Nursing wasn’t always my dream. Shocking I know, but to share how I became a nurse we should start at the beginning when I first knew I wanted to get involved with healthcare and helping others. I have always been interested in medicine and human anatomy because much of it is like puzzle. You have to figure out how each symptom, lab result, and imaging fits together to solve the patient’s problem.
However, nursing wasn’t my first plan. I originally wanted to be a Physician’s Assistant. When I didn’t get in to the program that I had applied for during my senior year of college, I was pretty upset but decided I didn’t want to wait any longer to help people! So, I immediately applied to nursing school. I applied for an accelerated 12 month program. This program was specifically designed for those students that have already completed all of the prerequisites needed for nursing school and have another degree.
So I graduated in early August with my Bachelors of Science in Psychology and started nursing school two weeks after! The accelerated program was like a full-time job, between nursing classes and clinical rotations. I was lucky enough to get a preceptorship in the Emergency Department, which gave me first hand experience in emergency nursing. Once I graduated nursing school with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing and passed my NCLEX, I started working as a nurse in the same Emergency Department that I had preceptored at. Sometimes your plan b ends up being the right plan all along.
*Image courtesy of Kimberly Farmer
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