[Rockinonahigh]

Originally Posted by princessbelle

I believe you can certainly have more than one calling and that any calling can develop into a bigger area of learning and living....

Listening to my mother tell the stories, i have been a nurse since i was born. She tells of the times when i was very young, 5-6, when i would turn our home into a hospital and have baby dolls in all of the rooms where i would check on them and give them medication.

Nursing is definitely my calling. No doubt whatsoever. I married young and did not go to college right away. As with another calling i have, i raised my babies. I worked in doctors offices throughout the years and in hospitals. Anywhere i could to be around medicine.

When i finally went back to college and received my degree in nursing, my life was fulfilled. I have people ask me why didn't i become a doctor. As it would be a step down to become "just" a nurse? It is so very different. It is a different type of practicing medicine. Nurses protect patients, besides healing them. We are patient advocates and we stand, many more times than people realize, between doctors and patients to protect. We heal more than the symptoms, we help change people's lives by how they live. We request the help of many medical personal from different areas, such as therapies and social workers and sometimes the state, to better serve our patients.

We take an oath. We stand before our communities, our family, friends and before God and take an oath to always act on the behalf of the patient and in their best interest.

There are many nurses on this site. I will guarantee that we have all stood up to family, doctors, specialist and higher management within organizations when we have needed to on behalf of our patients.

A few years back i achieved the Nursing Geriatric Certification, and am now an RNC. This has become my passion. Our beautiful older population is very special with their own needs, abilities and right to live a long, happy life. My calling has developed into being their voice. I am involved with our Hospice side as well and will fight for anyone's right to die when it becomes apparent that is the end result of the illness.

What a wonderful achievement in life to find your calling and to be able to live it. Love reading these stories. Just a simply beautiful thread.

Very well said,the care of our elders is something that I hold very close to my heart.Keep doing what you are doing because what you do for the people you see each day gives more than you will ever know.