When I was born, I spent my first 3 months in the NICU having been born at 27 weeks. I then spent many years in and out of doctor's offices and hospital. Had surgery at 2.5 yrs old to repair a bilateral ingual hernia. Had a tendon transfer at 14 to be able to get external shoulder rotation b/c of a brachial plexu unjury (www.ubpn.org) due to the traumatic birth. Had jaw surgery to help with an overbite (the doctors broke the jaw in 5 places and re-set it). Then in 2004 I was paralyzed from the breast bone down due to Transverse Myelitis (www.myelitis.org). So after all this, I finally decided to do what I had ALWAYS wanted to do and become a nurse. One year to go, God willing!
Marieke :)
http://nurse-to-be08.blogspot.org

I became a nurse after working as a nurse's aid for two years and realizing that I was working harder than most of the nurses and getting paid less. I guess you mean why did I get into nursing to begin with - I like the hospital setting and being on my feet rather than stuck in an office all day - now that would be real hell!!!

When I was 17, nursing was chosen for me by my mother, even though I had wanted to work with animals.Needless to say, I dropped out, got married , had kids, and divorced; and then getting a nursing degree didn't look so bad to me anymore. At the time, I needed a dependable job with which to support my kids.
I went to LVN school and had a blast! I never would have thought that nursing could be so much fun.Now, I really can't imagine doing anything else. Sometimes I have bad days, and I ask myself why did I ever do this. But more days than not, I am glad I have the opportunity to take care of people.

I originally wanted to be a teacher. I started doing home care for this old man. I use to assist him with his medication, and health care appointments. I started taking classes toward my ADN degree back in 1999. I completed a CNA program a Los Angeles Trade Technical College. I didn't like nursing at first, because I worked at a convalesent home the first 14 months after graduating from CNA school. I dropped out of college and went to computer school for 1 1/2 and got hire as a Admintivstrated Care Partner at UCLA Medical Center. That is where I decided to go back to college and continue my preriquisites for the RN program. Yesterday, I completed my last preriquisite to enter a RN program. It took me almost 8 years on and off, but I continued, thats what's matter. I'm not a nurse yet, but this apply's to me deciding to choose nursing as a career.

My maternal grandmother who helped raise me in my teen years was a retired RN. I decided to take nursing with the thought that one day I can help take care of her with the same nursing skills and love that she gave every one of her own patients. I saw in my grandmother a professional and an angel.

I knew I always wanted to work in medicine, so I researched all types of jobs and careers. When I joined the Army in 1997, I signed up as a laboratory specialist. My job choice translated well in the civilian world and it's currently what I'm doing now while in my last year of nursing school. I really enjoy the laboratory/pathology scope of medicine, but after 10 years, patients just became a medical record number or critical value that I had to report. I wanted to put a face to my medical experience and chose nursing because of the educational opportunities, various scopes of practice, flexibility and pay. I'm really happy with the choice that I made and look forward to branching out into forensics, death investigation, and private consulting.

Hello everyone: My mother suffered from diabetes all her life so seeing someone self inject, I was always comfortable around syringes and not afraid of what she was doing even though I didn't understand it at the time. It's when she almost had her leg amputated and we had to have someone from the Wound Care Center come out and worked what only God can call a miracle, I vow to return that favor to someone one day. My mom has all her extremities today thanks to the wonderful nurses that came every day to take care of her wound. I now perform Hospice service to families throughout FL. I LOVE what I do, It's who I am. Do you know how wonderful it feels to know what your'e calling in life is? For we are all called to do something great no matter what title you hold; for none is greater than the other. If you are in the buisness of healing, enhancing, enriching someone's life, you are on the right road, I know at times you may feel the immediate reward is few; but hey, I always say "you can get your glory now or get your glory later", me; I want mines later! PS: Way to go Marieke, we need more angels like you on our team! PS: meals, I'm pretty sure your grandmother's angel qualities has been passed on to you!

Charlita, Way-to-go! You are a fighter. The world's always in need of angels my friend. When you extend yourself to that capacity; even after suffering personal tragedy yourself and still want to help others is a God-given gift in itself!.

I was in LPN school in 2005 when I went into renal failure. I had always wanted to become a nurse, so I was devestated when I had to drop and be put on chemo for 6 months. I found out that I had lupus. I worked so hard to get into that program. My doctor had given me a choice of school or work. Since I knew that I was going to be having some medical bills, I had to choose to work, because I could still go to work even if I wasn't feeling too hot from the chemo, because I got to sit down. I didn't want to wait the 15 months to get back into the program when he finally released me to go back to school, so I chose Medical Office Administration. Even though I fell in love with the program, something was missing. I is my destiny to become a nurse, so I told myself that if I stayed healthy the 2 years it would take me to finish my Medical Office Administration degree, I would finish my nursing degree, but I have chosen to go ahead and get my RN instead. I have not had a flare up in two years, so I am starting the process of applying to the program again. I wouldn't give this profession up for the world.

