I Initially Chose My Career In Nursing For Financial Reasons. One Of My Friends Had Become A Registered Nurse And Was Making A Very Comfortable Living. When We Would Get Together, I Would Often Ask Her Questions About The Time Commitment Involved With Becoming An RN And What She Liked And Disliked About The Job. Being A Close Friend, She Tried Her Best To Paint An Accurate Picture For Me Of What Her Daily Work Was All About And Certainly Didn't Sugarcoat Her Position. While I Was Interested In What She Had To Say, I Was Much More Interested In Finding A Way To Quickly Raise My Earning Potential. I Enrolled In A Nursing Program And Worked Part Time While I Went To School. After Graduation, I Was Able To Get A Job At A Senior Care Facility. I Was Already Prepared For The Worst I Might Encounter And Was Looking Forward To Getting My First Paycheck. My First Paycheck Came And Went, And While I Was Happy To Be Earning A High Hourly Wage, My Focal Point Had Shifted. You See, For The First Time In My Working Life, I Actually Looked Forward To Going To Work. It's Not That I Ever Hated Any Particular Previous Job So Much That I Dreaded Coming In, But More That I Always Viewed Work As A Necessary Evil. Nursing Changed That For Me. Everyday, I Get To Help People. I Comfort Them When They Need To Be Comforted. I Listen When They Need Someone To Talk To. I Have A Very Busy Schedule, And Not Everything I Do Is Rewarding Or Even Pleasant, But There Are Aspects Of This Job That Make Me Feel Like I Am Really Making A Difference To Someone. Three Months After I Started My Job, One Of Our Patients Unexpectedly Passed Away. When His Family Came For The Wake And Funeral, They Made A Point To Stop By The Facility And Thank Me. Apparently, This Man Had Told Them Several Times Of How Kind I Was To Him And How Much He Appreciated It. Hearing This Made Me Cry, But It Also Made Me Happy That My Efforts Were Appreciated.It's Now Been A Few Years Since I First Graduated From The Nursing Program. I'm Going To Earn An Online Bachelor's Of Science In Nursing While I Continue At My Job. My Hope Is To Eventually Become Head Nurse, Although I Want To Avoid Moving Into An Administrative Position. I Like Spending My Workday Caring For Patients. The Feeling I Get From My Job Is Worth More Than Any Paycheck Could Ever Be.
