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.

When my sister was in 6th grade and I was in 8th she was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and rushed into emergency surgery because she had a total bowel obstruction. We lived in and out of Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio for quite some time due to all her complications with flare ups, bleeds, and more surgery. She was on TPN at home for almost a year and I really fell in love with nursing and most of all pediatrics. I learned alot while helping take care of her. :nurse: I'm now 25 and currently a nurse educator and staff nurse on a Step Down Unit. I've worked at Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital and CHKD in Norfolk, VA. I still love peds and can't wait to get back with kids. They have been such an inspiration in my life.

hey guys, i've been wanting to be a nurse since i was six years old, and now that im soon to graduate from high school, i am going to pursue nursing school as dreamed and i have to fill out a self-appraisal form to get in. i'm looking for some inspiration for the questions on the form becuase i am finding them somewhat difficult. i was hoping i could get some comments from your guys becuase you are nurses and probably have already filled out this form or something close to it. i will list the 3 questions hoping to get help from you guys so i can fill the form out the best way i can.

1. Briefly describe any interests, hobbies, and volunteer work in which you are/have been involved. Note the type and extent of your involvement.

2. Describe your strengths and a situation that relfects your use of these strengths.

3. What particular aspects of nursing most interest you?

any comments at all are more than welcomed, you can email me if you want to it should show my email address somewhere, i can't post it because i don't think i'm allowed. thanks guys. :)

-Ashley

Lost a bet and ended up here.... Not really. I used to fight fires and pull people out of snow filled ditches. I was seeking heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.

Believe it or not I was a lazy college freshman at Mizzou with very little ambition. My best friend and roommate was ultra organized and driven. She was sure she wanted to go to nursing school so I thought what the heck I will too. She was always on top of all our pre-requisite reqiurements and would always keep me on track with gentle "Did you finish your paper yet?", or "Have you registered for statistics yet?" reminders. It was all well and good until the unthinkable happened. We actually applied to the school of nursing and I got accepted and she did not. Oh the irony!!! How crappy I felt as the underachiever. But alas all ended well I learned to be responsible for myself and my sweet friend got accepted the semester behind me. Now I have her to thank for getting me entangled in this maddening profession!!!

When I first began, I started out as a Paramedic because I wouldnt need all the prereqs to finish. I loved being a medic, did it for 11 years. Seen and did more than the majority of all the RNs I work with (with exception of the trauma RN's). A teacher once said that RN's "eat their young", now I know what she meant! I am now looking into Forensic Nursing, as I think it will be more rewarding.

I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was a small child. My favorite aunt was a nurse and my grandfather was a doctor. It took almost 10 years after graduating high school to finally go back to nursing schoo, but I am so glad I did. I have worked in adult med-surg (yuk), pediatrics (love it), NICU (love it), newborn nursery (love it), office nursing (love it), case management (ok), and did chart review for toxic tort litigation (very interesting but no patient contact). I'm now back in pediatric nursing as a CLincial Nurse Manager and LOVE it - some clinical, some management. I also spent time (13 years) as a VOlunteer Medic and LOVED every minute of that. It is SO different from nursing, but I was glad I had the nursing skills solid before I started Paramedic school! I have a certificate in Forensic Nursing and would LOVE to find a job where I could use those skills, but they aren't easy to come by.

Would I tell someone to become a nurse? Probably, but I would make sure I explained about the long nights in school and after starting work, about the death and the life that you see, about the times you cry and the times you laugh and about all you do that you never thought you could. Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat!!!!!:nurse: :nurse: :nurse:

I will be starting an evening ADN program this fall. I'm a paramedic & a federal social worker & I have wanted to be an RN since I met some seriously bad-ass US Navy RN's while serving in the Marines. They were just as tough as me, could drink like me & fight like me ---- that was when I knew it would be "OK" to be a "tough-guy" AND an RN. :roll

Got into med school, but decided that wasn't for me (neither law school either) --- have wanted to be an RN & nothing else will suffice. Can't get thru school fast enough -- the ER's I have worked in as an EMT-P will hire me the second I pass the NCLEX !

I'm a registered nurse from Singapore.

Got into the nursing course because my O levels didnt actually qualify me into any other courses in the local polytechnic. It sounds so stupid. Initially, when I got accepted into the nursing course, I thought that only "idiots" or people whom had no other choices ended up being a nurse. Most people in Singapore, esp the elderly, thinks that nurses are dumb, their main responsibilites are to clean up the mess that the patients created and be a maid to the doctors. To them, only the doctors are considered GODs.

It was only after the post SARS period that the public started to see nurses as a noble profession.

I wasnt a good student, ended up retaking some of my written examinations and often skipped classes. Fortunately for me, I managed to graduate in time, secured myself a fantastic dialysis job and finished my part time degree.

Perhaps, to me, nursing was a job meant for me. From the initial hate for nursing, I started to love it and am so proud being a nurse. Nursing isnt just a job, its more than a job, its a job which is extremely rewarding.

I can never see myself doing anything else besides nursing. :nurse:

My partner was diagnosed with a GIST and basically was overwhelmed by the professionalism shown by all the staff, especially in the ICU. Gave up teaching and am now in my first year of training to be a nurse - I love it so far.

Specializes in ER.

I became a nurse because my mom is a nurse, my grandma was a nurse and i have about 15 relatives that are nurses (my grandma had 18 children...Irish catholic) Also, my brothr had leukemia, he passed away when I was 13, prior to that he had been ill for 5 years with the disease. I remember how he would go to Childrens Hosp in Pittsburgh, and was always so sick. But when he was there, even if my parents could not be (he was ther for months at a time, so my mom had to come home sometimes), anyway, the nurses made him feel safe. They took away some of his pain, and they always were there for him. I wanted to help people like that. Also, while my mom was there, all of the nurses that she worked with donated their vacation time to her so she could get a paycheck and still be with my brother. Thant told me that nurses are special people, and genuine nurses really live with their heart on their sleeve. and I am proud to call myself one.

nursing is not my first choice actually.......first, i take up nutrition same as my moms profession, then after 2 years my uncle suggested that why not nursing......since he was now a us citizen he sponsored my tuition in pursuing my nursing degree i dont have any choice but to grab the oppurtunity since ita chance for a lifetime........

Great stories! Mine - of course isn't so exciting and probably some can relate. Intially wanted to go to med school - started premed, came across nursing while working as an EMT during school. So I applied to the SON, got in and don't regret one moment the track that I went. During nursing school, I realized I wanted to go further in nursing, so now in NP school and loving every bit of it! NURSES ARE THE BEST & WE NEED TO STICK TOGETHER! :1luvu:

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