Being a nurse was never something I had on my radar. I actually started college with every intention of becoming a Microbiologist. Who wouldn’t want to study little microbes in a lab all day and discover something awesome?!!! However, when you become pregnant in the first year of college and the father’s family is full of butt holes you fall in love with the nurses’ who go out of their way to protect you and your baby from said family. My L & D nurses were awesome! They guided me through my labor with ease, calmed my over the top anxious mother and father and like I said keep the butt holes from entering the room until I said I was ready. By the time I left the hospital I wanted to be a nurse.
Fast forward 7 years and my goal was achieved!!! I was nurse and ready to help the world I just wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to help them from. I started in an outpatient multi-specialty clinic in the Gastroenterology Department. After, a year I decided acute care experience would definitely help me expand my knowledge base and to the local hospital I went. Two years on Medical/Surgical with dementia patients, detoxing alcoholics, surgical patients from hell and the occasional one-one’s in ICU for Suicide Watch (can we say, GAH!!!!!), I decided maybe Labor & Delivery was a better fit.
I was lucky and landed a night shift training position for L & D. I fell in love with it!! Problem was at the point I had gotten married, had twins, added a son to the family and my oldest was knee deep in her teenage years and surprise I was pregnant again!!!! Night shift was becoming a problem. I needed a day shift and nothing was available. I became a stay at home mom for just under a year and just before I pulled all my hair out, put in ear plugs and drove off into the sunset my husband and I found an adorable small town to move to with great local hospital and strong L & D unit. I loved it there! Well, the hospital. The staff was great, the patients were amazing (only one ever needed Pitocin) talk about strong women! I also got a ton of experience in ICU, ED and again Medical. We were a small hospital if L & D was without patients and staff was needed elsewhere we were pulled. I loved it! ED was always hopping with something new. Eastern Oregon is never a shortage of interesting cases. ICU was next door and many times I was pulled over to assist in there. However, like I mentioned the hospital was great. The town sucked. Too small and we were always traveling to the next towns over (2 hour drives each way!!!!) for things we needed.
Back to the multi-specialty clinic in our hometown? Yes, please!!! I spent the next few years as one of the RN Float nurses. So I have now gained experience in Pediatrics, Cardiology, Rheumatology, Oncology, Nephrology, Pulmonology, Wound Care (so cool!!), Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease (amazing cases), Internal & Family Medicine and just 6 months ago I landed my dream dream job. I am now an Allergy, Asthma & Immunology RN!!! I love it. I get to mix serums, do spirometeries, penicillin testing, aspirin desensitization and there is much more! It’s awesome and each day it amazes me how my past experience comes in to play.
So for those out there thinking of nursing it is an amazing career and you don’t have to be tied down to one area. You can move around and discover what is the best fit. To all those HR people out there don’t discount a nurse who has seen a lot. We may not be in one area forever but we’ve seen and done more than some others which gives a broad base to pull from!!! Heinz 57 Nurse that’s what it’s all about!
Steeley Grace 