Nurses' Former Jobs Kind of Amusing

I’m always fascinated by some of the jobs that nurses have held before they entered the profession – or even after they did.

I have an acquaintance who owned a garbage collection business with her husband before he died. She sold the business and entered nursing school while in her 40s. Another friend trained race horses and abruptly decided to change careers just before her 40th birthday.

I met a nurse on a trip to Turkey who was a traveling companion for a very wealthy New York socialite, then in her 80s with early-stage dementia. The nurse’s job was to take this woman on extended overseas trips several times a year, with the idea of keeping her mind as sharp as possible.

A cousin of mine went into nursing after being a nun for a decade.

I was young when I entered nursing and hadn’t had much time to do anything very interesting, but I went into journalism after working as a nurse for 15 years. I thought my nursing days were behind me, and didn’t mention my background when I interviewed for the newspaper job. But after several years, the word got out, and soon I had visitors at my desk a couple of times a week.

“I hear you’re a nurse,” they always began.

Then the questions:
What should I do about (fill in the blank) this skin rash? My father who I think has Alzheimer’s? My back pain? This prescription? Finding a doctor? My carpel-tunnel? My mother who needs surgery but has no insurance? Of course, I didn’t have all the answers, but usually knew where they could be found. As a journalist, I had a lot of unusual experiences.

I spent the night in an apartment full of strangers to cover an anti-abortion rally. My bed-mate (another woman whom I didn’t know), informed me not to worry if she had a seizure in the middle of the night. It was just her uncontrolled epilepsy.

I spent some time in the air more than once for various stories.

Once I jumped off a cliff over the ocean to ride with another hang glider, and for another feature, I rode in an open-cockpit ultralight. I was lucky enough to ride in several World War II airplanes, make an aircraft carrier landing (as a passenger), and take three trips in hot air balloons. Fortunately, I only crashed once.

I’ve been rock climbing, zip-lining and up-close-and personal with some very large reptiles – all fun, but once is enough.

I know there are many of you that have some great stories to share.

What adventures – in and out of nursing – have you had?