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.

Specializes in NICU, Telephone Triage.

When I was graduating high school, my dad was looking in the classifieds and said "Looks like nurses make pretty good money." I thought I wanted to be a teacher, but decided to check out nursing because of my dad's statement.

I started out as a CNA, then went to nursing school. Graduated at 22 years old and I've been a nurse since 1989. Yikes! I'm glad I have medical knowledge because my dad was very ill since I graduated high school and I was able to help out with some things with doctors and hospitals he had to deal with.

He passed away last September and I will always remember how I started with my career, with guidance from my dad. He always said education was very important.

I took him on a tour of my NICU one time and he was fascinated...by the little things like weighing a tiny baby and passing an OG tube. He was proud of me and my profession. I will always be thankful for my dad's advice to become a nurse.:nuke:

I believe because my mother died at a tender age and it was so mysterious, I could never stop why and what she died from, made more aware of the physiology of man,death and dying then developed in wellness. jcrlpn:cheers:

Honestly. To meet women. I know, what a pig. But now I really care about the patients.

family wanted me to be a nurse hated it in the begining but THANK GOD! i LOVE IT NOW!

It probably had something to do w/ my grandmother always reminding everyone that nurses where about the only people who had steady jobs during the depression. Funny- there was even a nursing shortage back then.

I helped my 2 younger sisters through nursing school and then remarried. At age 35 or so, I volunteered at a local hospital in a recovery room ( now called PACU) and thought this is the career I want to be in. I had not even taken college entrance exams and so went through the whole show of prereqs and all....Now here I am 24 years later and still loving it. Although I am in admin being a manager, coordinator, director for almost 20 plus years, I can still start a mean IV and give chemo and can walk the med/surg long hallways with the best of the young nurses. I love my profession and would not change it for well almost anything.

Just to start everyone off, Im 16 years old, still in high-school.......The day my niece was born Jan. 5th,2004 is when I wanted to be a nurse. I was in the 8th grade then, Im now in the very end of 10th grade. I was not in the room when my niece was born, I was in a little room connected to the delivery room so I heard everything. Minutes after my niece was born, my brother brought her out and showed her to everyone but I was one of the first to see her. She was absolutely beautiful. I could not wait to have a niece and finally I had one. Just watching the nurses take care of my sister-in-law through the whole process was amazing. They were so kind hearted and gentle and understanding. After the baby was born I went down to the nursery and watched the nurses weigh her and measure her and they held her up to the window. Shes my life and I love her to death. I now have another niece, shes 5 months old. When I started high-school last year I started in a nursing program and learned so much and this year Im learning a lot more. Endocrine system, nervous system, different functions of the brain, heart, respiratory system, its all amazing. I think I have what it takes to one day become a nurse. Recently my health hasnt been "up to par", by this I mean since Novemeber of last year. Ive been in and out of doctors offices, had an upper GI done (that was gross) and been in the emergency room. I was so consumed in the medical aspects of being in the ER I didnt care about the pain. They did an IV, which didnt hurt because I was too interested in watching how they did it, they did a cathedar (wasnt fun at all) and I helped do my EKG. But my point is, I am deeply in awe of this profession and will do anything and everything in my power to become a great nurse. I will be graduating high-school on May 20,2008 and couldnt be more excited.

I became a CNA in 2000 right after my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. At the time I was working in a sawblade factory. I didn't give up my factory job after I got my CNA because the pay was substantially better there. I didn't have any brothers or sisters to help with Mom, and I was afraid that her health might get so bad that I would have to quit work to take care of her. I just needed something to fall back on. Well, fast-forward five years, and the factory where I work at closes down. We are offerred the opportunity to go to school free of charge because our plant shut down due to overseas production. The only career that I could think of was that I wanted to be a nurse. I had spent the past five years with my mother in countless physician's offices and hospitals. The thing that I remembered the most was the way the nurses treated my mother. When my mother's spirit was at it lowest point, I saw how a particular nurse could come in and give her a hug and just talk to her. It changed her whole outlook. I guess I wanted to give something back for all the great care that my mother has received. I've seen how overworked and often unappreciated the nurses are, and they still keep giving of themselves to their patient's. I just wanted to be part of a wonderful group like this. I've just finished my first year of nursing school, and my mother (who is a fighter) is my biggest fan. I pray that I can be a credit to this great profession.

Geez, this is a long story. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to take care of people. My mom was married to a very aggressive ( and abusive) husband, who would constantly run her down, insult her, and sad to say, but send her to the Emergency Room. My uncle ( paternal side) and his wife worked in the emergency room at which my mother frequented ( she had so many frequent flyer miles, she could've gone around the world and back). They would try to help her, help her realize that where she was in her life wasn't healthy, and it wasn't good for my siblings and I, but as you know, the circle of violence is hard to break. This guy was a complete a@@. My mom had us fairly young, and probably didn't have the financial means to support us, so she stayed with this guy for 12 years. She busted her butt to get through nursing school. I was left a lot of times to take care of my younger sisters, but I knew that as soon as she was done with school, my nightmare would end. Well...she finished school....but she didn't leave him ( at least not when she said she would). His violence soon started to spread to the 3 of us. So, I left. I moved in with my bio-dad, whom I didn't have much of a realtionship with ( long story, mom thought she was doing the best thing, turns out, she probably wasn't). I was told that I had to get a job to pay rent. I went to school during the days, and worked the afternoon shift at a LTC as a CNA. That got old, I got so burned out. I pushed my pyschological problems into engery that allowed me to truley care about somebody else. Nobody saw what I was really going through, and I didn't think anybody cared. I paid rent to live with my bio-dad, my mom wasn't speaking to me, all I really had I thought was my patients at work, and my ailing grandparents. I had told my grandmother that someday, I would go to nursing school, and after that, I would make it a point to help somebody like my mom, in hopes of preventing children who had gone through what I had. Unfortunately, after high school, there was no money for college. As much as I loved ( and still do) being a CNA, you can't live on that money. So...bound and determined, I went to the Army Recruiter. I enlisted 3 weeks after walking into his office. I was supposed to be Medic, but there's a clause called "Needs of the Army" and I went commo instead. ( That pissed me off, but in a way, the Army rescued me from a lot of things). Fast forward a couple of deployments, I met my husband, whom, really was my best friend above all other things, we get married, then we find out our unit was headed back to Iraq, we *thought* no sweat, we've done this before, we'll go...together, and make the best of it. No such luck, I go to get an Anthrax shot, and bam! my pregnancy test lights up like a christmas tree, I was pregnant. SO.....a few months later, I decide not to get out because I had had a baby, but because, I feel like now's the time to finally pursue something I've waited years to do. You know, the truth of it is, it is a calling, it's a calling to do the absolute MOST you can do to make somebody more comfortable, to watch out for them when they can't, to help them understand things that otherwise, they might not be able to. My hopes, wherever I find myself ( I am thinking CNM/WHCNP) in whichever specialty, is that, I can be a nurse who truely listens, and understands, and takes a genuine interest in not only the physical well-being, but emotional as well.

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.

You are such a strong woman, my thoughts, prayers and well wishes are with you.

Hello everyone.I'm new to this stuff......But,eventually as I said,being a Nurse is a tough and real hard work,especially if you come from a family of doctors.The competition on being on top achiever,is a peer pressure and

stressful.That's why I'm into it.

i always wanted to be in the medical field...as something...but i never wanted to be a nurse! my younger sister was always the one that wanted to be the nurse! but, yet, here i am - a student lpn at the ripe old age of 40! think i'm too old for med school?

+ Join the Discussion