I decided to join the medical field when my son was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last year. I started out by researching and became interested in helping people with illnesses. I became a volunteer at our local hospital, enjoy helping people, and have been taking classes ever since. I am very excited about starting work and will be starting my clinicals shortly. The scrubs that you sell are a very good price and have lots of fashion to them!

Name: Kim Carson
Email: tkcars@msn.com
City: Gilbert
State: AZ

I went into report one morning ready to have another great day at work. During report, the nurse coming off shift informed me that one of my patients was both blind and deaf, and that the nursing staff was having a hard time communicating with the her. I figured I would somehow find a way to break this communication barrier. The patient happened to be a diabetic, so when it was time to do an Accucheck, I couldn't figure out how to let the patient know I was about to prick their finger. So I took my machine and placed it in the patient's hand. Then I took the lancet and placed it in the patient's hand. The patient obviously knew what I was about to do because she stuck out a finger and let me perform the stick. For the rest of the day, I was very pleased that I had been able to communicate with her, and even bragged a little to my coworkers. The next day I came in looking forward to yet another great day at work. As I am walking down to the nurses station, I notice the deaf/blind patient sitting in the dining room READING A BOOK! Then she looked up at me and SMILED! As you can imagine I was very weirded out by this and found the whole situation rather startling. When I brought it up to the nurse coming off shift, she informed me that the patient wasn't blind, but LEGALLY blind. I felt really stupid the rest of the day. Let this be a lesson for all to read the chart COMPLETELY and don't always trust the nurse coming off shift to give you an accurate report.

Name: Katelyn
State: Florida

I enjoy the drama that is played out on T.V. and at times picture my self working in a grand hospital. Then I snap back to reallity, I work in a 35 bed hosptial where the experience is limited and I am slowly loosing all my skills. Sometime I say "I'm leaving" but I just can't its my home and we are already loosing all of our nurses to big countries like the U.S. and the U.K. Here I am a jack of all trades master of none. I am going to try give you a picture of this place. It's one long ward, it's separated in cubicles male and female. There is no medical or surgical wards ect. everyone is in one big pot. On the female side there's paeds. and matty. Even thou the place is small you go home mentally drained. On a average day I have at the max 16 pts. with limited staff one RN, one RN midwife, one nursing assistant. when the midwife get a woman in labour its the one RN and assistant to manage the 16 pts. Out of the 16, 4 are critical needing ICU care. I would have all medication to serve and still monitor the critical pts as ordered. Then there is still doctors rounds, with all appearing at the same time and all wanting their orders carried out STAT. Now there is still feeding of patients, turing of the medical bed patients, the surgical ones that have dressings to be done. ( lets not forget the midwife who is now deliverying a baby by herself another disaster waiting to happen.Yes the OBGYN doesn't deliver babies here, all they do are the CS). There is never an orderly around so all the heavy lifting is mine. I work whole shifts without a break because there is never enough staff to relief me. To make a long story short even thou the place is small it is stressfull having to think medical, surgical, peads, ICU and all that comes with illness in one shift. On top of the work load the treatment of the nurses by other staff and the public is one I would not wish on my worst enemy. Many days I cry before I go to work and I cry when I finish. I am thinking about leaving the profession but I love being a Nurse.

Name: Carol

After my father had his first heart attack, I knew I needed to know more to take care of him. Later in a Sunday School class, I realized I was being called to be a nurse. Graduation for me was on the same weekend my baby graduated from high school. Now I make a difference in patients lives by making their test more comfortable with conscious sedation. I can't control their results, but I can give them a caring environment to have their test. Whether it is a 1 month old baby or a 90 year old adult, they add reality to my life and I add a caring hand to theirs. Every day is a new chance to share a loving smile.

