8 Why I Chose Nursing
My nursing journey started in 2011 when I was in senior kindergarten. I remember walking across the stage graduating from senior kindergarten and saying “I want to be a nurse when I grow up”. Now 13 years later, I am finally in school for nursing, pursuing my dream job. Many events in my life have made it clearer to me that I wanted to become a nurse, especially growing up with a single mother who is a nurse. It is known that people often influence others through their work and their values (Heath, 2004). My mother is my biggest inspiration for wanting to become a nurse, I look up to her every day. Going to work with my mom and seeing the way she cares for patients has always had a major impact on me. All my life, I have wanted to be the kind of nurse she is, caring, compassionate, and empathetic. Growing up in a household surrounded by a healthcare worker is what has led me to want to become a nurse. In 2017, I watched my mother receive an award for being an outstanding nurse. Speeches can often inspire others especially when they talk about the reality of being a nurse (Heath, 2004). While watching the speech my mother gave after receiving her award, I knew at this moment that nursing was going to be my lifelong profession.
I have encountered many challenges in my life that have all led to me choosing nursing as well. My grandfather who is 74 was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at a fairly young age. Growing up I have taken care of him since a young age. As he lives five minutes down the road, I go over all the time to make sure he is okay. I have recently started helping him get dressed, making him dinner, reminding him to take his medications, and taking him on walks. It has been hard over the years watching him get sicker and sicker from this horrible disease but by providing him care I know I am making a difference in his life. Making a difference in the world and someone’s life is what I want to do. Being a nurse will allow me to make a difference and improve someone’s quality of life. My grandpa has shown me that you do not always have to care for someone physically, just being there for them mentally and emotionally can make a difference. Many influences can contribute to picking nursing as a profession like family, role models, and social media (Omari et al., 2023). For me, family has been one of the biggest influences, especially from taking care of my grandfather. Learning how to take care of someone early in life has contributed to my decision to become a nurse.
Furthermore, another challenge that I have faced in my life was being diagnosed with a type of superventricular tachycardia (SVT). I was diagnosed with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia in 2021. Being only 15 at the time, I did not understand what this meant for me. I had to have a cardiac ablation to try and fix this form of SVT. Sitting in the hospital waiting to have the cardiac ablation was one of the scariest days of my life. However, the nurses on the surgical floor were the nicest, caring people I have ever met. They assured me I would be okay and offered me a shoulder to cry on. They sat with me and continued to comfort me until I was okay. Looking back at this moment all I can think of is how lucky I am to have had such amazing nurses who provided over-the-top care to make sure that I was physically, mentally, and emotionally well before going into surgery. These nurses have inspired me to want to help people the way that they helped me. Having such a positive experience with nurses can contribute to a person wanting to become a nurse (Omari et al., 2023). The nurses never judged me for crying or being moody towards them. They understood how scared I was and felt for me the pain that I was feeling. Having such emphatic nurses continued to further me in the direction of wanting to be a nurse.
Through all the challenges in my life I was faced with and having my mother be my biggest inspiration is what has led me to choose nursing. As I am nearing the end of my first semester as a student nurse at Trent, it has taught me that the relationship between the nurse and the patient is special. This special relationship is one I hope to have with my patients in my nursing career.