How I Knew: Dignity Health Nurses Share Moments That Decided Their Fate

This article is brought to you by Dignity Health

During National Nurses Week - May 6 through 12- several Dignity Health nurses reflected on the moment in their lives when they knew nursing was their calling.

• "I was an aerospace engineer. So when people say it's not rocket science, I can say, 'well, actually it is rocket science'. Everything I did as a professional engineer, I felt like I was in a fog. I finally spoke with my father about it. And he asked – What do I look up online that I want to read about? – Unequivocally, it was about health every single time." ~ Erin Harrington

• "I was raised by a single parent and she always encourage me to find a career that I can support myself with. Since I've always been trying to change the world and making it a better place and I was just drawn to nursing in that sense." "Nursing can be challenging, but I get to be there for the most intimate and most difficult parts of people's lives.If I can make it better or if I can provide comfort, I don't know if there is any greater honor than that." ~ Sarah Griffis

• "When I was having my daughter in 2000, my husband and I had just relocated to Central California. We didn't have any friends or family up there and when he left to go get something, my nurse stayed with me until he came back. She knew I was scared. It was my first child and she actually stayed even after her shift ended. She let her carpool ride leave just so she knew that I was comfortable. So the care she gave me really impacted me." ~ Tina Daniels
  

• "Why am I a nurse? Why am I not a nurse? Nursing is a second career for me. I actually started out in finance, and I found myself working in non-profit hospitals. I was inspired by the nurses and how they treated their patients, so I went back to school to become a nurse." ~ Martin Lubega

• "My grandmother took us to all of her events. She was on the National Black Caucus of Nurses, President of the San Diego Black Nurses Association. I grew up around that, so I grew up in nursing and it was just the natural progression for me as I became an adult and I followed in my grandmother's footsteps." ~ Lataushia Wilson-Hall

• "I was an aerospace engineer. So when people say it's not rocket science, I can say, 'well, actually it is rocket science'." "Everything I did as a professional engineer, I felt like I was in a fog. I finally spoke with my father about it. And he asked – What do I look up online that I want to read about? – Unequivocally, it was about health every single time." ~ Erin Harrington

• "My father was a proud man, which made him a difficult patient. Since he was hard on the nurses, I stayed to assist. I decided then, I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others by assisting them in healing or in passing." ~ Elizabeth McIntire

• "After the accident, it was clear. Iwas meant to be a nurse. They just crashed over a ravine. I grabbed a towel and flashlight and found a woman in a pickup with its engine in the front seat. I made a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and kept her talking until the helicopter arrived."~ Sara Lentz

• "I'm a nurse. I LOVE trouble, happiness, problems, solutions and teamwork. Nurses believe in the whole person and all the messiness that comes with life. Like a moth to a flame, I've never looked back." ~ Sarah Edmundson

• "Even after I retire, I will still be a nurse. It's who I am. It will always be in me." ~Trixie Still