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 Cardiac.

April 19th, 2005 (Age 26) - After playing outside for a few hours I came home took a shower and started having abdominal pain

April 20th-21st - Nausea and constipation started. I thought it was the stomach flu. Pain got pretty bad, however I have a very high tolerance, and told myself if it wasn't getting better by the 22nd, I'd go to the doctor.

April 22nd - Pain subsided, felt much better, no more nausea but still constipated with high fever.

April 23rd - Pain back, much worse than ever. Doubled over almost all day, finally drove myself to hospital around 5pm. I'll never forget the look on the ER nurse's face when she asked me who came with me to the hospital. I told her I drove myself. She looked like I had just told her that I was an alien from Pluto.

Was in surgery within an hour of walking into ER doors, ruptured appendix, peritonitis, sepsis. Turns out when the pain went away on the 22nd, it was because it had ruptured. After five days in the hospital, I was getting cabin fever. Spent over two weeks in hospital, when they let me out, wbc was still > 12,000.

I had always considered nursing, even when I was just out of high school, but the care I received from the nursing staff in that visit made decide to ante up and do it.

Specializes in Respiratory.

I wanted to become a nurse from the age of 9 but have pictures of myself age 5 in a nurses outfit.I remember as a kid i was facinated by pills and was always pretending to give pills to my dolls. I was also always facinated with chemists and all the different tablets, lotions and potions on offer. Funnily enough giving out medications is probably one of the jobs i least enjoy now! I still love the job but wish there wasn't as much paper work as there is now. Sometimes i feel that patients are neglected in order to get all the paper work completed before the end of the shift.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

I stated as a CNA because it was a job that I could make a reasonable wage at with a minumum [3 weeks] of training. After five years I decided to go to school to pursue my RN, mostly thanks to a truly terrible nurse. She was one of those lazy nurses that rode the desk all day. We CNA's did her treatments during cares, took care of our 2 tube fed residents [i really think they would have starved to death without us] and passed her meds [at least she set them up herself]! I figured since I was doing most of her job anyway I might as well go to school and get her wage. I do thank that awful nurse because getting my degree was the best decision I could have made! I am now a nursing supervisor in that same facility, been there 14 years and counting. Of course I complain about my my job, but for the most part I really do love it. The staff I work with are excellent, we work well as a team and take pride in providing quality care.

Specializes in Home care, LTC, subacute/acute rehab.

I am also someone who knew as a child that I wanted to be a nurse. My father was a nursing assistant and my older sister is a nurse, so I guess it runs in the family. I can remember hiding to read my sister's Maternal Nursing text book and being completey fascinated by it all. That's how I found out where babies came from!!! I also have always been fascinated with the human body and disease. I love caring for people and relieving pain.:D

Do you think someone going into the nursing field who has had no medical experience will make a good nursing student and nurse?

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
Do you think someone going into the nursing field who has had no medical experience will make a good nursing student and nurse?

Certainly you do, as long as you care about others' wellbeing! :yeah:

The Reason that I choose nursing, my fiance was in a pretty bad car accident. His head went through the windshield of the car and the roof cut the back of his head sorta well off. We spent 8 days in the hospital, the nurse's were awesome, I walked away not feeling scared but pretty excited. Funny that I would feel that way, but it was cool to find out that no matter how bad it looked I could actually fix it. Well 4 months of wound packings later I decided thatI definitly wanted tobe a nurse. I want to be the person that makes a horrible situation cool and fixable. So I have put myself in to collegeand amon thewaiting list. Oh by the way the head wounds are very narly ( originally down to the skull) I took a picture diary so if you want to see send me a message and I will email them, apparently the wound is pretty rare to live through. Healed great though and only one more surgery to go! woohoo!

I didn't grow up wanting to be a nurse. I wanted to be a vet or a surgeon. After graduating high school I went to college for a year and a half and then quit because I found a job that paid "well". Well, after a while I realized my job didn't pay so well, so I started working for a vet and looked into vet school. I decided vet school wasn't for me but continued working for the vet for 4 yrs. I loved working with the animals but I felt like I could do so much more helping people. I also had great experiences with nurses and midwives when I had my children. That is why i decided to go to nursing school.

I had wanted to be a nurse since I was about 7. However, the true calling came later. My daughter had a birth defect in which her intestines were on the outside of ther body. (gastroschisis). I had her on July 2nd, 2003, she had the surgery on the third day, and was doing great.

July the 5th I was involved in a horrible MVA. A 14 year old kid pulled out in front of us and stopped. His mom was letting him drive, and it was nighttime and he was trying to get on the interstate. I was life flighted along with my son to a Nashville hospital, and eventually found out I had a fractured C-2, both lungs were punctured, one had collapsed and the other was well on it's way. Over half my ribs were broken, and the nurses that saw my breasts (I had been trying to pump milk for my daughter) had that look on their face like you have when you see something truly awful but you are trying not to show it. I was 2 floors below my daughter in the trauma unit for 17 days. My daughter was discharged the day before I was. My son turned out to be ok, but the lifeflight nurse that was with me told she would come back and tell me how he was. She forgot. I actually asked my husband if he was dead. It was truly hell on earth.

BUT, the reason I knew I wanted to be a nurse was because of a nurse named Vicki. She was a NICU nurse, and everyday that she worked, she brought my baby down to see me. She was told not to due to infection possibilities, and was told by several different people. She had security called on her because someone thought she was trying to steal a baby. But she never missed a day. Not one. She was my angel in what I find to be the hardest time in my life, and did so without being asked. She could have lost her job for it, but she did it anyway. I went to see her about 6 months after the accident with Stacia, and I called into the NICU and asked for her. I said "My name is Valerie, and my daughter is Stacia. Do you know who I am?" She said "Yes, I do." I gave her a picture of Stacia, and we cried together. I have moved out of state now, but I would love to find her and tell her that I am an LPN, and am in school for RN. I even worked as a well baby/ postpartum nurse fro awhile. She was truly my hero. Thank God for nurses like her. Sorry so long.:heartbeat

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

Deare Val:

Your story is so inciteful!

It's a miracle that your family lived, and that the NICU Nurse was so willing to place her career at risk for you. I wish, however, that she had put the question of dated "infection" precautions out to our website.

Some of us in management could have made recommendations that could have changed regulations at the hospital in Nashville for the better. I know most hospitals allow infant-mother visits (barring critical status) for bonding and breastfeeding. When I worked in PP 20 years ago, I was told to take an infant to its mother on a different floor.

We must always allow for exceptional circumstances, and see that administration evaluates them, weighing the needs of all involved. Of course the time that woulod take, would have made your experience "on hold" too long, so I'm glad the Nurse took matters into her own hands, - for you and your daughter. She could have roomed in with you and not had to go back to a nursery, if peds staff was avauilable to monitor her.......

When you contact that Nurse again, ask her to get the process going ahead of another similar case, so better regs and procedures could be instituted.

As a former Infection Control Nurse, I'd have recommended that the baby not return to the nursery unless she needed procedures done there that couldn't happen while she was with you. A Nurse on an adult unit could not safely prepare pedi meds, IVs, etc. unless that was a prior specialty.

Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

Well I was going to be a teacher but decided I did not want to be around sick kids all the time....:lol2:

Well I was going to be a teacher but decided I did not want to be around sick kids all the time....:lol2:

Oh the irony! That is just too funny! LOL:D

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