctor. I explained I wasn’t in labor but she still asked me to stay to see the doctor. I laid back down and waited. I could hear the nurses in the hallway fighting over sending me home. The second nurse won the argument and the doctor soon came into the room. The doctor did a quick ultrasound and found out she was too small and wasn’t getting enough food or air. Her heart stopped at almost midnight that night, so they had to do an emergence c-section. If that nurse had made me leave my daughter would have died that night. The second nurse saved my daughters life. I will always thank god that nurse cared enough to have me stay. It made a big impression on me what a good nurse can do. It confirmed to me that I always wanted to be a nurse.

Fast forward to my last pregnancy, I had a normal delivery. My water broke and I went to the hospital and got assigned an amazing nurse. She was a wonderful coach and was with me all the way through my delivery. I couldn’t thank her enough for all her help and support.

I was a labor coach for my sister in law. She was single and having a baby and I was lucky she chose me to help her through her labor. It was such an amazing experience, I loved taking care of her and coaching her through it. I got to hand her the baby and cried. I knew there was nothing else in the world that I could do that would ever compare to being a nurse.

I am applying to a nursing program in April. I am currently taking all the prereqs to get into a program. When I graduate I hope to work in a L& D dept or nursery dept. I am excited and can’t wait! Thanks for reading my long post.

Hugs :icon_hug:

Shannon

. The doctor did a quick ultrasound and found out she was too small and wasn't getting enough food or air.

Shannon

Just wondering - can an ultrasound tell if a fetus was too small due to not "getting enough food or air?" I am not doubting you, just want to know for my own education.

The ultrasound showed she was small (4lbs 9 oz at birth) The ultrasound also showed scales on the placenta. I am not a nurse yet, but the scales on the placenta I guess told him she wasn't getting enough. I could be totally wrong. I was so scared. I was leaking fluid for a week before the ultrasound. I don't know if that's where the scales came from or not. It was a real botched labor the nurses kept telling me not to come in even after I told them I was leaking fluid.

I hope this makes sense. Please let me know if I was wrong about this, I would hate to have been telling wrong information all these years LOL.

Hugs :icon_hug:

Shannon

Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.

Almost everyone in my family is either a doctor or a nurse. It felt natural to be a nurse. I became a CNA in my senior year of high school. Took me an entire lifetime to buckle down and fulfill my dreams, but I did it! :nurse:

Specializes in Cardiac/Telemetry.
I didn't dream of becoming a nurse growing up. I was originally a nuclear medicine major. My older sister became ill with leukemia, and fought an amazing fight. She was the strongest, bravest person I will ever know. She always said that when she recovered, she was going to go back to school to be a nurse. It will be four years next month since she passed away. She was only 30. The care from that she received from her nurses was nothing short of extraordinary. When I returned to school that fall, I switched majors, and just graduated with my BSN last weekend. I am 24 years old, and so glad that switched so young, because I know that I am going to love doing this for the rest of my life. :)

Bekahlynn

Bekahlynn, I'm sorry about your sister. However, your story just justified my reasons of becoming a nurse. My aunt was diagnosed with cervical cancer (she's an RN as well) and she was so strong and brave that I can't help but admire her. She's the best nurse I know and she's a survivor in more ways than one. Your story makes me want to be one of those nurses who gives comfort and gentleness. It's stories like yours that solidify my decision. Congratulations on your accomplishments and you know your sis is looking out for you. God bless you in all you do!!!!

