What a great title for our new year and new decade. The year of the nurse. In much of my work I discuss the negative impact of labels, yet nurse is a label I wear with great honor and pride. I came to the nursing profession in a round about way. I had a mad crush on my nurse “Sue” when I was hospitalized with a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in 1975. Oddly, it wasn’t then that I wanted to become a nurse.
It wasn’t until my sophomore year in college, when I was rethinking my major (I realized I had to drop chemistry as my major when I couldn’t live with the definition of an orbital: the area in space where an electron may or may not be). It was my mother who informed me that I needed to become a nurse. She reminded me that I wanted to work with people, I loved science, and I wanted to teach. I have no idea how she knew those things described nursing (just throw in the word “care/caring” and you’re about there). There have been no nurses in our family as far back as I know.
I finished my undergraduate degree (in biology – because it’s the study of life and very concrete) and went directly on to a program where I earned my RN and master’s degree in nursing. While that was pretty intimidating at times (especially clinical rotations where I was learning to practice at an advanced level when I didn’t even have my RN yet…), it was the best path I could have taken. I gained a strong foundation in nursing as a caring, teaching science.
I am proud of the work I get to do every day, and nursing principles have shaped every aspect of it.
I am proud to be called a nurse and I’m incredibly proud and honored to practice nursing. This is an exciting time to be a nurse. Nurses have vision, nurses have passion, nurses are doing amazing work. Enjoy 2020: year of the nurse!