Why Nursing?
Memory Shackelford MSN, RN
Growing up, it is instilled in all of us to choose a profession that provides good compensation and good benefits so that we can live a successful and comfortable life. But for me, that was not enough. I did not want to go to work every day just to make a living; I wanted to work to make a difference. In adolescence, I found myself obsessed with the idea of becoming a doctor, but not just any doctor—a neonatologist, a physician trained to work with the most fragile of populations. In high school my mother went back to college and obtained a nursing degree and started working at the bedside; her dedication to her patients, the work she put in to better our community, the way she was a part of a true team were truly inspirational. I decided that being a physician was no longer the route I wanted to take; I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to be a neonatal intensive care nurse. I followed my dream, obtained my nursing degree, and landed my dream job in our local level 3 neonatal intensive care unit.
Once I got there, the reasons why I wanted to be a NICU nurse evolved. Letting a mother hold her 500-gram baby for the first time; sending a 23 weeker home when she beat all the odds; feeding a baby his first full bottle by mouth; soothing a baby withdrawing from the most toxic of substances; showing an abandoned baby the love that it needed to thrive... the environment was nothing like I had ever imagined. Every night, I went home knowing that I made a difference in a little life, I made a difference in a family’s life, I made a difference in my community.
I was truly part of a team. I was never alone when caring for those patients. You have physicians, nurse practitioners, dietitians, social workers, and more than anyone else, you have respiratory therapists. The dedicated respiratory therapists made my job so much more magical. In school, I had learned basics of ventilatory support; what each method was and why it was important, but in the unit, the respiratory therapists were genuinely my other half. Together, the two of us would provide quality care to babies smaller than a bottle of shampoo, we would brainstorm reasons why a baby could not come off the ventilator… and in the back of a transport ambulance, we were each other’s lifelines.
One of the wonderful things about becoming a NICU nurse, is the ability to grow your skill set and advance in your career; you do not have to feel stagnant, there are so many options. Some choose to go back to school, some become PICC nurses, some become charge nurses, and then some become transport nurses. I became a neonatal transport nurse in 2018. It was a dream come true; only the nurses with elite assessment skills can train to become one, it was an absolute honor. I was trained to have an advanced skill set that included intubation, chest tube insertion, needle aspiration, and umbilical line placement. I was trained to read x-rays and be the eyes and ears of the doctors in outlying hospitals. “Adrenaline rush” does not even begin to describe the feeling in the back of the ambulance. I will never forget my second transport off of training. It was just me, my respiratory therapist, a box, and a bag. We were called to a neighboring hospital to pick up a baby suspected to have pulmonary hypertension, a disease process that can be deadly if not treated quickly. As if pulmonary hypertension was not bad enough, things quickly got worse. Upon assessment and reviewing of x-rays, my respiratory therapist and I discussed with the physician our concerns for a congenital heart defect. It was determined that the infant needed to go to Atlanta for possible surgical intervention. On the transport, if it could go wrong, it did. But with quick critical thinking, top-notch assessment skills, and amazing teamwork, we were able to transport the infant to Atlanta as it clung to life. After dropping the infant off into the capable hands of the Atlanta staff, I went home knowing that I had served my community in a manner in which not many people can.
Outside of the NICU, I myself am a mother to a child born with a congenital heart defect. We just recently had it corrected and those pediatric nurses that cared for my daughter during the scariest time of my life are truly angels on Earth. They cared for my daughter and for me at the same time. They anticipated needs and provided the most excellent and detailed care. When playing and snuggling are part of your daily tasks, you know you have the best job in the world!
I became a nurse to make a difference, but the truth is becoming a NICU nurse made a difference in me. It became part of my identity. The ability to be part of something greater does not come along too often, but as a nurse working with littles it happens every day. The skills, the interactions, the emotions, the difference you make… it is so much more than making a living; it truly is the best job in the world.