Name: Elaine, RN
State: North Carolina

I have been a pediatric nurse for the past 26 years and there is nothing that compares to the drama I see at work. My patients, whether newborn or young adult are all entertaining. When I take care of them, I treat them as if they are a member of my own family. I don't get involved in the emotional drama but I will do everything to assure that I am an advocate for my patient and his or her family. Patient safety is a priority too and I am always looking out for my patients best interest and what is the safest practice. Nursing is something that I have always wanted to do from the time I was a little girl in kindergarten and have never regretted it. It is truly a work of heart.

Name: Beatrice B.
State: Illinois

As a charge nurse working second shift in a nursing home you never know what kind of a surprise you're going to get. I'm going to tell you about a shock I recently had while at work and a loving resident that I will never forget. I came in extra as alot of us nurses do on my night off one Tuesday night. I was down my hall in which I have long term care residents passing HS meds when one of my residents (let's call her Susie just to give her a name, not her real name) said to me, "Nurse, I'm starving". Being the type of person I am I went and thickened her up a coke (which if you've ever thickened soda before you know it's tricky) and got her some goldfish crakers. I got a tray table for Susie and she sat by my medcart in her wheelchair and proceded to eat her little HS snack and then she looked up at me and stated, "These are delicious, so cheesy, and crunchy, and you can't have any!" Mind you Susie has dementia and is always spealing off silly comments such as, "This is crazy", "Where am I" and my personal favorite ( she has 3 daughters) she'd ask, "Does my family know I'm here?" and the correct response would be "Yes, Susie, they all know you're here" and she would be appeased. So I laugh at her comment and say " Susie, I would never want any of your snack, I brought those just for you." and she smiled at me. Well the night went on and the CNAs took her to bed and I went home and then came in the next night. Things weren't the same with Susie. She was vomiting and her abdomen was firm and distended and I sent her out to the ER. All the while she's saying, " I'm fine, I'm not sick" and " I don't need to go to the hospital." Her daughter that lives nearby had been called and wanted her to go so she was sent to the ER. The next day I come into work to the most horrid news. My Susie was coming back into the Hospice unit with 3-5 days to live due to advanced cancer that had spread throughout her abdomen. I was so stunned I had to sit down. I went and saw Susie in the Hospice Unit and her three lovely daughters all hugged me and thanked me for all the loving care I had given their mother and we shared all our funny Susie stories. She died within 5 days and I truly miss my funny Susie. But it's a lesson on life that no matter what, don't take your time with friends and loved ones for granted because they can be eating crackers with you one day and terminal the next. Live each and every day to it's fullest.

Name: Rebecca
City: Vestal
State: NY

I have learned modern medicine does not know everything. In the past year, I have taken care of three children who were born to parents the doctor told the baby was going to be stillborn or never be able to function as a human. In all three cases the children are writing their own stories; not only surviving, but are mobile, learning to talk and yes, "functioning as a human being". These little survivors, for some reason, tend to be little pranksters and more fun than my "normal" patients ever were! I hit this field when I was burning out and got recruited for not-so-critical teenagers and progressed to the vent/trach babies. It is a ball. If you practice with the home-health companies, they will train you and keep you current. AND only one patient at a time!

Name: Vicki N.
City: Tyler
State: TX

I actually started in the medical field when I was 17. I started as an EMT, then Respiratory Therapist, and then Nursing. I have always worked in the Critical Care Areas. I loved the one one care I could give to my patients and meet their families. It is always a good feeling when you can brighten someones day. A touch, a kind word, a back rub, or just a conversation. I also worked for the states. During that period I deployed to areas after the hurricanes. Helping those in need is a reward all by itself. I am a VERY compassionate person. I enjoy helping those in need. I have been on both sides, as a patient and healthcare worker. I made it a point to go that extra mile, as I would want one to do for me. A small "Thank You" from a patient is a great reward. Helping others is what I do best. Some people just do the motions, well, my heart goes into it. I have been blessed to help so many and I hope I was able to bring some cheer, comfort, or a smile to patients and family members. My body is getting worn out so now I work for a Veterans Clinic. This is my way of Thanking all our vets for what they have done for this country.

