Mary Jansson

I believe that finding a career that can keep you interested and involved throughout your future and for the rest of your life is a difficult task. Nursing is one career among many that I considered during my undergraduate education. I majored in biology and have always known that I wanted to work in the medical field. What role I wanted to fill however, was up for debate. Throughout my four years at Miami University, I took a wide range of classes, shadowed physician assistants, interviewed doctors, spoke with nurses at the campus wellness center and had meeting after meeting with my advisors. I was sure that one day something would "click" and I would know exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. This, however, didn't seem to be the case. My May 15, 2009 commencement ceremony came much sooner than I had expected and the next thing I knew, I was a confused college graduate without a career path.

I felt completely lost. I no longer had any idea of what I wanted for my future. Instead of entering the real world, I took the summer time to waitress, make some money and clear my head. By August, I was fed up and ready to make a change. I only knew two things - that I wanted to work in medicine and that I wanted to live in Chicago. I applied for every entry level medical job I could find in hopes of gaining experience. With the poor state of the economy however, this was a very difficult task. I decided that I would force people to hear me out and understand what I was looking to do. With the online job search getting me nowhere, I emailed health professionals all over the city of Chicago. I emailed physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and doctors - individuals from all of the fields that interested me. Out of all the people I had contacted, only one responded. That person was Gayle Riedmann, a certified nurse midwife. Her email turned out to be a turning point in my life.

Gayle hired me as a nursing assistant and I have been working at her practice since October. While it has been only a short time, I knew the first day I started that I wanted to pursue a career in nursing and possibly nurse midwifery. Gayle submerged me into the field, teaching me how to take blood pressure, take medical histories, put post-date patients on the NST machine and even draw blood. I immediately fell in love not only with nursing, but with the field of labor and delivery. I now know that entering into the accelerated nursing program is the best decision I have ever made and I have a strong confidence that I will not only make a great nurse but also that I will thoroughly enjoy my job. Maybe I will one day pursue a master's degree in nurse midwifery like my mentor Gayle Riedmann or maybe I will be happy working as an RN. Either way, I am blessed to have found such a level of clarity and to have the opportunity to start my future.