I Should've Been A Librarian

Yesterday I mentioned one of the reasons I am a nurse, but I thought you might like the whole story.
How did I come to be an RN?
Honestly, sometimes I don't even know.
I don't like blood.
I don't like needles.
I don't like body fluids.
I don't like the adrenalin rush that goes with alarms going off.
I don't like ambulance rides.
I don't like big words, science, or math.
I don't like policy, procedure, or regulations.

So, why am I a nurse?

Back in 1999, I was pregnant with Heather and I started thinking about what it would be like to be a midwife. Blame it on hormones, but I started asking around what I would need to do. The first thing was to become a registered nurse. So. . . I started volunteering at Somerset Hospital on the OB/Women's Health floor. I got to be around the nurses and the midwives and I thought "Okay, I can do this." That Fall, when Heather was just five months old, I started taking General Ed. classes at Allegany College of Md.

Over the next two years, I got most of the Gen. Ed. classes under my belt, and in September 2001, I took my first Nursing class. I had continued to volunteer at Somerset Hospital and also did some work as a doula (a birthing/labor support person). Then once I was able to, I began working as a Nursing Assistant on the telemetry floor, also at Somerset.

Finally, Spring 2003 arrived and I had my Associate of Science degree in Nursing. I was a registered nurse, for better or for worse. I had spent countless hours praying for God's direction in all of this; after all, I didn't want to be a nurse if it wasn't in His plan for my life. You know how some people just know what they want to be when they grow up? Well, I never grew up thinking I'd be a nurse. Once Leo told me I should be a nurse, and I thought he was crazy.

If someone would have told me when I was 20 years old, that I would be a nurse, I would have thought they were nuts. I had no desire to go to college; I was content being a wife and hopefully, a mother soon. If I would have gone to college then, it would have been for interior design, architecture, or journalism. Not nursing.

Sometimes at work, when things get stressful, I often say, "I should've been a librarian." Why? I like books. I like libraries. I like story hour. I think libraries are restful places to be.

Anyhow. . .

Why am I a nurse?
-At the time, it seemed like the direction God was pointing me in; He knows me better than I know myself, so I just have to trust that He knew, and still knows, what He is doing.
-Honestly, I needed a job that was secure, with a good income, to help out with the farm income, and nursing seemed like the answer.
-I like helping people get better, feel healthier, and live fuller lives.
-I like taking care of premature babies.
-I like meeting new people.
-I like knowing that I helped someone.
-I like that I can be a blessing to a hurting person.

The midwife dream? Gone. It wasn't really the right thing for me once I got to really see how it all worked. However, being at Somerset, working on Women's Health, led me to Johnstown where I am at presently, working in the NICU.

The future? I will work as a nurse for as long as it continues to be a good fit for me and my family, but I don't see myself being a full-time, night shift RN until the day I retire. I have too many other interests and ideas to pursue, as well as being present and available for my family.

Do I regret becoming a nurse? Would I do it all over again?
No, I don't regret it; it has made me a better, stronger person. I think I would do it again, at least, some days I think that. Other days, absolutely not! I think that is true for any job though. I wish nursing wasn't so much about charting and documentation, rules and regulations, policy and procedure, and more about actually taking the time to care for the person, but it is what it is.

There you have it, more or less, why I am a nurse.
It just goes to show that the best-laid plans can sometimes take a roller coaster turn.
I am glad I was strapped in tight.

Love,
Dianne RNC-BSN, CM/DN, MOM, WIFE, CO-CEO of Maust Family