One day, as I sat in my office, a young man happened by and stopped to ask if he could speak to me about men in nursing. You don’t need to guess what I did. I motioned him inside my office and sat him down. His face beamed as I shared stories about my days as a student, as well interesting clinical cases I had encountered throughout my career. I was thrilled by the numerous questions he posed. I could feel his passion for making a difference, and I thought to myself, “Yes, this young man will make a fantastic nurse.” As he left, I knew our chance encounter was just that, because I had not planned on being in the office that day.
As I reflect, I am glad I was there and, more importantly, that I had the opportunity to meet this wonderful young man, who is clearly on his way to becoming a nurse. You know, so often we get busy and do not take the time to talk to prospective students, or we are simply too overwhelmed by all that is expected of us and unintentionally make ourselves unavailable.
I remember learning from a wise professor a long time ago to always leave my door open, both literally and figuratively, because we never know who may come knocking. Looking back, I say my professor was right. After all, it was a chance encounter that influenced me to choose nursing. The individual was an ER nurse who told me to “hold to my dream,” that I would end up doing what I was meant to do. All I can say is, I will continue passing the torch, and I think you should do the same.
For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published for the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.
