I get asked more often than not, why I decided to become a nurse. Especially, since that meant stopping progress to the bachelors degree I was almost complete with, AND transferring to a whole new school, essentially starting over
Before nursing, I was a pre-physical therapy major at a state school in Illinois.
I was told around the time of my graduation from high school, by someone that I thought I could trust, that I was "not smart enough to be a nurse and should choose a different path". I knew I wanted health care because my dad had gotten cancer that year and some of those nurses were incredible not only to him but me and my mom. They treated us as family unit and knew we were ALL fighting together. I wanted to be able to bring that sense of security to people also! And then I was told that.... well my naive teenage self believed it. So I went to a 2 year school for a while before settling on physical therapy after requiring some post-op. Now, I'm not saying that PT's are dumb and I thought I was capable of doing what they do because of that. To anyone that is a PT I applaud the heck out of you! You are doctors of the physics of the body and that right there is freaking incredible! You are truly smart! I chose PT because it was healthcare and I was starting to gain my confidence back believing I was smart enough for anything I wanted -- but just couldn't shake the words "to be a nurse" out of my head.
I transferred to the state school and ultimately remained neutral in all of my classes, I wasn't feeling complete. While I enjoyed the classes I just didn't enjoy them like everyone else. That's when I reevaluated and at the age of 22 (the age most people graduate college for the first time) I decided to apply to nursing schools.
While people were excited for me... they were also concerned about the amount of financial stress I was about to cause myself, the fact that I wouldn't have a degree or a job paying more than minimum wage. But, I knew. I knew at the age of 18 and I knew at then at the age of 22 that nursing was my end all be all. I wanted that experience of education, science, and love all combining to form nurses. I was accepted to all 8 schools I applied for all over the east coast and midwest. I ultimately decided on Milwaukee because that meant it was only a couple hours to drive home (my dad was sick again). That was the best decision I have ever made! I started my classes and knew with 100% certainty my gut was right when I was 18. This was the career I was looking for.
I enjoyed studying, expanding my knowledge on the body and the doings of a nurse. Clinicals, while terrifying, were the best experiences I had in school. And yes, I struggled, school kicked my ass, especially in the end. But I discovered a passion and something I love. Something that pushes me to get out of my comfort zone daily. I found an internship in the ICU and worked there for a year and half. Everyday I was excited to go to work, I was ready to see my patients, and learn something new.
Sure, there are parts of nursing that are not fun, being involved in my first code, witnessing a code that resulted in death, getting yelled at by a patient, having a patient who just didn't like you and trying your damnedest to fix that relationship in the 12 hours you spend with them. It is NOT always rainbows and butterflies and some days I would go home and cry. But generally, most days it makes me HAPPY and makes me feel COMPLETE. I would leave the ICU knowing I did everything I could to help my patients and their families.
Having that experience in the ICU has somewhat prepared me for my new job as an RN at Mayo. I know that as long as I continue to feel complete, happy, and like I did everything to the best of my ability then nursing will continue to be the right job for me.
There are some days where people can look at me and ask me why and I have a hard time answering, but even on those days, I know that am where I supposed to me. The path I took was for a reason.
My advice to you... if anyone tries to bring you down, F*** them. Get them OUT of your life because you don't need that kind of negativity around. If you have a passion to do something you DO IT! If you end up hating it, at least you tried! We all have ONE LIFE and if you don't do what you want you will never end up feeling fulfilled. Failure is going to happen but the best part about failure is that you can get right back up, learn from it, and make your next steps even better. You have a whole lot more to lose by not trying it than trying it hating it. You are NEVER too dumb or too old to do something you are passionate about, you just have to go for it! <3