Why did you take up nursing? What's your story?

UPDATE: Changes: New Log In Requirement

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 ER.
I decided to become a nurse the summer I turned 7. My dad was diagnosed with brain tumors and spent most of the summer in and out of the ICU. My mom decided after two months of fighting and him only getting worse that it was time for him to come home and spend his last days with his family. The last three weeks that he was alive I helped my mom take care of him. I knew I wanted to be a nurse and not a doctor b/c the nurse is the one who spends more time with the patient and their family. I am planning on specializing in neonatal intensive care when I graduate and look forward to taking care of my patients and developing good relationships with their families. I am also hoping that I will be able to help others that may be facing the same situation that my mom did. I want to be able to make a difference in someone's life, even if it is only one person.

wow.... :yeah:

Specializes in ER.
As an OB Nurse for 35 years, I am startled and deeply disturbed about your experience! Please write the administrator at the hospital where you were!! No one else should ever experience the malpractise you did. The sooner you write it, the sooner those nurses will be off the floor until their skills are acceptable (and their lips sealed about earlier gruesome experiences).I think having a patient sign something that falsely assures her that those caring for him/her will not talk about you - or others, seems to place confidentiality on the patient instead of the professional. HIPAA is a scourge on the medical scene, and is now known as the Health Insurance Portability Assurance Act!

Send a copy of your letter to the OB suoervisor, and name names, if you remember them. Either the staffing pattern at that place is abominable, or the rush to have babies when you were there, was highly unusual. That, however, wouldn't excuse the miscarriage of professionalism.

As far as the Foley drainage (or lack thereof) is concerned, you probably know now that a patient doesn't excrete 1600 ml in a few hours, unless several liters of IVs went through quickly, before and after the Foley was clamped, prior to removing it. The danger of a post partum woman hemorrhaging with a full bladder pressing against her uterus, is great. Also, urine could back up into the kidneys, and infection there might have occurred.

Unless you had your c/s before 1960, the need has been known since before then, to ambulate post operative patients, to prevent blood clot formation due to stasis of blood in the legs, and makes it necessary to get people up to the bathroom within 24 hours of their surgery or sooner.

Babies can turn to breech position during labor, if the head wasn't "engaged" before, but that is almost never. Therefore, your doctor should have known she was breech (through palpation/ultrasound). The Nurse would have had a clue when applying the uterine/fetal monitor, as the baby's heart sounds would have been higher than usual. She should have asked you where you experienced kicking, and that would have given it away, too.

I agree Lamaze... holy cow! Though this is funny, I went through a HORRIFIC labor and delivery process that inspired me to go to nursing school when my son was 4 months old. I was in labor for 36 hours and had to have a C-section. It was a chaotic experience and no one explained anything or took care of my basic needs. I suffered with that for a long time, but had an elective C-section with my second child and it was the best experience. Though the L&D nurses didn't check on my ONCE while I was in there with my second child. They took great care of him, but they didn't offer stool softeners, pain med or check my incision - YIKES! I suffered with a huge infection after my first with home wound dressing changes and all that jazz. I knew a lot more the second time around. It was much better.

I am so sorry that you dealt with ANY of that - OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those nurses shouldn't be working where they are to forget what they did and say what they did. Period. There's no excuse - no amount of stress would make me say those things or forget my standard of care. I'm glad you and your little one made it out ok.

Cheers!

greetings from canada any nurses wanting to come to canada let me know. sincerely from regina canada

Specializes in LTC, Alzheimers unit.

Im sure all of us remember that instant we knew we wanted to be a nurse. For me I sure do, I was in a very severe motorcycle accident in 2001 and was in the hospital for a while. I remember being in the ER with the nurse giving me morphine constantly because I was in severe pain. I had to have plastic surgery done on my face because I was not wearing a helmet (stupid I know) and all of my wounds had to be scrubbed and wrapped with gauze.

Anyways I had one nurse that was so rude to me, I had just had my face completed and my arms wrapped when the morphine was starting to wear off and I was getting really cold. I asked the nurse for a blanket and she said you have two hands can't you do it yourself. I started to cry and just looked at her and said please give me a blanket, and she did. Then they sent me up to the floor and I told the charge nurse what had happened and needless to say she was fired. Then I had the most wonderful caring nurse that was on a 7 day stretch with me, she always told me how beautiful I was, even though I didn't look it and she would sit and talk with me when she had time.

It was then that I knew I couldn't change the world but atleast the people I took care of would not feel the way the nurse made me feel in the ER that I would treat them the way the nurse on the floor treated me. When someone is hurting we need to be there for them and try to help them through their time of need, no matter how busy we are.:heartbeat

Specializes in Geriatrics.

To this day I'm STILL wondering why I became a nurse. LOL Seriously, all of my growing up years all I ever wanted to do was to be a school teacher...2nd grade. I even "played" school teacher before I ever started to school. Of course, that dream never came true. The main reason I became a nurse is because, literally, my cousin talked me into it. He gave me the song and dance about I would always have a job so I could raise my kids. I would never have to worry about not having a job, because nurses are always in demand. Right now, with the way the economy is right now, is actually the FIRST time I have been truly thankful to be a nurse. I've been in geriatrics since 1989, and I think I'm just burnt out. Sure, I have raised my kids. They are now married and have lives of their own, and being a nurse has supported me...barely. I'm an LPN, and it's not what it's cracked up to be. The money isn't that great, I make LESS than $20 hr and I've been doing this for what seems like forever. I do enjoy nursing, and now that I'm single and have no responsiblities except myself, and seriously thinking of getting my RN and go into teaching, since that really is my first love. I'll soon be 50, and sometimes I think I'm just too "old" to go back to school. I have talked myself into it, though. A person can only take so much of working in LTC, and it's really time for a change.

