One of the running questions nurses are asked is why we have chosen this profession. For many of us, maybe even most of us, the answer is that it wasn’t a profession we chose, but a profession that chose us.
While in nursing school, I remember hearing other students’ stories about why they wanted to be nurses. Some hungered for the rush and excitement found in the emergency department, others craved the intense environments in critical care, but all of us were answering the same call. As a nursing instructor, I have asked these same questions and find that many students have extraordinary stories about their journeys and what has led them into nursing. Many times, this is not their first profession or degree.
When I started nursing school, I was a wife and mother. However, when I reflect back to my childhood, I realize that I have always been a nurse at heart.
As a young girl, I made it my duty to rescue all animals, especially insects, that had dropped into our pool. Using the skimmer, I would gently sweep them up and gingerly lay them on the hot brick pavers. They were quickly transferred into my makeshift rescue vehicle- an empty egg carton. It was perfect actually, as it gave each patient his or her privacy. (Yes, I was HIPPA compliant.) Sadly, most of my attempts to resuscitate drowned damselflies and locusts were futile, but there were some survivors; those were the ones that gave me hope.
What is your nursing story? If you had to do it all over again, would you? What gives you hope when you feel like you are drowning?