Why Nursing??

Two years ago, I was adamant that I was not going to become a nurse. In fact, I said many times, "I will never be a nurse."

If you had told me then that I would be in nursing school today -- and loving it -- I would have thought you were a crazy liar.

And yet here I am.

Yesterday was orientation for the student nurses starting in the fall. Can I be honest with you? I was a little terrified. The instructors tried to scare us (and did a pretty good job) so we would be aware of how hard nursing is. I sat there wondering if I could really this. Is nursing really what I want?

Then I thought about what made me decide to do nursing. Why did I leave my perfect job at the daycare for this? Maybe it's because I got excited every time someone asked me a medical question. Or because I was constantly looking up medical procedures (yes, I know... I'm weird...). Or maybe it's because I was always saying, "I could have so much fun being a nurse!"

My heart kept feeling a tug to become a nurse. I knew I would enjoy it. But see, there's this little thing called fear. And I payed more attention to fear than to that tug I kept feeling. Until one morning at work, our darling 9 month-old came in late. While we (my coworker and I) talked to her mom, we all noticed a rash on the baby's stomach that soon spread to her back and neck. Then her voice started to get raspy. I checked the baby out and told her mom that she should go to the doctors. Thankfully, the baby turned out to be okay -- it was actually just a bad heat rash -- but I suddenly knew what I wanted to do: I wanted to be a pediatric nurse. Specifically, I wanted to work in the NICU.

I want to be a nurse because no matter how stressful it is -- no matter how tiring it is -- it is totally worth it to hear someone say, "Thank you." When someone is in the hospital, they're scared and want someone to tell them it's okay. I want to be that person. I enjoy taking care of people and I want to encourage people when they are at their lowest. What better way to show God's love then to serve others?

All these thoughts ran through my head while I was sitting in orientation. And suddenly, I didn't feel as overwhelmed. Nursing is what I want and I will not let myself forget that.

{via}

Emily
xoxo