Don’t ask a nursing student if they’re going to go “all the way” and become a doctor
It was the spring/summer before I was set to begin my first year of Nursing school.
My Uber driver was a South Asian immigrant, probably in his 40s or 50s. I can’t remember where I was headed that day, but I remember being in a rush.
For the first minute or so, we rode in silence. But eventually, he asked me about school. I told him I was about to complete my senior year. “Oh, that’s wonderful,” he said. He asked what program I had applied to. I said Nursing. He smiled.
“Nursing, that’s nice… you’re going to go all the way and become a doctor, eh?”
The question threw me off. Nobody had asked me if I was going to become a doctor after I literally just told them I was going to become a nurse. “Yeah,” I said without really thinking.
Was I embarrassed? Or did I just want us to stop talking? It was probably the latter. I prefer quiet rides.
For the rest of the day, I couldn’t stop thinking about his question. He probably didn’t mean any offense, maybe even meant it as a compliment. But I was slightly offended by it.
