Why did you want to be a nurse?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2015

In 2004, at age 23, I was working a dead-end factory job with no transferable skills or opportunities for advancement. I took the plunge and entered nursing for the career mobility, educational advancement, and solid middle income.

I completed an LVN program in 2005, an ASN degree program in 2010, and an online BSN program in 2015. I'm presently enrolled in an online MSN degree program.

And yes, nursing was never a higher calling or childhood dream of mine.

Farawyn · Sep 9, 2015

To give shots, of course!

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Sep 9, 2015

My first husband developed some major medical problems and the expense caused us to lose our house, our cars and everything else we owned that had any value. We'd never had health insurance before and had never given it much thought. I'd never worked in a job where purchasing it was even an option.

Because of his illness, I decided to become a nurse because I thought nurses probably had good health insurance. Before then, we'd just paid for any minor medical needs as we went along.

trinitymaster · Sep 9, 2015

I was 28 years old with no real job prospects and the mother of my children was in nursing school. She had money left over from the Pell Grant and said I could use it to go back to college. I already had my physics, chemistry, and biology out of the way so I just needed to finish my Baccalaureate and take the MCAT to go to medical school, but I did not want to wait 10 years to start earning money.

Nursing school was a fast way to start earning a good living. I thought it would just be for a few years, but I found that I had the knack for providing care. Working as a nurse, I soon discovered that doctors were managers of health and not anything like I had always envisioned them to be. Nurses provided the care and fostered the healing- that was all I ever really wanted to do.

Now, here I am, a broken down old nurse with nothing better to do than to share my wisdom on these forums.

NightNerd, MSN, RN · Sep 9, 2015

I kind of stumbled into this. My first job out of college was as an administrative assistant in hospice. The nurses and aides I worked with seemed to love their work and feel very fulfilled, and I knew I wanted that out of my career. Instead of returning to grad school to become a counselor (my original plan), I attended nursing school and have since worked in psych and inpatient hospice. It is very meaningful work and I am truly in it to help my patients and coworkers. I have had many wonderful moments and definitely feel good about what I do. I hesitate to use the term "calling" because I feel that I could be happy and proud of working in a number of helping professions; this is simply the one I have chosen for now. I'm sure that once compassion fatigue sets in to stay I will need to find something a little different; nursing is wonderful, but it is not easy.

littlepeopleRNICU · Sep 9, 2015

I always wanted to be a doctor until I was about to graduate high school. In an elective, I took a health sciences course where I had to shadow multiple times. I shadowed nurses and became interested in the role and the interactions the nurses had with their patients. I also, suddenly and without reason(because this is not like me), decided I didn't want to put in the schooling to become an MD.

I love my job as a nurse now, but I do still feel limited and feel as though bedside nursing prevents me from what I really want to do. Most of the reason why I am in NP school now. I don't like to say I regret things, especially because I have/DO enjoy my job, but if I had it to do over, I would've stuck with my original plan.

RainbowHead · Sep 9, 2015

During my middle and high school years my mom would drop hints that I should become a nurse because they are always in demand and have a decent salary. I hadn't given it much thought until my sophomore year when I started doing butt loads of research on different careers more than the average teenager. It became a hobby of mine.

The day my grandpa was ambulated to the ER due to kidney failure (which was a VERY close call because he was barely responsive by then) my mom picked me up to go be by his side until my grandma got there. My mom noticed me watching over the nurses with curiosity and asked with a smile, "Do you think you'd want to do that?"

When my class had the opportunity to visit the college for orientation, I jumped out of my seat when they called for students interested in the health profession. I was thrilled to be able to venture inside the nursing classroom, creepy dummies in hospital beds and all. As we listened to the speaker the hand of the spiky bright-red haired girl (me) popped up frequently with a question, and another, and another... and then I started to feel strange and realized I was the only one out of 15-20 students asking. I'd look around and see a lot of bored expressions. Hm. That was when I realized if anyone was going to become a nurse, it better be me.

Jules A, MSN · Sep 9, 2015

I haven't ever struggled with this question: For the money and flexible schedules.

canigraduate · Sep 9, 2015

After the last economy crash, I needed a job that was more flexible and was more stable.

Helping people is a bonus, but I am not "called" to it.

And there's all kinds of cool gore. Had a patient on the unit the other day that you could actually see their LUNG when changing a dressing. SWEET.

Wrench Party · Sep 10, 2015

Why: I wanted to do something different, have a flexible schedule, and have a flexible career. Right now I'm about to start an acute care job in a hospital, and I also do research nursing home health visits. How many other careers out there do you know of that you get to do 3 potentially totally different careers at once?

BecomingNursey · Sep 10, 2015

It's what I've always wanted to do. As a young girl I knew i wanted to be a nurse. I love my job and couldn't see myself doing anything else!