The Journey to Nursing
Since I was 12 I wanted to be a nurse. I remember distinctly the moment when I decided that was what I wanted to do. It has taken me 34 years to come full circle back around to that goal - 2 grown children later. This is not an unusual story at all for many mothers.
It was when those children had grown and left home that I was finally able to refocus on another thing I had wanted to do all along. I tested myself in many ways, and looked at all the options. I went to the Career Resource Center in Antigonish and had a skills and aptitudes test done. I was surprised and delighted when the test came back with both skills and aptitudes almost entirely medical!
I then took that list of interests and went to the local hospital. Here I was given the opportunity to job shadow in four different areas of interest. Spending time in the different disciplines helped me to get a real picture of what that work would be like. Nursing was one of those job shadows, and at the end of the day I knew that it was what I wanted - still.
Maybe I took a lot of extra time and effort to decide what I wanted to do, but I feel strongly that nursing is not a profession to be entered into lightly, and also that it is not for everyone. The past two years have confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that I love this work, and feel that it is my calling. And it all started with me watching a doctor respond to his pager, and wishing I could go with him to help.
I remember saying to two of my classmates on our first morning of clinical rounds, "I have waited 34 years to walk through these doors." I am grateful for all the support and cheering on I have been given, for being held to my promise to go back to school and do this, and for the unquestioning understanding of my dear partner.
It was when those children had grown and left home that I was finally able to refocus on another thing I had wanted to do all along. I tested myself in many ways, and looked at all the options. I went to the Career Resource Center in Antigonish and had a skills and aptitudes test done. I was surprised and delighted when the test came back with both skills and aptitudes almost entirely medical!
I then took that list of interests and went to the local hospital. Here I was given the opportunity to job shadow in four different areas of interest. Spending time in the different disciplines helped me to get a real picture of what that work would be like. Nursing was one of those job shadows, and at the end of the day I knew that it was what I wanted - still.
Maybe I took a lot of extra time and effort to decide what I wanted to do, but I feel strongly that nursing is not a profession to be entered into lightly, and also that it is not for everyone. The past two years have confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that I love this work, and feel that it is my calling. And it all started with me watching a doctor respond to his pager, and wishing I could go with him to help.
I remember saying to two of my classmates on our first morning of clinical rounds, "I have waited 34 years to walk through these doors." I am grateful for all the support and cheering on I have been given, for being held to my promise to go back to school and do this, and for the unquestioning understanding of my dear partner.
