I get asked quite a bit if I always wanted to be a nurse. Well, not in the womb, but RIGHT AFTER, I did!
As a kid I spent more than a few stints in the hospital: Pneumonia, dehydration, getting a curtain rod snared in my mouth(I still have the scars on my palate) and getting hit by a car(All my right side ribs busted, a punctured lung and a bald spot on my head for years from sliding on the top of my head over the asphalt after I got hit by a guy going 50 in a 35 zone). Growing up, I really wanted to become a doctor or a nurse. A funny thing happend along the way. I found out I was good-very good-at French.
When I went to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, I had a master plan of getting a double major in French and Business. Seemed like a good idea at the time except for two things: I hated my business classes, and I found out I LOVED The partying lifestyle. My French grades were the only thing that kept me from getting tossed on my butt. I walked out of Wartburg College in the spring of 1983 with my wonderful B.A in French. It looked great on my wall. It helped me meet and court my lovely wife, Rebekah; I met some great people thanks to my studies in France. In 1983, a B.A in French did NOT make me very employable. Remember, during this time, you were thankful to have ANY job in the U.S-even a lousy one. I ended up enlisting in the United States Air Force. (Rebekah did, as well)
The USAF, in their infinite wisdom, took somebody with a foriegn language background, and made a Medic out of me. I worked in a primary care clinic and a pediatric clinic, as well as making 911 runs on base in the ambulance. When I left active duty in the spring of 1988, I had the option of either going back to school for a teaching and coaching certificate, or going to nursing school, because I found I really did enjoy the healthcare field. In 1988, there were NO teaching jobs available in the upper midwest. I was married, we had an almost year-old infant-I did not have time to wait for the teaching market to open up. I went to nursing school.
I owe two people a huge debt of thanks for those two years of nursing school: My dad and my friend Bob Greenberg. My dad essentially told me that he would help me out financially if I got out of the Air Force and come back home. He made the house payments on hour little home in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota during those two years. Bob Greenberg was a nurse who put up with more than a little flack from nursing instructors who did not like a man going into nursing. He had a great deal of helpful advice in just getting through the mind games and stress involved in nursing school. I was lucky in that I did not have to deal with the level of male-bashing that he put up with in the early 80’s, but his advice and encouragement were a tremendous help to me.
I am glad that I went into nursing-particularly when I see the garbage that teachers have to put up with in this day and age. It’s not perfect, but there is plenty of demand for my profession that will not go away any time soon. There are a ton of sub-specialties that you can get into. I won’t get filthy rich-but I will always be able to put bread on the table. I also have to say that in working in healthcare, it has given me such an appreciation for life, and how precious and fragile it is. I have learned that we are not guaranteed tomorrow, and we have to be thankful for each day that we have our health and our loved ones.
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