So why didn't you go to med school...

I feel like I answer these questions on a weekly basis: why didn't you just go to med school or what is a nurse practitioner? I just found out really what an NP was last semester.

....drumroll please.....

An adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner is a board-certified, master's prepared, advanced practice nurse who independently assesses, diagnoses and treats, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological modalities, acutely ill and chronically complex adults in collaboration with physicians.

Did you get that? Ok, good.

Basically it comes down to one thing: I was born to be a nurse. I'm pretty sure there is some undiscovered genetic code that pre-disposes a person to becoming a nurse as their career choice: strong stomachs, large bladders, and a big heart (genetic research in my future?) Though my mother and aunt are nurses, I was never immersed in the career of nursing when I was growing up. I made this decision on my own in A&P class in the 11th grade. I loved taking care of people and I wanted someone to benefit from my skills. I am also infatuated with the human body and our ability to heal/fight. With that being said, I made a decision that I wanted to be a nurse and grow up to work in the NICU (neonatal ICU) at the Brigham in Boston. After graduating from nursing school I decided babies were definitely not my thing and started to work on a neuro/stroke floor in a small hospital in Cambridge, Mass. But after a year, I wasn't being challenged enough. I decided I wanted to go to grad school but for what?

My mom and I at Catalina Island last summer

 I loved teaching so I headed in the CNS (clinical nurse specialist) direction. Watching the NPs at my job in Cambridge was discouraging. They basically just filled in for MDs when they were on vacation and on weekends (not a good system at all). After narrowing down (and looking at generous tuition packages from hospitals) I decided on Penn. Best decision I ever made. In October 2010 I said goodbye to Boston, packed up my Jeep and headed south to the City of Brotherly Love. I started work at the number 1 hospital in the nation (at the time): the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania. I fell in love with my job and I still love it today.  I work with amazing physicians, NPs, PAs and nursing staff everyday.

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia

I started at Penn's School of Nursing in January 2011. It didn't take me long into the program to realize that I wanted to switch to the acute care NP program after watching the NPs on my floor.  They are an integral part of the team. I realized that the NP role varies A LOT from setting to setting and I wanted to be a part of the decision making. I also wanted to learn as much as a I could before my brain exploded. Now I'm sitting here with 5 1/2 months left (my brain exploded a couple months ago) and itching to graduate.  I'm ready for the next chapter in my life...but not as an NP (not just yet).

How did you decide you wanted to be a nurse or nurse practitioner?