ATLANTA — The most trusted profession in the U.S. is celebrating its national holiday.
National Nurse Week starts Friday with National Nurses Day and one Atlanta nurse is celebrating 10 years in her second career.
Katherine King is an assistant nursing manager in the pediatric ICU at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
King says she pivoted to nursing after leaving her first profession.
"I came to nursing because I was in HR during the recession in the late 2000s,” said King. “And I was having to make some tough decisions as a human resources director. I just could not do it anymore.”
King said that she originally majored in nursing but then switched to business.
After years of working in the Human Resources sector, King knew deep down her passion was children.
"I love children and I love children so much that I am willing to serve them," said King.
King explains that she wanted a career where she could be honest with people, one where she could give back.
"I just really want it to feel like at the end of the day when I was retiring and my career was over, that I felt like, I had done some good in my community and I came back to nursing," said King.
2021 was a year that King said her nursing group gave all that they could working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Watching nurses come to the bedside and care for patients that were experiencing one of the worst times of their lives-- I really hold that memory very near and dear to my heart because once again, I just saw my nursing sisters do something for the community," she said.