When John David Duggar and Abbie Burnett first met, she was a nurse, noted their TLC bio. She attended Pontotoc Technology Center and was a member of the Health Occupations Students of America group, shared The Ada News. Abbie graduated from the PTC practical nursing program in July 2017, The Ada News noted, and was working in the field when she met her future husband. As fans saw during the “Counting On” episode “To Grandmother’s House We Go,” she joined John David on a mission trip to the Philippines that took place just a few weeks before their wedding. She had an opportunity to utilize her nursing experience there, and she opened up during filming about her passion for the profession.
“Growing up, I never even considered the idea of becoming a nurse,” Abbie detailed, per Romper. “But once my grandparents got terminally sick, I got to interact with nurses at the hospital, hospice, and home health nurses, and that’s really what sparked the idea of becoming a nurse,” she explained, adding, “I just love taking care of people.” Abbie worked in the field for about a year, but she then quit to focus on planning her wedding to John David and plan her move to Arkansas. She noted she hoped to perhaps return to nursing one day, and wanted to ensure she kept her license and skills up to par.