IT has been my dream job since i was a kid.

My experience started with a very special aunt, who I got to visit for 5 minutes in CCU. Wow, I was in awe of all of the tubes and beeps. She, God rest her soul, had IV's in her scalp, feet and anywhere else you can put one. I thought that was the coolest thing I had ever seen! I became a CNA, worked like a dog for about 5 years, then became a QMA, worked for another 4 years before finally becoming an LPN! Now I am working full time and going to school full time for my LPN to BSN, and sometimes I feel as if I will never get there!

I have known since I was 12 years old that I wanted to be a nurse. I just have a caring spirit and a compassion for people. But I did not get my career started until late in life.Eventhrough I had this dream of becoming a nurse, my dream had to go on the back burner for years to raise my kids. I became a CNA and worked as one for 17 years before becoming a nurse. While being a CNA I'll just watched and observed a nurses role. Nurses that I work with observed my work duties and would always "say you should be a nurse" or "you will make a good nurse". With lots of encouragement from them I finally went back to school and became an LPN, and I'm glad that I did.

my mom went to nursing school and didnt finish. she always regretted it. i got into the medical field as a nurse/lab asst at a clinic when i was 19. i worked there about 6 months and then i went to school (2003) to start my prereqs for nursing. i got married the next year and got accepted to the ADN program. Our first son was born the second day of the second semester(jan 2005) so although devasted I chose to drop out to stay home with him. I applied again in 2007 but did not get in but I did get accepted to the LPN program so I did that and graduated july 2007. so now we have 2 boys ( 5 and 18 months), I work part-time/PRN for a home health and I am getting all my stuff lined up to apply to the LPN-ADN bridge program. SO maybe next year I will be an RN.

At risk of sounding completely corny, this is truly from the heart.

I have wanted to be a nurse for as far back as I can remember.  I don't believe in coincidences but rather, God acting 'anonymously' and putting things in your path.  So I consider nursing to be a 'calling' because too many things 'fell into place' and my path was clear.  Right down to the financial aid which was provided by the State of GA (still is) and service cancelable. 

For all of the shortages, insane managers,  crazy doctors and other aggravations it has been an incredibly interesting and rewarding ride.  I have seen and done things that others cannot imagine unless they are also in the field.  The money, generally has been good but in reality I get my 'strokes' from the satisfaction that comes from knowing that you made a difference for someone on a given day. Sometimes you get a nice note or even homemade cake/cookies or flowers from a patient's family (it is the Southern thing to do!) but the real gift is what you feel inside from knowing that you used your skills, knowledge, talents, humanity to make somebody feel better or pass away in peace and without the pain that most of us fear.

The work is never the same and you never know what is going to roll in the door.  I often would tell my family that this is not the kind of job that you turn off on Friday afternoon and turn back on Monday morning.  I hated being away from them when I had to work holidays, weekends, etc. but would remind myself that the patients and families would rather not be there either.

Most of us have, at some point made the comment 'I could write a book'.  In reality, truth is stranger than fiction and probably nobody would ever believe it was nonfiction. 

I did not encourage either of my children to follow in my footsteps because of the mess that I lived through with unsafe staffing, stress, etc. over the past 33 years but now I am finding that my son is a caring, feeling individual who is finding no satisfaction in his current business job.  Although he has a business degrree with honors, I am thinking seriously of encouraging him to look at perhaps a therapy field such as PT or OT.  My daughter is a teacher in a very socioeconomically depressed county and she also finds satisfaction in her work with a very diverse population of K-5th graders.  Many are from broken homes, drug-using, abusive, poorest of the poor households and showing them what they can do for themselves through the beauty of art is a wonderful thing.  She also makes a difference.

So now I am almost finished with a BSN at the tender age of 51.  I have no idea what I will do with it but am confident that my path will be laid before me, as it always has been, when the time is right.

When I was a kid I wanted to be a veterinarian, then I worked as a vet tech for several years.  I left the field did all kinds of other things.  I got married, had a child and my husband was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  I realized that I really wanted to be in health care whether it was with animals or people and after researching found out that the stability of health care for people would offer me the security, fullfilment and security that I couldn't get in an animal hospital.