Positive Life / Career Influence

“When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother what should I be...?” Okay, so I am not Doris Day, but the conversation did take place, and at the time, my mother strongly urged me to become a nurse. The dialogue went something like this:

Me: I think I might want to be like Aunt Lorraine.
Mom: You mean a nurse?
Me: Yes. I like watching her do things at work. (This was something I got to do often as a kid...more later on this)
Mom: Well it is a highly respected profession. It’s got better potential and so much more respect than a secretary or teacher get at their jobs.
Me: Then that’s what I will do.

Over the years I have joked with my mom that those girls who became those ‘nonrespected’ secretaries get to have pretty clothes, better pay, one hour lunches, and they never have to clean up crap (literally). And there are a great many times I have to seek out that respect factor (especially from the doctors). But the truth is, I love what I do. Nursing is in my blood, and very much a part of who I am.

My Aunt Lorraine was an incredible nurse. She was the kind of nurse who held her patient's hands, placed a cool cloth to the forehead, and continually sought to ensure her patients were well cared for, and always comfortable, even those in pain. I can remember visiting relatives as a kid when they were in the hospital, and at the time, it seemed like Aunt Lorraine worked on every unit! I’m sure my memory is fuzzy, but I got to see her in action a great many times, and it was through these times, my desire to become a nurse grew. Her white uniform was always pressed and her nursing cap looked like a little upside-down muffin wrapper. Her smile was contagious and I can still hear her laugh. She was the nurse I wanted to become.

There have been some many times in my nursing career that I wanted to throw in the cap and trade in my uniform (or scrubs) for a more respectable job. But every time I felt this feeling, this urge to quit, my thoughts would turn to my Aunt Lorraine. There have been so many times that I have truly felt her presence in my life, guiding me through my career, as well as the rough times I have had as a nurse (and there have been so many).

I believe that she has been such a positive influence in my life, and nursing career, and I am forever grateful. I only hope that I am the kind of nurse she was, and one that she would want me to be.

“Infants emerge into the world with the help of a nurse's gentle touch. A newborn baby reaches out to her nurse in an instance of this early, reassuring contact across the borders of the human body, personal identity, and generations of time.” (unknown)