The Nurses Who Grew Me

There are seasons in life when we are the ones doing the growing, and there are people who quietly tend to us while it happens.

For me, those people wore scrubs.

As a brand-new nurse in the early 2000s, I arrived with a nursing degree, a stethoscope, and far more questions than confidence. Nursing school had taught me the science, but it was the nurses beside me who taught me how to care for people. They showed me how to think critically, how to stay calm in the worst situations, and how to find courage when I wasn’t sure I had any left.

They never seemed to panic. They noticed the subtle changes before anyone else did. They knew when to call a physician, when to trust their instincts, and when a patient simply needed someone to hold a hand and offer reassurance.

But what I remember most wasn’t just their clinical excellence.

It was their kindness.

They answered my endless questions with patience. They corrected my mistakes without making me feel small. They celebrated my successes and gently guided me through my failures. They understood that becoming a nurse wasn’t something that happened on graduation day—it happened one shift, one patient, and one lesson at a time.

I often think of those wonderful mentors and so many others who poured themselves into a young nurse who desperately wanted to do a good job. They probably had no idea how much they were shaping my future.

As the years passed, I have worked in different hospitals, cared for thousands of patients, became a travel nurse, served in leadership roles, and found myself mentoring nurses of my own. More than once, I caught myself saying something one of my mentors had once said to me. Their wisdom has become part of my own.

That’s how nursing is passed down.

Not just through textbooks or policies, but from one nurse to another.

One calm voice during a code.

One encouraging word after a difficult shift.

One experienced hand showing a new graduate how to believe in herself.

I’ve also come to realize that mentoring isn’t limited to nursing. My parents and grandparents grew my love of gardening. Friends have helped shape my heart. We are all, in one way or another, the sum of people who invested in us.

Today, I hope I’ve become that kind of nurse for someone else.

The kind who teaches without judging.

The kind who encourages instead of criticizes.

The kind who remembers what it felt like to be new.

If any of my former mentors happen to read these words, thank you.

Thank you for your patience.

Thank you for your wisdom.

Thank you for believing in me before I fully believed in myself.

And for those who are no longer with us, your legacy lives on in every patient I’ve cared for, every nurse I’ve encouraged, and every lesson I continue to pass along.

You didn’t just teach me to be a nurse.

You helped grow me.

With love and gratitude always.