Wednesday, February 3, 2010

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

So, most of you know by now I am a sales person. However, do you know what I want to be when I grow up?

Well, if I could go back to school and do anything...I'd want to be a nurse. I have wanted to be a nurse since I was in high school. I was selected by our local hospital (Lexington Medical Center, in West Columbia, SC) to participate in a Summer program before my senior year in high school where I was able to spend half the summer in the lab (at the time I thought I wanted to be a Cytotechnologist-little did I know how quiet and lonely the labs could be, not a good fit for me!) and the second half in the Labor and Delivery unit. 

What an amazing experience that turned out to be for me. I witnessed everything, lots of births, c-sections, tubal ligations, you name it, I saw it (including some really gross diseases I won't discuss here). It was remarkable. I remember the first birth I witnessed, the entire time I was convinced I would NEVER have a baby, that looked like torture! Then when that child took his first breath I just sobbed and realized I would want nothing more but to bring life into this world.

I was even present as my softball coach and his wife mourned a still born they had just discovered she was about to deliver (I was not, nor did I want to be, present for that delivery).  However, the compassion and care they received from the nursing staff was touching and so very heartfelt.

The entire experience had me convinced I was destined to be a Labor and Delivery nurse. Then I went to college, got into the nursing program, decided I didn't even want to consider working holidays (what a naive, silly little 18 year old I was) and was lured to the marketing department where I switched majors.

As I have now given birth to three children each experience only solidified to me that I belong in nursing. I actually have aspirations to go back to school when the kids are a bit older and get my required nursing courses so I can become an RN. I mean, hey, why not?

I guess for now I'll just go about selling my medical supplies (and stuff) and dreaming of when I will be putting some of it to use, instead of peddling it!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go for it! I wish I had the nerve for nursing, but other people's blood and fluids gross me out bad. I couldn't hack it. I do think working in L&D would be exciting. I hope you get to do it someday if that's what you'd like to do.

Doc said...

You aren't gonna be sticking me with any needles!

Musing Madman said...

And see..I uck at sales. I tried sales three times. One of my former managers ran into me a couple of months ago. He tried talking me into coming back. I told him that I had tried three times at sales and failed. He told me you know failure is good for us to learn some things. I told him yes...and I learned that I suck at sales! Good luck! You SHOULD go back to school...pursue your dreams!

Evil Twin's Wife said...

I would love to work in L&D, but it's all the other things you need to learn along the way before you graduate that I would have a tough time handling. Impacted poop? No thanks. Severed Limbs? Not happening. Maybe I can work up the nerve someday!

Unknown said...

3-We'll see what happens...

Doc-Well, if I were a Labor and Delivery nurse I don't *think* there would be any reason to stick YOU with a needle...lol

Darkwulfe-Good answer!

ETW-I know there are parts to it I'm not completely conviced of, yet...ha!

Anonymous said...

One of my neighbors went back to nursing school and graduated at age 50. She works in the ICU and loves it. It's never too late to do what you want to do in life.

(Elizabeth McAlhany, here, but I can't log in, for some reason, so I shall be ANONYMOUS... HA!)

Jay said...

The opportunity will probably be there when you're ready. Lots of people make mid-life career changes like that. It's probably a good thing.

Oh, and I totally had to google "Cytotechnologist." haha ;-)