My Journey
Hello, and welcome to my blog! I am excited that you found me. I am Nurse Lizzie. A mom, wife, certified pediatric RN, and nursing educator. I am here to share my tips, advice, life, study skills, and everything in between with you.
Grab your coffee, it’s going to be a long one! Many nurses I know always knew they wanted to be a nurse, they followed in the footsteps of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, the nursing “blood” ran in the family. They had dreams of wearing that nursing cap with pride upon graduation, then transitioning into patient care, blood, guts, and adrenaline filled days. I am not that person. I never wanted to be a nurse as a kid, in fact, it was never even a blip on my radar. I had dreams of going to school for interior design and creating spaces and places for people, businesses, and truly I always pictured myself living in a bustling city working, traveling, and creating Lizzie inspired spaces. That is not my life today, can you believe it?
So how did I get here? Let me tell you. I did in fact go to school for interior design upon graduating high school and I quickly learned it just was not for me. While the art classes, art history, media, and design portions were exciting and exactly what I had dreamed of, I quickly realized I could not see myself in this world of design ten years from now. I was home sick, lost, confused, and in all honesty just felt empty. I didn’t know what the next steps were, and I was so afraid I would never figure them out.
Fast forward, I moved home, started taking gen-ed classes at a local campus and found myself increasingly interested in science, health, and wellness. I loved learning about A&P, how body systems work, how one impacts the other, how disease impacts each system etc. I also really enjoyed working out and spending time in the gym. It was then that I decided to apply to a physical fitness specialist program and from there I began working towards my associate degree in applied science. I spent two years learning all about the things that intrigued me, that gap and emptiness I had in art school were gone. I was working alongside incredibly gifted faculty with diverse areas of expertise and school felt like a fun activity rather than a chore. As I neared the end of my degree, I had to complete an internship in fitness. While many peers focused on gyms and personal training as most of us know it, I focused on obtaining an internship in cardiac rehab at a local hospital. It was an amazing experience, and it truly opened the door to nursing for me. I got to work with clients who were lucky enough to survive a myocardial infarction AKA “heart attack” and they had a second chance at life. They decided to get fit, make dietary changes, move their bodies, and just live the life that they came so close to losing. I cannot tell you how these men and women shaped my future. I discovered how much I loved talking with various patients, working with them in their various stages of recovery, helping them on the good days and the days where the going got tough. I knew that as I graduated with my degree, I owed it to myself to pursue nursing. It was all my head and heart could think about.
As many nurses require a strong math and science GPA, I was taking classes, hitting the study sessions, and working my hardest to get the grades that mattered. I spent what felt like years on campus, at the library, engaged and focused. Selections had begun, and guess what? I did not get a seat in the two-year RN program initially. I felt so defeated. I cried so hard, the big ugly tears, the mascara staining, heart draining tears. I felt like someone had literally ripped my heart out of my chest. When I pulled myself together and realized that life goes on, I made the decision to be placed on the wait list just in case anyone decided not to begin the program in August. One week later I got the phone call that changed my life, I got offered a seat in the RN program.
I spent two years working my butt off, all while getting married, but guess what I did it! I graduated in May 2012 with a second associated degree in applied science, this time in nursing. Those two years were filled with high highs and low lows, but I achieved my dream. Better yet, I discovered my calling, which was pediatric nursing. I love taking care of people, especially when they can’t take care of themselves and for me, I found my heart was called to pediatrics instantaneously. Specialties are like cilantro, you either love it or hate it. While I hated psych, I loved peds and I knew that I was meant to take care of kids. Upon graduation I accepted a job in PICU and worked there for a year, and then transitioned to a pediatric med-surg and oncology floor. I worked there until I decided to focus on a full-time career in nursing education. I have seen a lot in that time, and guess what? I cannot wait to share it all with you!
I have been working in nursing education since 2015 and I am here to share with you all my tips, tricks, and encouragement. I believe that a good educator sets your heart on fire for the quest of knowledge and truly cheers you on when the going gets tough and celebrates when the dreams come true! That is who I am, Nurse Lizzie, your personal nursing education and pediatric cheerleader. Please be sure to follow along weekly as I share everything from nurse life, wife, and mom life with you!