So I was thinking about what todays post would be about and I decided to share my nursing story with all of you!
Why I became a nurse and how my passion for helping others, especially women, has evolved and became what it is today.
It all started when I was younger with my amazing and close relationship with my grandma. Growing up our bond, still today, is so special, I even lived with her throughout my college years. Her and my aunt, who I’m also close to, are both nurses. They would talk about their jobs, tell me stories and how much they loved being a nurse. My grandma is one amazing woman. She is brilliant, compassionate, loving, hard-working, caring and embodies everything that makes a great nurse, grandma, mother, and role model. She inspired me to pursue a career as a nurse.
I realized at a young age, how I absolutely LOVE helping and taking care of people, especially when they aren’t feeling well and need it the most. Listening to them when they have no one to vent to. Holding their hand when they are lonely and have no one to comfort them. It’s a career that involves compassion, empathy, and advocating for your patients. Growing up with a role model, such as my grandma, who exemplifies everything that I wanted to be, motivated me to go to school and get my degree.
I went to school in Michigan, where I grew up, and began my journey to becoming a nurse. While I was in school, my first job in anything health related was as a care manager at an assisted living. I worked with older individuals who had Alzheimers, which is a very progressed stage of dementia. I worked there for a little over 2 years. I loved being able to care for those who couldn’t take care of themselves, putting smiles on their faces, reminiscing about their life, dancing to Elvis, and making them laugh, and feel cared for. Now it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies, it’s a difficult job. Taking care of them meant, feeding, bathing, dressing, entertaining, dealing with mood swings, and sometimes combative tendencies, BUT it was the start of my nursing endeavors. I soon realized after awhile that I needed to get myself into the hospital, so I could become familiar with lingo, procedures, policies, daily tasks and skills, and the entire hospital environment in general.
P.S. I highly recommend if you want to be a nurse, it helped me in so many ways grow and become the nurse I am today!
Following this job, I was hired for a job on an Orthopedic floor as a nursing assistant. It was a unit of 100 beds, full of joint surgeries. Including knee, hip, shoulder, ankle, car accidents, etc., you name it, I saw it! I learned so much about time-management, hospitality, and dealing with daily dilemmas. I had amazing co-workers, that soon grew into family. I then soon became a nurse tech and learned and developed a ton of skills that helped me transition into the nursing role. Five years of working part-time at the assisted living and hospital, studying pharmacology, biology, writing care plans, and getting through clinicals, I finally graduated with my bachelors.
Woohoo!! I did it! One of the most challenging journeys of my life, but I did it! Seeing the smile on my grandmas face when I received my diploma and carrying on the legacy of her was one of the best decisions that I’ve made.
After I graduated it was time to take the state boards. Oh my gosh was I nervous! Now I’m definitely not the greatest test taker, they make me extremely nervous and I can never concentrate or focus like I need to. I studied my butt off and passed my first attempt! I proved to myself with hard work and dedication I could accomplish such a huge goal of mine.
I’ve now been a nurse for a little over five years (hard to believe time goes by so fast) and as much as I’ve learned and grown from my experiences and time in the field. I’ve also had a ton of anxiety and doubt when I first started and sometimes still do. Nursing is mentally and physically taxing. You are taking care of a life, a person, a living, breathing human being. You have to have basic and advanced knowledge and skills as well as critical thinking, which develops over time, while taking care of patients.
When I first graduated, I was scared out of my mind. I soon realized how much responsibility I had on my shoulders because well… I’m my patients eyes and ears. I’m by their bedside more than any other healthcare professional. Talk about a little overwhelming!
Everytime I had to work I dealt with a lot of anxiety, which would progress into panic attacks. Every day I hoped to get through my shift smoothly and took one hour and one day at a time. I’ve slowly over the years learned how to control my anxiety and being a traveling healthcare worker has helped tremendously. I’ve learned to adapt and realize that doing my best is enough!
I can be very hard on myself because I care so much about people and how I take care of them. I do so to the best of my ability, like how I would take care of my family. When people are sick they are vulnerable and don’t want to be in the hospital, so being able to keep them comfortable and cared for is my number one priority.
Nursing is such a wonderful profession, but the last few years I’ve realized how much more I want to do for people, especially focusing on women and young girls. In the hospital setting, I can’t do as much as I want to in regards to prevention and lifestyle changes, which bothers me and has been weighing on my heart. We are there to help treat the current diagnosis and that’s all good and well, but what’s the outcome of “just” treatment. It’s honestly like putting a band-aid on the issue, with knowing that it’s gonna get ripped off again. When the patient gets better and is discharged, they end up coming back in for the same, similar, or more issues. What?? There is SO MUCH GOOD that healthcare workers do for their patients and the community, BUT I still feel like more needs to be done!
That’s one of the MAIN reasons why my heart is telling me to pursue more. More as in helping women and young girls in a more personal and focused way. Health isn’t just about feeling good, it’s about educating yourself to make decisions now that will benefit you in the long run. Developing habits, through nutrition, exercise, mindset, environmental change, that will help prevent chronic diseases. Helping women take control of their life, their bodies, and their health. So they can exude their natural radiant beauty, confidence, develop trust within themselves, and learn how to live their best and most vibrant life. With my background, knowledge, and passion I know I can make a huge impact and inspire and support women in a positive way and I know that’s my mission and overall motivation to help so many!
So that’s a little bit about my story and why I became a nurse and how my immense passion for helping women evolved into what it is today. A healthy lifestyle, for most, stems from education, support, and follow-up. Women need professionals who care enough to take the time to dig deeper, deal with all of the mental setbacks and educate them on how they can change their habits and lifestyle. Prevention is key. Education is necessary. Support is much needed. Change is a must in order to prevent so many chronic health issues that are taking control of so many lives.
