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 Home Care.

I had a love of biology but discovered that going to school to get a biology degree and raising kids, then finding a job was just too much so I didn't complete it.

I spent the next 14 yrs raising my kids and being miserable in my jobs and just not knowing what I wanted to do with my life.

In 2005 I started volunteering for disaster services with the American Red Cross. Helping the people who suffered through hurricane Katrina was immensely satisfying. Doing this gave me insight into the side of my personality that needed nurturing. But I still had no clue what kind of job I wanted to do.

Then in the fall of 2006 my 24 yr old son fell 16 ft through a roof hitting his head on a table. He was taken to a trauma ICU and put on full life support. I spent a lot of time in the hospital with him and watched the nurses doing their jobs. They showed us a lot of compassion and answered all my questions.

I was fascinated by my son's recovery. The nurses amazed me in how they dealt with this young man who hadn't a clue who he was. I watched as my son made progress daily. One day I walked in to see him and he didn't know who I was or where he was. The next day he was all there and was ready to go home. I was truly amazed at how the brain can recover from such a traumatic injury.

That's when I finally decided nursing was for me. I started taking pre-reqs and excelled in A&P. But I was nervous about going into a career I really knew nothing about. I'd had no medical background so I decided to go the LPN route first to get my feet wet.

I loved LPN school, the first few months of clinicals were scary but I overcame that and went on to graduate the LPN program with honors.

I'm working now in flu clinics and really enjoy it. Of course I wish I could be working in skilled nursing but those jobs are difficult to find in this economy. I get lots of kudos from the experienced RNs and they all encourage me to continue on to RN.

I'm excited to say that I've received my acceptance letter to the LPN-RN transitional program. I start in May! I hope I can find a job in this area so I can complete the BSN at the same college that I"m doing the RN.

I was always interested in nursing or medicine in general,at first I wanted to go into Veterinary school (I love helping animals) but I was also drawn to nursing. I like the chalenge,intellectual stimulation as well technical part that nursing profession brings to the table...I dont think I would be interested any other medical field except maybe being a veterinarian or regular doc. I definitely didnt choose nursing for money because other medical professiono offer near the same pay or even better-I just couldnt see myself sitting my a machine all day taking pictures,interpreting them and on top of that having minimal patient contact.I'm also thinking about being a vet tech,aside being a nurse-which i accomplished arleady.

Specializes in Orthopaedics.

I was not born with an urge to be a nurse and just sort of drifted into the job because I could not find another one at the time.

However I find human beings fascinating and one of my personal Values is Connection.

Exploring the way people experience the world we live in and interpret it is really something thas is really interesting. So probably I was drawn to the fact that nursing offered a medium through which I could communicate and connect with people.

There was a time when I really wanted to leave nursing a few years back and it was a very turbulent part in my life when I was just fed up of everything and I just could not find any meaning in my life. I would drag myself to work in a depressive state and returning back to work after a long leave was like facing the electric chair!

However it was an 'aha' experience for me because during this difficult period I suddenly realised that it was not the job itself that was the real problem. The problem was me - the way I was filtering my experiences. This illuminating experience set me off on a journey of self-discovery and over the next few months it was like starting to live a new life. I started searching for more Meaning in life and took courses on Hypnotherapy, Life coaching and meditation as well as read a lot of self growth books. Not only did I bounce back into enjoying nursing but I also started creating changes in my clinical area with a new passion.

And because of this I seem to have attracted towards me an opportunity to develop into something that further helped in honoring my other values namely freedom and creativity. I became the first Practice Development Nurse in my country (Malta) and I now had the freedom to create new systems and work in the area that I so love and that's personal development and staff development.

So I think that nursing is really a job, possibly a calling apart from other jobs and I think there is so much we can do to make a better world.

I was actually initially forced by my parents into it but as I went along with it I appreciated it more & began to accept it as my vocation.

Specializes in med/surg/tele/LTC/geriatrics.

During the summer of 1996 my grandpa was in a head on collision that sent him to the nearby Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. My grandpa had several surgeries and was in the Intensive Care unit with and uncertain prognosis. I remember my grandma going out into the hall to talk with the nurses or the doctors with my mother and I was left alone in the room with my grandpa. I remember the nurses tied the sheets to the bedrails and all I could think was I hope those knots hold and my mom and grandma hurry up. Our last night at the hospital I read a doctor seuss book to my grandpa. About a year later he thanked me for being with him while he was in the hospital and gave me two silver quarters before he died the next summer. Exactly nine years later I became a nurse.

Specializes in sub-accute.

I took up nursing after losing my first child. He was delivered with forceps, and lived for three weeks before passing away from cerebral edema. I remember how absolutly hopeless and helpless I felt when he was in the NICU and then the PICU, and I vowed to never put myself into another situation where I didn't know what to do besides give CPR.

Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

Honestly, my grandmother and my mother told me to.

I'd disappoint her if I didn't take up nursing.

Thanks, grandma!; Love ya

Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

Because my grandmother told me to.

Thanks, grandma; Love you!

Background on Grandma: RN for 40+ years

(sorry for the double-entry)

Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I did it for the money :smokin:

That's actually true. When I graduate HS in 1974 there were very few well-paying jobs available for women in South Alabama. Women were actually barred from certain jobs, like commercial flying, police & fire, construction, etc. I couldn't type and I didn't want to teach. So that left nursing, the one job that I knew would always provide me a paycheck large enough for me to support a family on. And it hasn't failed me yet.

Lucky for me(and everyone else, I guess) I fell in love with nursing and I've been at it >32 years.:nurse:

i was in real estate sales back in the 80s and 90s and one day i woke up and realized the only reason i had to get out of bed was to find someone...anyone..and take their money. I got up but i never sold another house. i went to lvn school then rn school and the funny thing is i now make more money than i did in real estate and most days dont feel like im working. im just doing what i love to do...saving peoples lives...its really like that since i do hemodialysis...i show up...do my thing ....they live...its great..and they pay me ....whata deal!!!!!!woohoo!!!!

The factor that influenced me to take up nursing was when I was 13 years old, my father got hospitalized for a very high fever. After a day of hospitalization, he died. The reason? When he was already shivering, he was injected Valium twice! A nurse already gave it to him and some other nurse also injected it to him... I didn't know the truth until 3 years ago. My agenda was to find what really caused his unexplainable death so that's why I took up nursing... plus, I adore children.

I'm currently reviewing for nclex, hope that I pass.:nurse:

i took up nursing for five reasons:

1. I believe that this is what God planned for me.

2. I want to be like my tita who are working in new york for almost 25 years and she is in a higher position.

3. this is want my mother wanted me to be.

4. I want to serve sick people.

5. and also i want to work abroad.

i believe that through this profession it will give me a better future.

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