Nursing is not for you if you don't have a burning passion for it?

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So during one of my clinical evaluations, my instructor was telling me that she doesn't think nursing is for me because I don't seem enthusiastic enough and that it was as if I was always "playing catch up". She said that if I can't see myself doing nursing "for free" then I don't have enough of a passion for it. I'll admit, I am not in love with nursing school, but I'm not sure if that's enough to determine whether I'd be a good fit for the profession. Nursing is so versatile too, maybe I'd find my niche within it eventually? But I can't honestly say I'm in love with nursing. I think it's an okay fit for my personality, I don't mind taking care of people and nursing pays decently which is why I'm attracted to it. I guess it's more of a practical choice than a passion. But according to my instructor that's not enough. She's convinced that I wouldn't be a good fit. Do y'all agree with her? Has an instructor ever insinuated something similar to you? If so, how did you respond, did you keep going anyway? I feel so conflicted.

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I think your instructor is a nut.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

There have been many threads here about the "calling" in nursing. Personally, I think it's bunk. Yes, nursing interests me. But I sure as heck wouldn't be doing it for free! It offers me a job that is resistant to recession (not recession-proof), a decent hourly wage (although getting my hours lately has been an issue), and I rarely bring work home with me (it's actually not allowed by my employer- if I'm working from home, I'm supposed to clock in).

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Not true at all..

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I think your instructor is a nut.

Funny thing is, this is exactly what most of my nursing school peers say about her. They think she's crazy because she often contradicts herself. But the thing is, I've been praying a lot about whether I'd be able to handle nursing. My grade in med/surg isn't passing, so I have to do exceptionally well on the final exam to have any chance at passing. I confided in her about this (she's my psychiatric clinical instructor by the way), and that's when she went on this whole spiel about how nursing may not even be for me and that I should do some soul searching to find out what my real passion is. If circumstances were different, I would take w hat she said with a grain of salt, but it's just the timing at which she said it that makes me wonder. I've been praying to God for clarity, and this might be it. I don't know..

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After seeing your identical thread with additional information added to your original post, I can see why your instructor has concerns. If you're not passing and you're "praying a lot about whether [you'll] be able to handle nursing", nursing may not be for you.

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Specializes in ED, psych.

I dearly dislike how nurses, teachers, anyone in the helping profession must have a "calling" and not be in it for ... you know, the decent wages/schedule/etc etc.

My first career was a teacher. Guess it wasn't my calling, because the constant bringing home of work really wore me down. Maybe I brought that upon myself, because I didn't go into the field as a calling but because it interested me and because I thought I would be good at it.

So here I am, second career as a nurse. Sure as hell not a calling. I went into it for the decent salary, schedule (24h/week ... can't find that as a teacher), interest (I'll truly never get bored), and I don't bring home work to do at the kids' soccer games anymore.

You don't hear people lamenting about game design, marketing, computer design, accounting, Human Resources, etc etc being a CALLING for anyone to be a success in, at least I haven't.

So why do nurses (and teachers) have to be martyrs?

Oh yeah, we don't.

It doesn't have to be a calling. Find out, why does nursing interest you? Go into the best possible fit.

At the end of the day, it's just a job.

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After seeing your identical thread with additional information added to your original post, I can see why your instructor has concerns. If you're not passing and you're "praying a lot about whether [you'll] be able to handle nursing", nursing may not be for you.

It's not that I've been praying all along about whether nursing is for me. I've been praying a lot RECENTLY regarding this since I'm not currently passing in my med/surg course and I don't know if God brought me this far just to fail out. I don't know if this is all for a reason and whether I should take what my instructor said as a sign or what.

And I wasn't too sure if i should address this to fellow students or actual working nurses so I decided to put it in both forums to get a variety of perspectives.

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Specializes in ICU.

I have zero passion for nursing. I have a passion for a steady, decent-or-better paycheck, a job where I'm not doing the same thing over and over every day, and opportunities for continued learning. Nursing currently fills that for me, but if I found something different that checked those boxes, I'm sure I'd try it. Despite my lack of passion, I'm a really good nurse and I've been given a lot of opportunities to expand on what I can do. You don't have to have a calling, you don't have to be in love with nursing, and you certainly don't have to be willing to do it for free.

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With a nut like that I would not be worried about her comments, but rather passing the course under her administration.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Threads merged.

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Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.
It's not that I've been praying all along about whether nursing is for me. I've been praying a lot RECENTLY regarding this since I'm not currently passing in my med/surg course and I don't know if God brought me this far just to fail out. I don't know if this is all for a reason and whether I should take what my instructor said as a sign or what.

And I wasn't too sure if i should address this to fellow students or actual working nurses so I decided to put it in both forums to get a variety of perspectives.

God didn't bring you this far” in nursing school. Nor is He planning for you to pass or fail. Jesus told his disciples to go and spread the good news of Christ. To love one another. To forgive. To be gracious and not pass judgement. To keep the commandments. To love God.

Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to become a nurse” or obtain any other earthly degree to prove that we are walking in God's grace. I firmly believe that one of the most common traps Christians fall into is to start believing that our success by man's standards (academics, finances, relationships, health) is a reflection of God's will in our life.

I'll reiterate this- God doesn't care if you become a nurse, or a teacher, or a garbage collector. If you fail nursing school, it doesn't mean you let God down or He let you down. It doesn't mean you didn't pray enough. It simply means that you didn't score high enough in your coursework to pass the class. You'll start to feel a lot more peace and a lot less pressure when you realize that the life choices you make (such as your career) don't mess up some master plan that God has for your life. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. That is all you have to do.

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