10/04/2024
"๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐น. ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป?"
"๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ? ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ?"
Honestly? I never dreamed of becoming a nurse โ I made a โsensibleโ choice.
I can still hear my father's voice: โItโs a secure job. Youโll always have work.โ
And he was right.
And I was good at it. I cared. Sometimes too much.
But nursing changed.
To me, it was never just about the medication rounds and wound dressings; it was the moments between - listening to patients, reassuring, holding a hand, that's where I found meaning.
But those moments grew rare, and in the end, documenting care seemed more important than providing it. ๐ฅ
And for sometime, I'd been balancing two jobs - after shift finished, I'd head to the local college to help adults learn to read.
And I realised I no longer wanted safe and secure. I wanted more.
I wanted to make a difference - I'd seen how literacy unlocked doors - professional and emotional.
And I could not imagine a life without the joy reading brings.
So, I jumped off the NHS ship ๐ณ into very uncertain waters, leaving my lifejacket (pension) behind.
And I didn't drown. It has not been all smooth sailing, but I am now the captain of my own little boat, and I am making a difference.
Does that answer your question?
And what about your story?
๐ Tell me in the comments below.
Have you ever felt stuck between doing a safe job and what you love?
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I coach international doctors to help them have meaningful conversations in English.