Why I Became a Nurse

“Why did you become a nurse?” is one question, which nobody has ever asked me before.   

“You have the personality of a nurse!” and “You are so compassionate!” are things that I have heard more times than I can count.

But, as my fellow nurses know, it takes more than a caring person to be a good nurse. So, why did I go down this road?  

I come from a family of nurses. That certainly contributed to my first steps in this direction. But, looking back, it was so much more than that. I just didn’t see it.

It was, and has always been, my determination, my strength, my compassion, and my resilience. It was and always will be, giving all I’ve got to others.

I began taking pre-requisites for nursing at a local college when my grandparents got very ill, and my aunt (who was an RN) quit her job to take care of them. I helped as much as I could.  I went to their house every morning to help with care, and then I would go to class. I would go back to their house on my breaks between courses, and when the school day was over, I’d visit again, and help put them into bed. This became a routine, and eventually lead to my pursuit of becoming a CNA.  

While I was helping my aunt take care of my grandparents, I became very ill myself. I was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease soon after that, and eventually had a thyroidectomy.

Still, I did not give up on my nursing journey.  

I started an RN program and made it almost halfway through, but began feeling very ill again. This time, the disease was not as easily diagnosed. My symptoms were vague, but severe enough that I could not focus and was hospitalized yet again during school.

I didn’t drop out, because I wanted to push through. I was exhausted, and failed out of the program by half of a point.  “How could this have happened?” I thought to myself.

On the HESI exam, I scored 1,000 out of 1,020. Sadly, it was not counted toward our grades. However, it gave me the encouragement that I needed to keep going. I enrolled into an LPN program right away, and classmates started calling me, “the brain” due to my knowledge and effectiveness in leading study groups.

During my last two semesters, I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus after having nephritis. All of those vague symptoms finally started to make sense. All the doctors who had implied that the pain was in my head and all those times that I felt crazy no longer weighed me down. I started treatment and it’s been a tough battle, but I am better off now than I was before the diagnosis.

Now as a nurse I advocate for my patients. I have empathy. I pay attention. I listen. I encourage. I critically think. I follow through. I know how hard it is to feel defeated, discouraged, and ignored. I will never be a nurse who makes people feel that way.

So, why did I become a nurse? There are a lot of things which come to mind that weren’t all obvious when I started my journey. But now, as I look back, I know:

• I know what it feels like to be a patient
• I know what it takes to persevere
• I know how to accept my mistakes
• I know I can learn from them
• I know that life involves defeat
• I know how important it is to be resilient
• I know what is needed to succeed as a nurse

My journey started because of my personality, my social skills, my family background and my compassion. But, it’s evolved into much more and it keeps evolving every day.

That is why I am a nurse.

Story by K. Lynne.

Lynne is a Licensed Nurse who resides on the East Coast in the United States. She is also a standup comedian, video gamer and musician. She is widely known on social media for her videos and blogs on health, wellness, music and comedy. She thrives on bringing happiness to others, on stage, through videos and blogs, and to her patients.  

Lynne is currently continuing her nursing education, and her ultimate goal is to become a Hospice Certified Nurse Practitioner. Read more here.