NWR- Calling all Nurses...( What made you become a nurse?)

I had always enjoyed helping people and the medical profession always interested me. I enjoyed biology, chemistry and anatomy/physiology. I got my bachelors of science in nursing and started as a med/Surg nurse, but my dream job was being a nurse in the NICU. About four years later, they ended up shutting down the floor I worked on and three positions opened up in the NICU. They trained us in the classroom and on the floor for about three months. I've been working in the NICU now for about 3 1/2 years and still LOVE it. The babies are so cute and fun to cuddle. I trained for charge nurse a couple months ago and will be charge nurse for the unit a couple times/week. Also, I work night shift (7pm-7am) and love it...I love my fellow night shift nurses.

Some of the best nurses I know started out as LPNs. I went into nursing because of my grandma. She lived with us, and she got colon cancer when I was 12. After some treatment and surgery, she ended up with a colostomy. I saw the toll it was taking on my mom to take care of her. I decided to step up and help with her care. Ever since then I knew I wanted to be a nurse. At times it can tear you down and rip you apart, but there is nothing else in the world I could imagine doing. Even when it's tuff, just one patient can make your day all better again, seeing someone feed themselves after months of therapy, the little old lady that holds your hand and tells you she feels safe when you are around, or the young man that just lost his wife and consoles in you. Yes, the job is tuff, but absolutely worth it.

I'm not exactly a nurse but I have some advise anyway. Make sure you REALLY want to do it. I was a nursing major for my first few years of college. I did well and got accepted into the program and a few semesters later, I decided to change my major. I am still fascinated by and super interested in anatomy and physiology (that wasn't the issue) I would recommend shadowing nurses and volunteering/working alongside them. It took 5 semesters of blood, sweat, tears, and sleep deprivation before I realized it wasn't for me. But changing majors was the best thing I ever did. Ask people what they don't like about it instead of what they do like. Nursing is perfect for some people and they do well and love it. My FSIL is an NP and absolutely loves her job and was an RN before(while in school). Good luck and I hope you are happy in your future career!

I'm an ICU RN, my husband is an MD (anesthesiologist). I've been a nurse for 9 years. I love taking care of people, so does he. School was the toughest thing each of us has done. But SO worth all the blood sweat and tears. You can do it!!!!

Good stuff guys. Keep it coming

I am not a medical professional-- I wanted to pop into this thread and thank you all so much for doing what you do-- I have been seriously ill in my life, and nurses are THE BEST!

I was an LPN for 20 yrs, just graduated this may with ADN! Go for the RN it is so much more versatile and well paying compared to lpn.

Not a nurse, but just wanted to pop in because I saw a comment above that didn't sit well with me about PAs not being as knowledgeable as NPs. I'm a current Medical student, and the PA students at my institution are very bright and talented individuals. They take many courses that are similar to ours. They don't go into quite as much depth in order to be able to cut the length of the program. I think this is an example of some of the difficulty we have in the medical field with pissing contests between different groups.