Nursing Blogs>Amy Bozeman

Dream job ingredients

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While cooking up a favorite dinner last night before work, I started thinking about the ingredients I threw together in order to cook up this dream job of mine. Like putting together a great meal, I had a recipe for success that actually worked.

Ok, no job is really “perfect.” Yet my job is a perfect fit in that it works with my family life, provides just the right amount of income and is satisfying personally as a vocation. Was it easy getting here? Um, no.

At the core of my job is what started it all: desire. As a young adult I had no idea I would end up as a nurse. I started out as a doula because I fell in love with childbirth and wanted to help pregnant women. Then a plan began to form in my mind over a five year period—when my children were still at home with me. Ultimately I wanted to be a childbirth educator and labor and delivery nurse.

Before going to school, I shaped the world around me with faith and support—I knew I couldn’t do this by myself. Getting my family on board was easy and getting my spiritual life geared up was crucial. Then, I prayed myself through nursing school, orientation, my 1st couple of jobs, etc. Along the way I laughed and cried on the shoulders offered to me!

From the beginning I had to acquire skills. I had no idea how time consuming this task would be—and it started back on day one when I picked up my 1st book on childbirth. Being a doula was invaluable as a foundation and then nursing school kicked my butt. I accepted the fact that I signed up to become a lifetime learner and moved forward.

Somewhere in there I had gained enough experience to start shaping the job I have now. I paid my dues as a night nurse and was able to go part time. This coincided with my certification as a childbirth educator and, when a job at my hospital came open for a CBE, I jumped at the chance. Through much of this evolution, I blogged, which led to being able to write a little about what I now do! Finally, the pieces fell into place almost all at once. My recipe, as it were, started to take shape.

Here is the key to any good recipe: TIME! You can’t whip up a perfect beef bourguignon without lots of it–and the same can be said for creating a dream job. It took me 14 years to get here!

I believe anyone can cook up their own niche–like me, you throw together the needed ingredients and craft your dream job. With a dash of time and a pinch of perserverence, it will come together. Hang in there!

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Amy Bozeman
Amy is many things: a blogger, a nurse, a wife, a mom, a childbirth educator. She started her journey towards a career in nursing when she got pregnant with her first child. After nursing school and studying "like she has never studied before" she entered the nursing profession eager to get her feet wet. The first years provided her with much exposure to sadness, joy and other complex human emotions. She feels that blogging is a wonderful outlet and a way for nurse bloggers to further build their community. Traditionally, midwives have handed down their skill set from midwife to apprentice midwife. She believes nurses have this same opportunity: to pass from nurse to new nurse the rich traditions of this profession.

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