I wasn’t one of those kids that knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. I knew I could see myself in healthcare, but I wasn’t sure what. To be honest, my original plan was to go with whatever would make me the most money (lol… isn’t it always?). I quickly realized that although money is important to me, my happiness will always be paramount.
The Journey
When I first started college, I was a Chemistry major, and I had decided that I wanted to be a pharmacist. I was actually pretty good at chemistry, but the classes bored me to death. I envisioned my life mixing and sorting medications all day long and realized that, although pharmacists made great money, I could never truly be happy with that career. Shoutout to all the pharmacists out there… y’all are honestly bomb af! I work with pharmacists, and they’re literally brilliant. It just wasn’t for me.
Halfway through undergrad, I changed my major to Nursing. I paid the price with an extra year of school and about $15,000 in loans, since my scholarship only covered four years. But it has been so worth it, and this is only the beginning.
I graduated with three job offers. One in a level one trauma center, one in a level two trauma center, and one as an Oncology/Clinical Research Nurse at the most renowned medical research agency in the world. I’ll write a post about my first job as a nurse soon!
Mama Knows Best
Now, my mom had been telling me since high school that I had the qualities of an amazing nurse. But I’ll be honest–at first, something about a career in nursing didn’t quite move me. I had let the stereotypes and ignorance surrounding what nursing truly consists of cloud my perspective of the field. I thought it wasn’t prestigious enough. Wasn’t respected enough. Still, the idea of becoming a nurse always sat in the back of my mind.
In hindsight, I realize how silly I was for ever letting ignorance guide my judgment. It’s true that nursing is often thankless; we are underappreciated, underestimated, and most would also argue underpaid lol. My favorite question ever (and I mean this in the most facetious way possible) is, “So what do you do? Wipe asses?” *yawns.*
Many people don’t understand the physical, mental, and emotional labor nurses endure. Our job consists of more than treating patients and sending them home. We listen. Comfort. Care. Share their victories and feel their losses. I recently learned that a patient that I cared for on many different occasions passed away on Thanksgiving Day, and I literally stared at the email for about 10 minutes, my heart in my stomach.
We are the first people patients see when they visit the hospital, and the last when they leave. We learn our patients so that we can advocate for them and encourage them. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year–we show up for the people who trust us in the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
So why not just become a doctor, Rielle?
I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked, “Why didn’t you just become a doctor?” I roll my eyes every time.
Doctors are amazing, but I was never interested. Becoming a doctor is one of those things you have to know for sure that you want, and you have to want it bad. The schooling is grueling. And long. And expensive. Y’all, med school is a different kind of cutthroat. Shoutout to my doctors-in-training friends, I am so proud of y’all because whew chile. In my opinion, there are only certain specialties you can go into as a doctor and truly get a return on your investment.
Don’t get me wrong–the specialty you’re in as a nurse can definitely be demanding in terms of time and workload. But the flexibility of the field is like nothing I’ve seen before. When I tell people that for most nurses, “full time” is three days a week, they’re blown away. And don’t get me started on the pathways you can take with a nursing degree. Most people think of nursing in the context of caring for people at the bedside, but it is so much more than that. Read about some of the things you can do with a nursing degree here!
Are you a nurse? In nursing school, or considering it? If so, let me know your “why” in the comments!
The Comments
Marlene Hopkins
I have dappled with the idea of going back to school to obtain a degree in nursing to get the experience of the profession so that after retirement from government I could apply my management experience to advance my career in that field. I’m so proud of you ance know patients absolutely love you.
Lea Robinson
Looking forward to reading your blogs. So proud of you!
Ab Baby
This is so dope! You are so compassionate and helpful! I’m glad you became a nurse and excited to see you become an NP and make an even bigger impact!
Valerie
Most ppl don’t know this, but I have MS. Since my daughter is being honest and transparent , I’m going to do the same. I had to give myself a shot every other day (my medication has changed and now it’s once a week with an auto-injection pen- thank God). Considering I’ve always had a fear of needles, I couldn’t do it! So I relied on my husband and Rielle. She was 16 years old and she’d comfort me before and after the shot. She had no fear. She was confident and reassured me that it was going to be “quick and painless” each time. I’d always tell her how good she was with ppl. I can’t wait to see how far she goes in her career. She doesn’t sit still long, so she’s going to jump to a new level every couple years. Sit back and watch her grow! Love you…Mom