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People have different reasons why they choose to become a Nurse. Some people see it as a tool to go to other countries. Some people uses it as a preparatory course for medicine, while others take it as an alternative course if they can’t afford to go to medical schools. Some people where forced by their parents to become nurses because it’s an opportunity to go to countries like UK, Canada, and USA. Some people see it as a profession to earn a lot. I don’t know the statistics, but there are people who really want to become a nurse because they have a genuine love and passion to take care of sick people. Whatever reason we may have why we became a nurse, we must keep in mind that this is a vocation and not only a profession. If you’re forced into Nursing, don’t make it as an excuse to give less quality care to your patients. It’s not their fault if you’re a nurse, you alone made that choice whether you were forced or not.

Being a nurse must come from the heart. Patients can see right through you if you’re really concerned, or just doing your job because of the pay. When you really care, other people will feel the warmth and love that goes with it. You might not expect it but the care you give can change a patient’s life. I can still remember the time when I was hospitalized because of typhoid fever, I was just 16 then. I was depressed because I was absent for 2 weeks and classes for my last year in high school was just beginning. Missing a lot in school was stressful for me, and not having control over the situation made it more difficult for me. There was this nursing student who was taking my vital signs for several days. In that period, she never even said “hello” or gave me a smile. It was that time that I said to myself “I will never be like her”. So when the time came that I was the nursing student, I made sure that every patient I deal with will feel my sincerity. I ask how they feel, listen to their concerns, and I never forget to smile. You know what, everything I did paid off. A patient told me that I was the best nurse she had, and I was only in third year in Nursing at that time.

Nursing should be a profession that you really can commit to and not only see it as an opportunity to get big bucks. The monetary gain should be just an incentive, and not your primary concern. When you take care of patients just for the dollars, then you will get tired easily, burn-out, stressed, and will not find contentment in what you do. But if you take care of patients because they need you and you want to help, at the end of the day you will go home with a smile on your face because you have taken good care of someone.

I’m not saying that our work as a nurse is not stressful, but you can alleviate that if you love your work and not see it as a daily routine or task. Your patients’ smile, ‘thank you’, and to the extent of friendship can be most rewarding for a nurse. You may never know that you are already touching a person’s life.

So, love your profession as a nurse, take it as a vocation, do your work with sincerity, and have passion in taking care of your patients.