Name: Toni Lisa J.
City: Marianna
State: Florida

Top medical shows have nothing on us! As managers revolve in and out of the doors, babies continue to be born. We have the male secretary/tech (affectionately known as the "man-a-tary" to us) who can schmooze the phone off the hook. We have the compassionate, ultra-professional nurse who only hugs at Christmas and funerals (and then only if forced into it). We have the married, divorced and single parents. We have colleagues with the saddest, hardest, headline-making personal lives that terminally wound our hearts and remind us to be thankful everyday. We complain, criticize and lunch together. We secretly decide which physician or pharmacist would be our dream "back up" if our husbands were suddenly abducted by aliens. We wrangle for assignments are are thoroughly frustrated, frustrating and entertaining. We fight, bicker and insult each other and then we come together as a united front when the chips are down and move in tandem to save lives, fix the broken and console the mourning. We are what reality t.v. can only hope to imagine. We are a tight unit that is run by the greatest people never to receive an award.

Name: MARGARET H., RN
City: YORKTOWN
State: VIRGINIA

I decided to work in the healthcare profession because it is a stable field, and as a single parent of four children that was most important to me. I have also felt that it also is very fulfilling work. You get to help people and while every situation doesn't have a happy ending, you still are able to help make people as comfortable as possible. Also it's a joy to know that you are quite probably making a difference in someone elses life.

Name: Tamara B.
City: Independence
State: Kansas

I was 16 when my father was diagnosed with cancer. I remember the last few days of his life. Hospice had been called in. I watched the nurses take care of him. They gave him his medicine and bathed him. But I wanted to be the one to take care of him. I wanted to make sure he had everything he needed. I could not give him medicines then but one thing I could do was make sure he knew that I would be there to hold the pan when he needed to throw up, I would be the one to put cold cloths on his head and I would make sure he knew I was there, that I loved him. From that moment on I knew I could make a difference and serve others w/my heart...



Name: Barbara
City: Greer
State: South Carolina

As a new nurse tech in a local hospital I found the first few weeks to be hard. Not because of patients but because my new co-workers were so stand offish! It's like a high school. The RN's are the "cool kids" and the nurse techs are the "nerdy kids". I found myself saying hello to people and not getting ANY response! What's up with that? I didn't put up with that for very long. I made it a point to learn names and use them often. I started asking questions and expecting people to answer me. It wasn't long before my new co-workers started to realize that I am a hard worker and eager to learn. I work with a dynamic group of RNs and Techs and I feel like I'm becoming part of the team. That makes it easier to come to work every day. There are still a couple of nurses that I haven't won over-but I will!

Name: Ms. Conner
City: Tulsa
State: OK

I have had a lot of great new experiences as a nurse since becoming one in 2006. I guess the thing that brings me to share this story though is how it came about for me to become a nurse. I worked in electronics as an engineer for approximately 15 years. I then decided to start a family and found out at 15 weeks that my family was going from just the two of us to a family of 5. The triplet pregnancy, I thought I was going to breeze through, quickly became complicated at just 17 weeks when I was put on bedrest. My first trip to the hospital was at 19 weeks with lots of medications to stop contractions and delivery. I stayed for almost a week and was discharged. Within a few days, I was back and at that time, my perinatologist decided I would be there until I delivered since I lived over an hour away. The great team of people, nurses especially, that took care of me changed my life forever. I decided after making it to 31 weeks with their care and dedication to my wonderful healthy triplet pregnancy outcome, that I wanted to become a member of that team. I went back to school when my triplets were 2 taking one class at a time and am now working in cardiac and I love my new career. I have the nurses that listened to me when I thought I couldn't make it through another day in bed, crying because my extended family was so far away and my husband couldn't be there every day, or just talking because I was alone for so many days and worried every minute about my babies while I contracted constantly. Their strength, knowledge, care, dedication and support made me want to be a nurse and I am so glad I did it! Thank you.


Name: Sharon
City: Londonderry
State: NH