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.

My mom was in a horrible car accident when i was 10, so i was her "nurse" helping her get in and out bed, fixing her things to eat, helping her clean/dress her wounds. after taking care of her, i knew i wanted to take car of other people.

I was dropped on my head as an infant....true story.

LOL!

Specializes in ER.

As a kid I wanted to be a veterinarian. That changed when I learned how much schooling you had to go through for not that great of pay, and now hearing stories of animal abuse completely breaks my heart. There's no way I would have made it as a vet. So I started thinking of the next best thing. If I can't help the animals, I'll help humans. ;) I have always been interested in the human body and death (I know that probably sounds weird) and it just seemed right.

OH - and I'm sooooooo sick of wearing business attire everyday. I'm ready for some scrubs! LOL ;)

Believe it or not, this is what I was destined to do! I started in this direction when I was a 17, taking an ROP nurses aide class. I absolutely loved my teacher, Ms Hampton RN, as she had been in the field for years and still possessed this wonderful compassion for the patients. Long story even longer, I fell in love and married my high school sweetheart spent the next 11 1/2 years raising children. Needless to say my nursing career got put on hold. At 30 I spent time as a car salesperson, all the while I had that nagging feeling (or Divine Intervention :) that I had to help people. I had two more jobs where I had that same feeling. So, here I am, 34, I just graduated LVN school in May and am anxiously (if not miserably) awaiting the results of boards. I took the NCLEX PN on July 12th and called CA BON Aug 7th only to be told that my results were processed Aug 2nd. So, in a nutshell, I am definately headed in the right direction and enjoying ( if not painstakingly) every step of the way !!

:devil: the money
Specializes in ICU, CVICU, E.R..

I became a nurse coz all my friends were taking it. I'm glad they were my friends!!

When I graduated from high school nursing never even crossed my mind... not a very "manly" job. I was looking at becoming an M.D., but at the time, it seemed like too much time and money. Wound up as a medic for 6 years, burnt out and got out. Got into computer work. Did PC/network repair, programming, etc. for the next 4 years or so... Then my dad got sick and for the last week or so of his life, he had a male nurse in the CCU. Watching that guy work not only changed my perspective on nursing, but it reminded me of why I got into the medical field in the first place. One month later I quit my job and went back to school for my ASN. I worked full time and went to school full time... had a lot of trouble switching mindsets from medic to nurse... I personally thought nursing school was much harder than paramedic school. Anyway, wound up in a CCU, and I've been there since.

When i left the secondary school, i never thought of nursing. Although my mum's a nurse;she never for once tried to influence my thought. It was my dad (a registered surveyor)who encouraged me encouraged me to go for nursing which I later did( he didn't coerce me ). Since then I have not regretted being into nursing. I found out that it's a way of serving God and humanity being a nurse. The uttmost thing is that one has a job fulfilment and job satisfaction; i.e you are doing what you like and that one is pushed into it whether by another person or by frustration.

Specializes in Medical, pediatric and surgical.

I was an avid fan of my pediatrician, everytime i went for check-ups or my shots, i would always want to be like him. Everytime i saw nurses in the hospitals, they give me such an angelic image. And so i said I would like to be a doctor. But when i was about to enter college i realizd that my family's income couldn't support us, much more take medicine. So I decided to just take nursing, blessedly, my brother was able to get a job overseas and he helped my father finance my nursing course.

My family insisted that I go to nursing school :studyowl: instead of flying back to Dubai for an Administrative position at an HR in a multinational company ( i was actually promoted from an Admin Asst to PA of the HR Manager). To make the long story short, I readily accept the offer:roll , earned the degree in two years :mortarboard: since my first degree carried some subjects that were all credited to my nursing school. I am now in Vancouver , preparing for my CRNE:sleep: . I am crossing my fingers off that all will fall accordingly in God's time for me and the family that i care so much about at present. I never find nursing difficult, instead I find it challenging and exciting. Challenging in the sense that I had to hurdle some tasks I was so afraid to do in the past (bloody stuff et al) and exciting because the experience taught me a lot of things which I will carry in my heart forever. Nursing made me open my eyes to see both sides of the world:yelclap: ......it made me stronger :pumpiron: and more compassionate:loveya: .

The reason why I'm becoming a nurse is because I want a career that is in high demand and offers steady employment.

I'm still a nursing student, still sweating over my pharmacology exam mark! But I guess I'll share something.

As a kid, I wanted to be a doctor. But learning how long it would take for me to finish medicine, and how expensive it would be, I soon shifted my interest to other things... such as the arts. Actually, right before I finished high school I had made up my mind to become a teacher, but my parents firmly discouraged it. So, confused, i just went along with my other friends who were all submitting entrance exam results to the college of nursing. Just to see if I could get in, I submitted mine too. And I got in. And because I did not submit my results to any other colleges, I figured that I might as well get along with it.

So as expected, I took my first two years rather easily and I guess I barely gave that much effort. However, now in my third year, i've been bombarded with all sorts of requirements and hospital duties that i've grown so stressed, i decided to take things seriously. Recently, also, I've fallen in love with psychiatric nursing (among other things) and I'm planning to pursue this interest.

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