Am I too "old" to go back to school? Can I hold down a full-time job and study? Actually, I work 3 & 4 12hr shifts, so I'm pretty sure I can do it. I guess I'm just scared. Oops...I was only supposed to say why I became a nurse, and got off track. LOL Sorry. :yeah:

Specializes in ICU of all kinds, CVICU, Cath Lab, ER..

You most certainly are NOT too old!! Go for it! Keep in touch so we can be your cheering section!!

Specializes in ER.
To this day I'm STILL wondering why I became a nurse. LOL Seriously, all of my growing up years all I ever wanted to do was to be a school teacher...2nd grade. I even "played" school teacher before I ever started to school. Of course, that dream never came true. The main reason I became a nurse is because, literally, my cousin talked me into it. He gave me the song and dance about I would always have a job so I could raise my kids. I would never have to worry about not having a job, because nurses are always in demand. Right now, with the way the economy is right now, is actually the FIRST time I have been truly thankful to be a nurse. I've been in geriatrics since 1989, and I think I'm just burnt out. Sure, I have raised my kids. They are now married and have lives of their own, and being a nurse has supported me...barely. I'm an LPN, and it's not what it's cracked up to be. The money isn't that great, I make LESS than $20 hr and I've been doing this for what seems like forever. I do enjoy nursing, and now that I'm single and have no responsiblities except myself, and seriously thinking of getting my RN and go into teaching, since that really is my first love. I'll soon be 50, and sometimes I think I'm just too "old" to go back to school. I have talked myself into it, though. A person can only take so much of working in LTC, and it's really time for a change.

Am I too "old" to go back to school? Can I hold down a full-time job and study? Actually, I work 3 & 4 12hr shifts, so I'm pretty sure I can do it. I guess I'm just scared. Oops...I was only supposed to say why I became a nurse, and got off track. LOL Sorry. :yeah:

go for it - 50's the new 30. Have fun! Now's the time for you to think about you, you've raised your kids, now you're single... go for it. You'll know all there is to know about being an RN by now and maybe you can move into something else after school.... good luck! I hope this thread isn't 10 years old, if so, nevermind, you're probably already in a Master's program....

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
go for it - 50's the new 30. Have fun! Now's the time for you to think about you, you've raised your kids, now you're single... go for it. You'll know all there is to know about being an RN by now and maybe you can move into something else after school.... good luck! I hope this thread isn't 10 years old, if so, nevermind, you're probably already in a Master's program....

I hate to throw water on ambition, or thwart anyone's advancement - however, ir's best to know before going to the expense and time, that my experience retaining positions now is terrible, since health insurance companies charge employers more than $1000./month for covering employees over 55.

When I worked per diem, foir home health agencies it wasn't a problem, as benefits weren't offered (except for one that said I'd pay $325/month. When I asked what the coverage was, it had a cap of $1750/year!)

I usually get jobs for which I interview, but as soonm as the health insurance carrier wants my birth date (even though I've said I didn't need their coverage), all of a sudden my work isn't what was offered, and I'm out the door. It's happened 5 times, and I'm going to have to take something far below my qualifications, or not work (disaster).:crying2:

Specializes in med/surg, day surgery, psych as a CNA.

I needed to find work out of high school in the mid 1980's. I had no education and no real idea about what I wanted to do. I was medically inclined, but poor and didn't have resources or the high school grades to do something like medical school. I kept looking in the paper and seeing jobs for CNA's. It seemed like there were tons of them. I didn't even know what a CNA was. So, I called one of the numbers and the person on the other end told me what it was and did it sound like something I'd want to do. Being naive and needing a job, I interviewed and got the job. Wow, did I work my rear off! Very hard work, almost no pay, and no appreciation. From my perspective, it looked like the nurses sat on their butts and the aides did all the work.

One day, I went to pick up paychecks for everyone. Out of curiosity, I peeked at an RN's check. I almost fell over! It was probably 5 times more than what I was making. I got mad about it and started to ask and research about what it took to become a nurse. I felt I could sit on my butt and chart all day :) Well, I got through nursing school learning more than I thought possible. I didn't know what the nurses were doing behind that desk, and just how much responsibility they had. Now, over 20 years later, I'm still in nursing and can't imagine doing anything else. Obviously I didn't get into nursing just for the pay, but for the satisfaction and the security. Not many people can say they've saved someones life. Remember if you save someone life, you're a hero, save hundreds of lives, and your a nurse.

(I admit looking at someone check without their permission is wrong, but I was young. Forgive me....)

I decided seriously to go into the nursing field when my husband was hospitalized for 8 days during last Thanksgiving. I observed the ways how each nursing staff took care of the patients; noticed some truly fitted into the profession, being compassionate and caring, while for a few others, I couldnt understand why they were there to begin with. I realised that caring for the sick has to come from the bottom of the heart and not because it was a lucrative paying job.

So I started taking my pre-requisites in Spring. Glad I made that move and just can't wait to get into the nursing program.

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.

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