since i was born ive had many medical problems and that is the main reason why i've chosen to become a nurse. at the age of 1 i had epileptic seizures and was flown immediately to john hopkins where i stayed for a year and that is where they diagnosed me with tuberous sclerosis. i don't know if many of you are familiar with it but it's a genetic disorder that leaves benign tumors either on your internal organs or in my case red benign tumors on my face. i was put on medicine for my seizures and had to report to john hopkins every week for tests to determine whether or not i was going to be mentally handicapped. most people born with tuberous sclerosis are so luckily for me i passed the tests and was considered average. i went through over the years many surgeries on my face and have a lot of experience with anestesiology. at the age of 8 years old i realized that i wanted to help people and it became a passion of mine over the years. at the age of 11 i was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. a year after that i began having kidney problems and am now on lipitor. after that at the age of 16 i was diagnosed with breast cancer as well as my mother furtunately both of us are still here and alive because of all the nurses and doctors who helped us through a rough time. they were kind and caring, always seeming to just be there to whenever you needed them to be. they were so compassionate and at the same time so thurough in what they were doing that i knew then that i would like to work with cancer patients one day. the nurse's were absolutely amazing. i began volunteering at the hospice house near the hospital a couple weeks after i found out that my cancer was in remission. about two years after that my uncle was diganosed with liver and pancreatic cancer. his wife at the time was a nurse at the local hospital and was actually working with cancer patients. after 7 years of medication, chemotheropy and feeling sick most days he finally passed on this past year. in the same month i was 5 months pregnant with my daughter, and being a diabetic plus having tuberous sclerosis meant that if i had my daughter in augest 12th my due date there could of been complications and there was a 75% chance she would have had tuberous sclerosis and be mentally handicapped. sadly i didnt' make it that far because april 28th i went to my doctors appointment and was told by my doctor that she was gone. her little heart just couldn't handle the complications my body was putting her through and at 5:31 am on the 29th my daughter was stillborn. we had an autopsy done and she was sent to a research lab. the autopsy showed that because i was a diabetic no matter how much i tried to keep my sugar in control there had been something wrong with the placenta. i had a little picture of a tear drop placed on my door and my blood pressure level sky rocketed and i was kept in the hospital for 5 days. i remember two wonderful nurses named rebecca and bonnie who came in even though they were both of duty to hold my hand while i gave birth. they cried with me and sat down and talked with me about how i was feeling and after i came home i got a letter in the mail from them both telling me if i ever needed them to just call and they'd be there. the following day and 2 weeks after i had a single rose delivered to my house every day and for that they both have a litttle piece of my heart. and lastily i just learned recently that my mother had breast cancer, liver cancer and lung cancer. how this happened i have no idea. she had been going to regular doctors appointments and still one day she called me with the news and i was heart broken. she is going for her first chemotherapy on the 26th of this month and i'll be there with her so she is not alone. i believe that being a nurse isnt just about doing your job but you have to be compassionate towards your patients and their families because i know that as many times as i've been in the hospital it means the world to people when they know someone cares and not just because its their job to do so but because they are genuine and thoughtful. so i'm begining college either in january or feburary of 2006 and i'm so happy to finally be able to do what i've wanted to since i was 8 years old.

~amber~

I saw an advertisement on the side of a city bus that said,

"Get your RN in 2.75 years."

I don't know why it appealed to me, but it did, so I wrote down the phone number of the school and the rest is history.

Oh, and by the way, it took me five years, but I was working full time and going to school part-time for my pre-requisites.

Hi Renee!...

I like your honesty...:) Sometimes that's all it takes, and then of course you find out that that IS what you want to do.

I also wanted to tell you that we have something in common...hehe...our Birthdays! December 21st! Very cool day..eh? not to mention it's the first day of Winter!!! oh..and my middle name is Renae. Though, I'm 42..but not for long....43 is RIGHT around the corner!!

BTW, since we're on the Nursing subject, how WAS school for you? Any subject(s) you find difficult and how did you deal with them? I'm not a nurse yet, I'm waiting for school to start in January to start taking my pre-reqs..then it's on the road to LPN or RN or maybe even BSN..if I can hack the Math and Science courses.

Was a Navy corpsman in the Fleet Marine Force.

I knew as a child I wanted to be a nurse. My dad is a nurse, my hero seem if it was good enough for him good enough for me. I graduated high school in 93. I didnt immediately go to school couldnt afford it life put on hold. Nov 20'97 I was in a horrible accident where I am lucky to be alive (i was t-boned driving my little sport car hit by a cadillac at 65mph, my car rolled down and embankment ... ) anyhow realizing how close I came to death. I thought damn i would of died at 23 and never accomplished the one dream i hadl. Needless to say the following September I started nursing school. thats my story.

