Someone new to healthcare asked me today - "what is your favorite part of being a nurse?" It didn't dawn on me until I was thinking about her question a little bit later in the day, but when I thought about the answer to her question, I was surprised that I had not thought about the many difficult times I had encountered as a nurse. The times when I was so tired I wanted to cry, when I could feel the sleep winning, and my skin felt like it was already puffy and oily from actually being asleep when, in fact, I was just dirty from the day's work. The times when I was dizzy from not eating or tearing up because I had held my pee so long may have started to affect my thinking, and peeing my pants as a grown person may have been real. I didn't think of the times that the smells of the rooms or hallways seemed to follow me home or the weight of my patients' pain added to the ache in my own back. What immediately came to mind was the pride I felt to be a nurse and to have had the opportunity to have had any impact on one student, new nurse, patient, or family member I had come in contact with. I knew that my answer had to be "education."

My colleague chuckled and said, "Of course you would say that." I had to share my story of the journey that brought me where I am and why education is not only precisely what I would say but also beautifully ironic. Taking the time to explain, demonstrate, show someone, or learn together can communicate care on such a personal level and, at the same time, empower.

As a teenager graduating from high school, I wanted to be an educator. I left high school and entered a four-year program at a private college recognized for educational degree programs. I selected a dual major in special and elementary education. As part of my volunteer and part-time work activities, I took on a job providing support for a young child with autism who needed high-level support at his aftercare program to participate, given his special needs. I learned quickly that being a special education teacher or support person takes very special people with lots of skill and patience. Sadly, I did not think I was one of those people, so I changed my major. Still convinced that education was my path, I tried student teaching for secondary education. Strike two - decided teenagers were also not for me.

I finally found myself in the school of business and did well. I completed my Bachelor's and later went on to complete my MBA. My education provided me with career opportunities in various sales fields and healthcare administration. I fell in love with the operations of the healthcare industry and was amazed at how much opportunity for change and improvement there was. I loved the voluminous amounts of data that existed for almost anything I wanted to know or be able to explain. The challenge was the crossroads of the clinical and administration roles. As I was excited and ambitious to come to the table from the perspective of my business background to solve clinical problems, that was less warmly welcomed by clinical staff who were often resistant to hearing clinical solutions from a non-clinical person. In hindsight, I wish the younger me knew more about interprofessional teams and collaboration. Nevertheless, I wanted to know about clinical operations, so I went to nursing school.

Nursing school was hard. Yes, an understatement. However, I developed a value for clinical work from a unique perspective of knowing other parts of the healthcare industry. That experience made the whole healthcare world seem to make sense. I connected the patient to the budget and quality metrics and back around again. I understood why the colors of signs and the costs of printing them in color were less critical to clinical staff trying to keep patients and colleagues safe than they may have been to the accounting departments. It was fantastic to answer questions and bridge gaps between so many people from that vantage point. As I moved on to get my BSN and evolved my nursing practice to understand the importance of education and research, it was like a lightbulb that went off. Nurses are always teaching...everyone.

I tell that story because I see it in every encounter since that great revelation that nursing is bursting with education and opportunity. The irony in the passion I have discovered in nursing education has come full circle from the field of study I shied away from as a younger person. In replying to the person who asked me today, "What is your favorite thing about being a nurse?" I love educating as a nurse. I love being part of the interaction that contributes to:

A patient gaining an understanding of their condition.

A victim realizing that they have a right to be safe.

A child is calmed from some interaction to learn about what they expect during their visit.

A new nurse is excited about finding confidence in a new skill.

A family coming together to support one another through a loss, understanding the grieving process.

A nursing student realizes that nursing career options are endless.

A peer nurse learning that self-care is not selfish.

Patients feel at ease knowing it may not be okay, but they are still in control.

And while I could go on and on...I walked away from her question, feeling that despite those hard days of clinical and professional challenges...When she asked, I was humbled and lucky that these proud thoughts flooded my mind.