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 ave been a Lpn for 11 years. I went back to school having a 4 yr old and 1 yr old. My reasons for chosing nursing were financial. I researched what I could go back to school for, the amt of time it would take, and how much money I could make. Ihave improved the quality of our lives and I have profession I love.

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

When I was 6 or 7 yrs old my father was diagnosed with cancer.He lived for 6 years with one complication after another.I have never forgotten the kindness shown to me by the various nurses,therapists etc that I came into contact with and I wanted to be just like them when I grew up...I try to keep them in mind-no matter how swamped I get I always make time for a pat on the arm or some other sign of support for a family member that looks overwhelmed........

Specializes in LTC, Subacute Rehab.

It's either nursing or the convent

Seriously?

I could go on listing all sorts of pat reasons: I love caring for people; I'm fascinated with the human body; bodily fluids don't faze me.

It's all that, but I must say that I grew up entranced by nursing caps and the nobility I perceived in the entire profession.

Specializes in Elderly, Infection Management.

The human body, to me, is a miracle. Its fascinating. I found it hard to get my head round the fact that each part of our body relys upon other parts of the body functioning properly.

Having had a few health problems, i owe very much everythjng to everyone who has helped me and never gave up, even when i did. I was diagnosed with diabetes 12 years ago and finally now i am controlling things and on an even keel for the first time and i can feel my body responding to the hard work. I have energy (Yay!). I suffered with eating disorders at the same time. when these two were too hard to cope with, the help i got from nurses, doctors, psychiatrists, consultants, specialist nurses, dieticians etc quite literally saved my life. I have always wanted to be a nurse. But this gives me the chance to give alot back. I don't feel like i have to, but i know i will. Especially with the eating disorders because many many many people don't get the help that i had, and i know this, so its important to me that help is there when they want it.

Everything about the body and mind is fascinating and there's always understanding to get to grip with. Thats why i began in nursing.

im not a full time nurse. but i am a certified nurses aide and the reason why i took up cna it taught me how to have respect for others. plus i was going thro abuse during my life.

im not a full time nurse. but i am a certified nurses aide and the reason why i took up cna it taught me how to have respect for others. plus i was going thro abuse during my life. but i really love working with people. its the love of christ that is in me amen

my story is i didn't know what i wanted to be when i was growing up at one point i wanted to be a doctor, then a nurse, then back to being a doctor then i ended up being a computer programmer (yikes!) . so i tried working in computers for 6 long years. yet on the back of my mind i always wanted to help people. you know be there for people and taking care of them. i was toying about the idea of nursing for the past couple years. so weeks ago i applied for nursing course (finally got the guts to do it but i still had doubts if it will work and had questions in the back of my mind)

late last week, i finally got the answer when one of my chruchmates new born baby had a big hole in his heart. doctors were not confident the child would survive. he was so frail. he was heavily sedated and he was turning blue too. (his toenails where black and might be cutoff) yet on the third week that the doctors said he will not make it and the parent had to make the decision. me and my church prayed for the little boy. i was there and saw how dedicated the nurses were helping the mother and father. i knew then that this is it. i want to save lives especially babies. i have never been so excited in my life. i'm really really hoping to get in this fall 2006. i only applied to two schools but i am still looking for cheaper ones. god willing this dream will come true

Hi everyone,

I am new here and am taking pre-req's for my BSN(Have just stared my final semester). Although I am not a nurse yet, I wanted to share my story as to why I want to get into nursing.

6 years ago my husband was involved in a severe automobile accident, 1 block from our home and was rushed to the local hospital. He had suffered massive head trauma. After waiting in the waiting room for about 5 minutes--worried sick--this tiny lady walks toward me. I remember looking down at her name tag and realized she was a nurse. She had the saddest look on her face and kindly tells me that she had lost her husband 4 years earlier and that if there was anything she could do for me to feel free to call her day or night. She then hands me a business card. As she walked away I found the strength in me to speak up and told her that I was not being allowed to see my husband and I would do anything to say goodbye. I had been told earlier by a doctor that he was going to surgery and the chances of him surving were extremly slim. (half of his cranium had been crushed and he had sever swelling in his brain, both of his lungs had collapsed, his kidney had ruptured and his left leg had been completly torn off, and to top it all off my husband was taking blood thinners and he had so much internal bleeding that they couldn't establish were it was coming from). There was nothing left to the car at all. She looked at me and said, "I am the RN here on staff tonite and if I lose my job, I will make sure that you get the opportunity to see your husband before they take him upstairs, they will have to fire me before I take no for an answer." She walks away and a few seconds later returns and leads me into the room were at an entire team of people were diligently(sp?) trying to save a man that they all knew in their hearts would not live. They all stepped away as I leaned down and wiped the blood from his face and told him good bye and that I loved him. The doctor handing me his wedding ring and I left the room. My husband died in surgery 30 minutes later. I don't know if my husband heard me, But I will never forget the nurse and staff who gave me the opportunity to tell my husband how much he meant to me. I don't know if she even remembers me or even knows how much her kindness helped me in the darkest times of my life after his death. But I will always remember her. She inspires me everyday, everytime I am taking a class and feel overwhelmed, everytime I have to answer a question from my seven year old son about his father and how he died, every time I fall and pick myself up I think of that tiny little er nurse.

