After having come across several reasons as to why there is low morale in nursing, I felt that I should pen this down. Have a pleasant read! Your expectations? Some people come into nursing with unhealthy expectations of what the profession can and should do for them. Understand something, nursing like any other is a profession. It would not provide for you what you don't already have (inner peace and fulfillment). It has neither intrinsic nor extrinsic powers in itself. You should have your intrinsic motivations or failing that some sort of extrinsic motivations- don't fop it all on nursing. That's where the unhealthy expectations begin. Nursing is a Profession And with all other professions, expect a downturn or an upturn. Set realistic expectations. Don't believe the hype that you would get out of school and barrel into your desired specialty. By all means, do have a positive outlook but temper it with realism. Show flexibility and willingness to chart a different course to your desired goal. Altruism? No, nursing is not all altruistic. Do not feel bad when some try to make it seem so. It is first a profession and you follow those guidelines to the fullest and render the best services that you humanly can within your capacity to do so. Some people are very fortunate to have nursing as their life's calling. Don't feel bad if it's not yours; just do your job pretty darn well. Nursing is for females? No. Nursing is a field which just happens to be dominated by females. It is open to both males and females and the strength (and humor!) provided by males is always welcome and can come in pretty handy. Nursing as a fulfillment? No. Fulfillment comes from within (introverts, this is your turf!). Not just with nursing alone, but with all other careers/professions, if you do not have fulfillment by self, do not expect nursing to give it to you. Rather, what that might do is compound an already bad situation. Find your inner peace, and then be satisfied with nursing. Hate nursing now but will like it later? Your gut feeling is almost always correct. If you hate nursing at the onset, chances are that you might not get to love it. You will learn to tolerate it though and possibly even fake it till you believe it. But a career should not be a shackle; you should have some joy doing what you love. Perhaps nursing might be the stepping stone to what you really want to do... (at least it will help pay the bills till you decide). Find a Release "When you stop growing, you start dying" Have a life as much as you reasonably can outside of nursing. The reason some people can tolerate some of the things they do, is because they have an expectation, something they look forward to...a release system. Imagine, three days (or five days) of work and then I get to do what I love! Exhilarating! Stay Challenged Whether through nursing or otherwise find ways to constantly learn. Stay on top of things as much as you can and when an opportunity comes and if you can, take it. Network Six degrees of separation. Find ways to network, at events at hospital gatherings, with visitors ... A smile and a curious mind go a long way. Personal Branding Forget about the hospital branding. What's your personal brand? Every time you step away from people, you leave an impression (your brand). Your brand is what you make of it, it can either build you up or tear you down. You decide. In conclusion, some are in a very happy place and have nursing as their life's joy, other's are not, but it shouldn't end there- you can take a not-so-pleasant situation and find some good in it. You just have to show up first!