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The desire to become a nurse must originate in your heart. Although there are many "brain activities" required of nurses, these will be meaningless without compassion for those with whom you work. Nursing demands working with individuals from a broad range of ethnic, cultural, economic, gender, religious and other backgrounds. It is absolutely essential that nurses know something about these backgrounds in order to enter into a relationship with our patients. Entering the room of a Jewish patient sometime after sunset on Friday night and greeting him/her with "Gut Shabbos" (Good Sabborth/Yiddish) can make all the difference in the relationship you will have with that person. You will have spoken words that indicate a respect for the religious and cultural traditions of this individual.

Nursing is more than passing medications. It is one of the most intimate professions that I can imagine. If you believe yourself ab;e to enter into brief and meaningful relationships with others during their hospitalization; respond well in critical/emergency situations; work long hours; be asked to give 200% every shift; and function in several capacities during a dhift, nursing might be for you. If you are someone who has difficulty multi-tasking, working quickly and acurately, nursing many not be the right choice.

Most of my nursing career has been working on an Advance Life Support Ambulance crew, Emergency Room, and ICU-CCU. I want to share this particular example with you. While working the 3-11 shift in a busy Emergency Room, We received an call that an ambulance was three minutes away with an 81 year old man who was barely conscious and no IV route was extablished (meaning that he had no access to fluids and IV medications). I was the nurse assigned to this gentleman.

"John" was apprehensive. The intense look in his eyes as I introduced myself and started an IV stirred my soul. It was established that John had a ruptured aortic anyeurism (life threatening) and needed to receive blood and be off to the operating room as soon as possible. As I spoke with John, I learned that he was a deeply religious man and I shared with him that I am both a nurse and a priest. He had my left hand in a grip which would not relax. As I remained at John's bedside, we prayed while I charted (left elbow securing my nursing notes,/my left hand holding John's hand), With the assistance of another nurse, we hung blood and I monitored it's flow. During the hour that John was with us, we shared much (mostly through our firmly held hands). John asked me to walk with him to the OR which I did. As we approached the place where I could not enter, I wished John God's blessings and said, "I'll stop and see you tomorrow." His reply, "I don't think I'll make it." The following day, I learned that John died during surgery.

This is a dramatic example of what someone considering nursing must consider Of course, it is possible to be much more clinical and less intimate, but I would argue that nurses who offer more than their expertise in starting IV's, interpreting EKG's and passing medications, truly live their profession and reach the heart, mind and soul of the individual patient.

If you decide that this is the profession for you, then consider: finances, how much education you desire (LPN, RN), the type of educational instituation (community college, some online courses for the basics, 4 year degree). Spend some time in hospitals as a volunteer where you will find concrete examples of the pace of nursing. Most importantly, search your heart and take your time making your decision.

Learn more about this author, Claudia Windal.
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