From Office Manager to Registered Nurse

Oden, Arkansas

After separating from her husband in her 40s, Martha Koelemay became a paramedic and then an ICU nurse in a rural hospital.

The first thing I wanted to be as a little girl was a nurse. My great-grandmother made me a miniature nurse's uniform, and I went around the neighborhood with my nurse's kit, taking care of the neighbors.

Then I grew up and life happened. I went to college for a year, then dropped out to get married and raise my family. Back then, most girls took shorthand and typing in high school, so I came out well suited for office work and these jobs were easy to get.

I held a series of increasingly responsible office positions over the years, but as I grew older I felt that something was missing. Priorities were skewed, and the work I was doing was not really fulfilling.

When I separated from my husband in my mid-40's, it was necessary for me to work a second job to make ends meet. An ad for an EMT course caught my eye, so I took the course and went to work part time for a local ambulance service. I loved it!

Taking care of people who needed me was just what I needed to restore my self-esteem and sense of purpose. I proved to be very good at my new job and quit the old one to work full time in EMS. I advanced to paramedic level but by then was entering my 50s and knew that my useful days in this field were limited. So I applied to nursing school and was accepted.

I am now a Registered Nurse in the ICU of a small rural hospital, a logical transition for which my days in EMS prepared me well. This work is fulfilling beyond measure, and I feel I have come full circle from the little girl who first wanted to be a nurse.

I am grateful for the opportunities that lay in my path to this rewarding second career. I fill a real need in our small town, and I have been able to bring comfort and a degree of healing to many, many people --- most of all myself!

See Martha Koelemay's profile