God bless you all and I hope I make it through all of the pre-reqs and into the program so I can repay the kindness to another lost soul.

Hi everyone,

I am new here and am taking pre-req's for my BSN(Have just stared my final semester). Although I am not a nurse yet, I wanted to share my story as to why I want to get into nursing.

6 years ago my husband was involved in a severe automobile accident, 1 block from our home and was rushed to the local hospital. He had suffered massive head trauma. After waiting in the waiting room for about 5 minutes--worried sick--this tiny lady walks toward me. I remember looking down at her name tag and realized she was a nurse. She had the saddest look on her face and kindly tells me that she had lost her husband 4 years earlier and that if there was anything she could do for me to feel free to call her day or night. She then hands me a business card. As she walked away I found the strength in me to speak up and told her that I was not being allowed to see my husband and I would do anything to say goodbye. I had been told earlier by a doctor that he was going to surgery and the chances of him surving were extremly slim. (half of his cranium had been crushed and he had sever swelling in his brain, both of his lungs had collapsed, his kidney had ruptured and his left leg had been completly torn off, and to top it all off my husband was taking blood thinners and he had so much internal bleeding that they couldn't establish were it was coming from). There was nothing left to the car at all. She looked at me and said, "I am the RN here on staff tonite and if I lose my job, I will make sure that you get the opportunity to see your husband before they take him upstairs, they will have to fire me before I take no for an answer." She walks away and a few seconds later returns and leads me into the room were at an entire team of people were diligently(sp?) trying to save a man that they all knew in their hearts would not live. They all stepped away as I leaned down and wiped the blood from his face and told him good bye and that I loved him. The doctor handing me his wedding ring and I left the room. My husband died in surgery 30 minutes later. I don't know if my husband heard me, But I will never forget the nurse and staff who gave me the opportunity to tell my husband how much he meant to me. I don't know if she even remembers me or even knows how much her kindness helped me in the darkest times of my life after his death. But I will always remember her. She inspires me everyday, everytime I am taking a class and feel overwhelmed, everytime I have to answer a question from my seven year old son about his father and how he died, every time I fall and pick myself up I think of that tiny little er nurse.

God bless you all and I hope I make it through all of the pre-reqs and into the program so I can repay the kindness to another lost soul.

wow..... I think you are an inspiration to all of us already in the nursing field. You took a very tragic situation and are able to see something positive, and to turn it into something positive to benefit others with your care. Stories like yours remind us why we love to do what we do, and how much we really can make a difference. Best wishes.

Why didI become a nurse?

I tried a few different "hats" when I turned 18. None of them really felt right. Then I got married and had two kids. I thought I'd be a stay at home mom but I want ed something more. Nursing offered me a flexibility that other careers didn't. I made one of the best decisions of my life. I love what I do and couldn't imagine doing anything else. Even when I have poop on my shoes and blood on my lab jacket, I feel like I made a difference today!

S:balloons:

Specializes in Almost everywhere.

My mom was a nurse and many people assume that is why I became one also, but when I was 9, my appendix ruptured and I had to have surgery at a small community hospital. The DON there was a very sweet woman and was very kind to me because she knew I was scared and hurting. I was scared to death of surgery (you know the going to sleep and never waking up thing). This nurse promised me that she would be right there with me and when I woke up, she'd be there too. Unfortunately, right before OR she had to ride the squad with a patient to the city and she told me this and she didn't know if she would be back when I woke up, but she would try. Sure enough, when I woke up minus the rotten appendix, she was there...unfortunately I greeted her by hurling on her shoes. Nonetheless, she cleaned everything up and stayed with me the rest of the day.

I will never forget her...she was the kindest, most angelic person I knew. I wanted to be just like her. She died quite a few years ago from ovarian CA. She is missed by all!

Beary

When I was in my early teenage years I stayed with my grandparents most of the time. Both of them were in bad health. My grandfather had a stroke and would not let anyone help him except me. He would only take his meds and eat if I told him to. It was his wish that I would become a nurse when I got old enough. I tried other things, but kept being led back to nursing. I have now been a nurse for 28 years and can't think of anything else I would like to do.

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