A Correspondence is Born

My niece, a newly minted college student somewhere in New England, referred a friend to me for advice on exploring the joys and vicissitudes of nursing as a career. This thoughtful young woman who is entering her senior year in high school is filled with questions which I most readily and joyfully answer. This is affording me a golden opportunity to examine my motives for being a nurse, my reasons for remaining a nurse, and why and how I would ever consider encouraging anyone else to enter this profession.

Yes, nurses may still sometimes "eat their young", and hospitals may still use mandatory overtime to heartlessly over-utilize their nurses, while some of us struggle with caseloads which burst our brains' ability to provide what we feel is the most thoughtful, thorough care possible.

Still, I see a noble and genuine love of people driving many individuals to enter the nursing milieu, and a career which, historically, is portrayed as one which is grounded in compassion and caring. Nurses have made great strides (alongside some misguided backwards motion at times), and I still feel enormous pride vis-a-vis my chosen vocation/profession.

This correspondence, which I hope to integrate and share here on Digital Doorway, may open for me some more doorways to explore, and I'll be sure to share them here so that you can experience them with me. Stay tuned.