Why Nursing?

Oh man, how many times I have pondered this question, whether on my own or because of essay prompts…honestly, you’ve heard all of the reasons I’m going to give (want to help people/save lives, a job that provides flexibility of working in a variety of medical areas as well as just about anywhere in the world, a good salary and plenty of room for moving up in your career, and hey, the job security in this economy doesn’t hurt either), and even though all of those reasons are legitimate and applicable to me, it was more than finding a job that meets certain criteria; it was about how the career made me feel. I don’t remember exactly who or what first suggested the medical field to me (admittedly, I think it was the TV show ER), but once I got even the slightest taste of it (volunteering at a hospital and taking an introductory health sciences course at my high school), I knew it was for me just because it "felt" right; I’ve never been as excited to learn about or as interested in something as I was (and still am) in any medical information I could get my hands on. Originally, however, I was convinced that I wanted to go to medical school and be a physician, without really even considering nursing. I got the idea after I did an internship program for high school upperclassmen and spent 2 weeks observing all of the members of the medical team in the Special Care Nursery; I realized that the hands-on, interactive care that the nurses did was more what I wanted to do. Then I was forced to weigh other options; yes, the title and respect that comes with that MD is nice, but wouldn’t I rather be equally as respected as a nurse because I earned it? And even though nurses work long hours too, having a family was an important part of my future, and I didn’t want to spend that much time away from them (*note: I’m not saying that physicians can’t be good mothers; of course they can, I just felt that I personally would feel guilty spending that much time away from my family). Physicians’ salaries are certainly nice, but I didn’t feel there was much point if I couldn’t use it to travel, which is something really important to me. 4 years later, and I'm more and more convinced that I made the right choice; even though there have been times where I was presented with more options than I realized I had (which I feel like is part of college) and wondered what else I could be doing, I always come back to nursing and don't see any career that would be better for me. I don't know exactly where nursing will take me, but I know I'll end up where I'm supposed to, and I'm looking forward to the journey.