The ability to express feelings or convey messages using the perfect word(s) does not come easily for everyone. My love for writing began at an early age, and over the years, I have been honing my writing talent for this very time in my life. As a kid, I wrote letters, poems, and short stories, impressing my teachers with my perceptiveness.  I still handwrite letters to my mom and grandma, simply because there is something special about putting pen to paper. (Not just any pen, though – I freely admit I am a “pen snob.”) When I became a nurse, I had no idea I would one day be able to combine my love of writing with my nursing experience, taking my career in a whole new direction. A friend introduced me to RN2writer, and I instantly knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

#1: The Writing Community Inspires Me

Nursing school was not easy, but my parents wanted my college experience to be as stress-free as possible, and I was able to focus almost all of my attention on studying. I am now learning a whole new industry while juggling a family and a full-time job. The amount of encouragement and support I receive from both new and veteran nurse writers is incredible! My bedside experience taught me people do not freely share information (withholding seems to make them feel powerful). And heaven forbid a cranky nurse should be asked a question she thinks you should already know the answer to.

 Writing is a much different experience. While I have never met the people I interact with each week, they still treat me like a family member. They are warm and welcoming, generously offering advice and feedback and answering questions without making me feel inferior. I am inspired to not only continue on this path, pursuing what I love, but also to become the best possible version of myself in every aspect of life. The nurse writers I have encountered carry themselves with confidence and conduct their business with integrity. I am proud to be involved in a community that sets such high standards and motivates me to pay it forward.

#2: My Clinical Experience Matters

I had (what I considered to be) the ultimate bedside position. As a supervisor in a level I trauma center emergency department, I had the ability to help both patients and staff, and I felt important, like I truly had purpose. After fifteen years of putting the job first and coping with a dangerously high stress-level, I reluctantly decided it was time to move on. I did not have high hopes of finding another position that would leave me fulfilled, and had resigned myself to recognizing that my job was just that – a means to pay my bills.

 As a nurse writer, I can use my clinical knowledge to create health content that will benefit far more people than I was ever able to reach in the ED. With so much misinformation available today, I can also ensure there is content available that is accurate and truthful. I may no longer be physically caring for trauma patients or rushing patients to the Cath Lab, but I believe my role as a nurse writer is equally important and necessary, and I find it to be quite gratifying.

#3: Satisfaction Without Sacrifice

I truly loved being an ED nurse, and there will always be a part of me that misses the camaraderie and joy that comes with saving lives. But that role also came with a steep price that my family and my personal well-being had to pay. As a nurse writer, I experience the satisfaction of loving what I do without the high cost of 16-hour shifts, running a department with one-third of the staff I should have, and constantly trying to figure out how to improve a broken system when the decision-makers didn’t share my concerns. I can choose which assignments I accept and decide when my peek productivity hours are, and then spend actual quality time with my family, focusing on them instead of wondering if I completed my documentation, how I could have handled a situation differently, and how I am supposed to ask bone-tired nurses to willingly work overtime to help fill the schedule.

I was initially afraid to leave the bedside because I felt it would somehow make me less of a nurse. I now realize being a caregiver is who I am, and writing is a fantastic way to utilize the nursing knowledge I have gained over the years. Writing makes me happy, and I am really looking forward to the relationships I will build and the assignments I will complete as this journey unfolds.