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 Paediatric Cardic critical care.

I fell into it by accident really; I was at college, hating every minute and was advised to have a careers interview...

So there I am answering the questions and she put my details into a computer and there it was... nursing! I was like, are you sure? My mums a nurse and I thought we were nothing alike really up until this point. Anyway to cut a long story short I went straight home, rang the uni for an application, quit college the next day and was on my first day of training 3 months later! And very luckily I loved it!

A lot of my intake dropped out, the ones who had said it was there life long dream but I think probably because I knew what my mum used to come home covered in and how knackered she was etc I prob had more of an insite than I thought.

So... thats me!

To care for people, and make a difference! Then I woke up!

Specializes in Emergency Medicine.

I dropped out of high school to join the Navy. I used to love "Combat" and the medic in the series seemed to always do good. Many of our good men were being killed in Viet-Nam so I went to be a Navy Corpsman. I wanted to do my part to safe lifes as I did my service in the Navy. I've been able to provide medical care on "land, sea, air and undersea." (4 ships, several Navy Hospitals and branch clinics, an air-ambulance unit, and a nuke submarine ) Now I'm an RN, thanks to my Navy training. After 10 years as an RN, I am a nursing supervisor in California's prison system. I had over 20 years as a Psychiatric Technician and 8 years as an LVN. I've seen many changes over the years, and look forward to my last few years as a full time nurse. I am glad I became a nurse. I love it. I plan to retire when I hit 55, but will continue on a travel assignement each spirng for another 6-10 years.

Specializes in Geriatrics, med/surg, LTC surveyor.

I always knew from a small child that I was going to be a nurse. I would nurse sick animals back to health. My mother had been a NA her whole career so I was exposed to the medical field at a very young age. When I was 13, I was in a car accident and suffered a fractured skull. I spent some time in the hospital and the nurses were really nice. Then at 15, I once again was in bad accident (not driving). I suffered multiple breaks in my pelvis. I was in a hospital bed, flat on my back for two weeks. I had the sweetest nurse. She was wonderful, and I wanted to be just like her. I also took care of my sister who was seriously hurt in the accident for several years.

Anyway, I worked at McDonalds until I was old enough to work as an NA and went to college. I have been a nurse since I was 19. There was no other option for me.

hello! becoming a nurse is a dream unfulfilled for me... i was denied of the opportunity because i got pregnant right after i passed my license.my hubby never let me work since then...i missed everything about my career.it's so sad that i was not able to exercise it..and i guess, it is one of the reasons why i feel so empty these days.now,my husband is in the us..i'll be with him,soon.i could see the possibility of continuing my career there.i'm excited ,at the same time very afraid and reluctant because i feel as though i am left behind ,far far behind.imagine,15 yrs of being stagnant!can i still make it?

I had always wanted to be a nurse but with 3 small children thought my wants did not matter. Anyways the children grew up and my mom was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. I took care of her until the end and decided if I was able to insert pain medication lady partslly to my mother I could handle anything else thrown at me by other patients. I applied and was accepted to nursing school, and by the way took my middle child with me. We graduated in 2003 (I was 46) and work together for Veterans Affairs Medical Center. My dad was a WWII vet and that's the only place I wanted to work. We both LOVE our jobs and know we made the right decision.

hello! becoming a nurse is a dream unfulfilled for me... i was denied of the opportunity because i got pregnant right after i passed my license.my hubby never let me work since then...i missed everything about my career.it's so sad that i was not able to exercise it..and i guess, it is one of the reasons why i feel so empty these days.now,my husband is in the us..i'll be with him,soon.i could see the possibility of continuing my career there.i'm excited ,at the same time very afraid and reluctant because i feel as though i am left behind ,far far behind.imagine,15 yrs of being stagnant!can i still make it?

you are never to old to achieve your dreams, i was 46 when i graduated nursing school. go for it and goodluck.

I didn't consider becoming a nurse until I had a tragedy in my life. It was in the hospital when my husband broke his neck and become a c-2 vent dependent quad that I realized that there were a lot of nurses out there that had such little compassion for their patients and their families It was then that I realized I not only had to support my family, but I also knew that if I did become a nurse I would not be the cold hearted "bitches" that some of them were. Of course there were the nurses that were amazing and compassionate that went above and beyond their jobs and tried to make the 4 month stay in the hospital managable, but there were those that made nurse Ratchet look like an angel.

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
hello! becoming a nurse is a dream unfulfilled for me... i was denied of the opportunity because i got pregnant right after i passed my license.my hubby never let me work since then...i missed everything about my career.it's so sad that i was not able to exercise it..and i guess, it is one of the reasons why i feel so empty these days.now,my husband is in the us..i'll be with him,soon.i could see the possibility of continuing my career there.i'm excited ,at the same time very afraid and reluctant because i feel as though i am left behind ,far far behind.imagine,15 yrs of being stagnant!can i still make it?

the fact that you are asking us, makes me think your uncertainty may come from the way you let your husband tell you what to do with your life.

it's so important that you have self confidence in nursing, that i'd like to suggest that you take assertion training. that would enable you to have the courage of your convictions, when faced with a doctor who wants you to do something or give a dose of something that isn't correct.

the nursing board in your state has some stringent requirements, and may want you to take a refresher course (not a bad idea).

while i worked in fields away from my specialty (obstetrics) for the past 8

years, i returned to it and found many things had changed (for the better). there's better equipment and tests and meds for preventing preterm labor. i'm sure there are changes in every specialty that you'd want to know about before diving right in.

so thoroughly investigate what it will take to bring you up to date, take the course, which may be called something else now (my information on it comes from "conscienceness raising" times, in the '70s). there must be another name for it, and probably it's easier to do. that will certainly get you feeling full of you, rather than empty. usually feeling empty has more to do with your frame of mind, rather than lacking work you wanted to do before marriage, and gave up for someone else.

best of luck.:yeah:

Specializes in med/surg.

I became a nurse because I wanted to teach people how to better take care of themselves. Especially after watching my grandfather die from uncontrolled diabetes. Since becomming a nurse I have never been so miserable in my life. I absolutely hate my job. I still treat my patients with dignity and respect and do my job to the best of my ability but I still hate my job. And by the way the phrase "nurses eat their young is so true." I have been chewed up and spit out so many times during the last 6 months it is rediculous. No wonder the turn over rate for new nurses is so high. We have no support, we get abuse by our patients just like the rest of the staff, but even worse we get abused by the seasoned nurses we are supposed to be able to turn to and depend on as part of our team. There is no I in team but there is an m and an e and I have just learned to keep to myself. The term I have come to use is pathetisad. However, I'm not giving up yet, I worked too hard to get to where I am.

No, don't give up Bethmerle, nurses do eat their young, I've experienced it. Just unbelievable and shocking to me.

There is so much to learn when you first start working as a nurse. There is no way you can learn everything you need to know in nursing school. People, instead of being supportive, can use your lack of knowledge as a weapon to make you feel inadequate.

I think assertiveness training would help me.

I wanted to help people. I'm a caregiver by nature. I graduated at age 48, however, and quickly burned out. Management was toxic, I had some bad experiences. I'm coasting right now, still would like to be a nurse, but so disillusioned...:(

+ Join the Discussion