Specializes in Cardiac/Telemetry.
since i was born ive had many medical problems and that is the main reason why i've chosen to become a nurse. at the age of 1 i had epileptic seizures and was flown immediately to john hopkins where i stayed for a year and that is where they diagnosed me with tuberous sclerosis. i don't know if many of you are familiar with it but it's a genetic disorder that leaves benign tumors either on your internal organs or in my case red benign tumors on my face. i was put on medicine for my seizures and had to report to john hopkins every week for tests to determine whether or not i was going to be mentally handicapped. most people born with tuberous sclerosis are so luckily for me i passed the tests and was considered average. i went through over the years many surgeries on my face and have a lot of experience with anestesiology. at the age of 8 years old i realized that i wanted to help people and it became a passion of mine over the years. at the age of 11 i was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. a year after that i began having kidney problems and am now on lipitor. after that at the age of 16 i was diagnosed with breast cancer as well as my mother furtunately both of us are still here and alive because of all the nurses and doctors who helped us through a rough time. they were kind and caring, always seeming to just be there to whenever you needed them to be. they were so compassionate and at the same time so thurough in what they were doing that i knew then that i would like to work with cancer patients one day. the nurse's were absolutely amazing. i began volunteering at the hospice house near the hospital a couple weeks after i found out that my cancer was in remission. about two years after that my uncle was diganosed with liver and pancreatic cancer. his wife at the time was a nurse at the local hospital and was actually working with cancer patients. after 7 years of medication, chemotheropy and feeling sick most days he finally passed on this past year. in the same month i was 5 months pregnant with my daughter, and being a diabetic plus having tuberous sclerosis meant that if i had my daughter in augest 12th my due date there could of been complications and there was a 75% chance she would have had tuberous sclerosis and be mentally handicapped. sadly i didnt' make it that far because april 28th i went to my doctors appointment and was told by my doctor that she was gone. her little heart just couldn't handle the complications my body was putting her through and at 5:31 am on the 29th my daughter was stillborn. we had an autopsy done and she was sent to a research lab. the autopsy showed that because i was a diabetic no matter how much i tried to keep my sugar in control there had been something wrong with the placenta. i had a little picture of a tear drop placed on my door and my blood pressure level sky rocketed and i was kept in the hospital for 5 days. i remember two wonderful nurses named rebecca and bonnie who came in even though they were both of duty to hold my hand while i gave birth. they cried with me and sat down and talked with me about how i was feeling and after i came home i got a letter in the mail from them both telling me if i ever needed them to just call and they'd be there. the following day and 2 weeks after i had a single rose delivered to my house every day and for that they both have a litttle piece of my heart. and lastily i just learned recently that my mother had breast cancer, liver cancer and lung cancer. how this happened i have no idea. she had been going to regular doctors appointments and still one day she called me with the news and i was heart broken. she is going for her first chemotherapy on the 26th of this month and i'll be there with her so she is not alone. i believe that being a nurse isnt just about doing your job but you have to be compassionate towards your patients and their families because i know that as many times as i've been in the hospital it means the world to people when they know someone cares and not just because its their job to do so but because they are genuine and thoughtful. so i'm begining college either in january or feburary of 2006 and i'm so happy to finally be able to do what i've wanted to since i was 8 years old.

~amber~

amber, i think you are one, if not the, most brave person i have ever met or had the pleasure of hearing his/her story. i pray that god gives you the strength you need to overcome the problems you are facing and the ones the obstacles you will face. god bless you and good luck in your studies.:redpinkhe :heartbeat

Randy they stopped by here and want their probe back. You know which one!

I worked for a bank as a branch manager. My office was down sized and I was told I had to move to another state. HA! My wife had a great job so I went back to school did 2 more years of general pre-med stuff, took the MCAT and decided I did not want to be a 'medical monk', divorced and a week-end dad. So I went to nursing school. Became a 'nursing student monk(EY)' , somehow stayed married and was a everyother weekend dad due to the hospitals staffing of working everyother week-end and everyother holiday. Did I make the right choice or what!?!?

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