nursing instructors continue to tell new students tha they will make them nurses. wrong nursing is a calling similar to the ministry. i have both callings and feel that nursing can be used to comfort and encourage those patients that are fearful and in pain. i don't preach to my patients but encourage them to talk about their feelings about their illness and what scares them most. most have told me its not knowing what's happening with their care not the illness or death. the unkonwn is more frightening than death.
if you got into nursing for the money or "glory" or to further yourself with self agrandizing titles and degrees then i feel lyou are in the wrong career. those who entered nursing when i did who were intrigued with money and prestige to be gain are no longer in nursing. they still have their license, degrees, and their prestige because they are instructors but not nurses. they have been away from the reality of nursing and changes in the real world of health care not the information in books but in the trenches. nurses have to have a calling to be willing to clean a patient who has soiled himself/herself, clean up emesis whether is is food or blood, hold the hand of a lonely dying patient who came from a nursing home with no family left comfort them or cry with a family when a child passes or a grandparent or parent passes.
the emotional draining of the above is often offset by the patient that thanks you for saving them or changing their life or saving a family's loved one. i have experienced all the above and still thank God that i can still make a difference.
the instructors i have had gave the hooks and matrix to build my career for helping my patients but they didn't make me a nurse. i had been helping others my entire life and was prepared to do so as a nurse. they just sharpend my skill level.
What do you think?
do a random act of kindness each day. smile at a stranger and watch how the return the smile. afterward notice its hard to be grumpy when working.
Well, looking at my own post I can see that I spelled two words incorrectly. I feel 'called' to not criticize anyone's spelling. Especially on an Internet forum. Especially for those who just worked a 12 hour shift and are unwinding reading and posting.
Although I might criticize those who criticize spelling, but do not follow capitalization rules in his/her own post criticizing spelling LOL. :rotfl:
You are born a nurse. We are all born as nurses. This is actually a really simple question with a really simple answer.
This means that everybody, whether male or female was born with pure nursing hard coded into their genes. To give you a visual on this try observing young children playing. If somebody gets hurt the friends will immediately gather around and sincerely want to help soothe the injury or console the injured. Now bear in mind children as children we do this not because we where thought formally, but it's because it was hard coded into our genes/DNA code. As children we also do this not expecting to get any form of economic compensation. We do this so Buck, or Karen, or Beckys bruise heals, or so she feels better. That is pure nursing.
We have to look at humans as energies with a bio shell (tissue). If we all practice the form of nursing we had as children there would not be as many challenges as their are today in the nursing field.
To trully test if you practice pure nursing is really simple. Ask yourself if you can do it for free? Can you practice nursing for free without expecting anything in return economically? If you can trully say yes to yourself (cos you're the only one that knows this), then you know you are practicing that form of nursing that we where born with. That is, the type of nursing driven by our energy engine. If you ask yourself that and you feel this odd hesitation before the answer comes to you, then you probably are not practicing pure nursing and might conform and be pulled in by the wake of the status quo.
I have to disagree. I think one must be a kind and caring person to be a good nurse, however that does not make it a calling. I know an RN who used to be a social worker, for many years. She actually didn't want to quit social work, but she couldn't support her family doing that. She switched to nursing. She's a great nurse. I know another RN who worked as a blue collar factory worker for 20+ years then he was laid off. He decided nursing looked like an interesting field with lots of options plus he could support his family on the wages. He's a great nurse too. Was it his 'calling'? No. Still he's a fantastic nurse. Life has many twists and turns. I think if someone has an interest in health science plus they are a basically kind person, plus they like the earnings, then those are good ingredients to make a good nurse. I guess I'm uncomfortable with the 'calling' talk. I mean, sure some have stronger desires than others to be a nurse, and some from a younger age. But that does not mean that my friends, the social worker, and laid off factory worker who switched careers are somehow less than. They are great.
I'm also uncomfortable with the notion that those who push for higher and higher earnings in nursing are somehow bad. Not so. Time to stand up and get all the $$$s we can. That does not detract from caring, or 'callings' or any of those things, but rather, it's what we are worth.
I guess I would restrict talk of 'callings' to those in the religion business.
yep! I start RN school spring term and I don't feel "called" to it at all. I like helping people, i am interested in health sciences and nursing has many options available to explore and the pay makes it a worthwhile endeavor. I am a kind, smart and caring person and i think those qualities will translate into me being a good nurse, but I wouldn't be going into the field if it were a 10 dollar and hour job. My family is my calling, they come first.
you are born a nurse. we are all born as nurses. this is actually a really simple question with a really simple answer.
this means that everybody, whether male or female was born with pure nursing hard coded into their genes. to give you a visual on this try observing young children playing. if somebody gets hurt the friends will immediately gather around and sincerely want to help soothe the injury or console the injured. now bear in mind children as children we do this not because we where thought formally, but it's because it was hard coded into our genes/dna code. as children we also do this not expecting to get any form of economic compensation. we do this so buck, or karen, or beckys bruise heals, or so she feels better. that is pure nursing.
we have to look at humans as energies with a bio shell (tissue). if we all practice the form of nursing we had as children there would not be as many challenges as their are today in the nursing field.
to trully test if you practice pure nursing is really simple. ask yourself if you can do it for free? can you practice nursing for free without expecting anything in return economically? if you can trully say yes to yourself (cos you're the only one that knows this), then you know you are practicing that form of nursing that we where born with. that is, the type of nursing driven by our energy engine. if you ask yourself that and you feel this odd hesitation before the answer comes to you, then you probably are not practicing pure nursing and might conform and be pulled in by the wake of the status quo.
50cal
i think almost all of us are capable of nurturing at an early age. that part of nursing is "in there," so to speak. but nursing is so much more than "caring" in a nurturing/emotional sense.
nursing is science and critical thinking and experience and crackerjack assessment skills. it encompasses connecting with patients and families and docs and all kinds of other ancillary staff to get the best results available. we're talking communication skills and diplomacy, inner discipline and assertiveness, the ability to size up signs and symptoms and the willingness to pursue goals on behalf of someone who may not appreciate (or even be aware of) our efforts.
the tremendous amount of knowledge that it takes to be a good nurse is not something anyone is born with. it has to be garnered bit by precious bit and then maintained for the long haul. and then there is experience, which is sometimes passed like a torch from one nurse to another and other times earned by long hours on the job with occasional moments of panic sprinkled in to keep you alert, receptive, and humble.
if we need to give all of this away to prove ourselves, then i'm sunk. i worked hard to acquire and hone my skills and poured out my precious resources to do so. on occasion, i might volunteer my services for the good of those in need, but, for the most part, nursing is how i make my living. i earn my paycheck, and i don't want to have to forego my wages to feel that i'm a nurse in the truest sense. the bible says, "the workman is worthy of his hire." i concur.
the caring that is often associated with nursing is a muddy term. it blends the nurturing, emotional response evoked by a person in need with the skilled efforts we make to monitor and address that patient's physical status. these two aspects of nursing couldn't be more different, and yet we use just the one word to cover both. that's unfortunate because it can lead to the romanticized image of nurses as nuns, called to serve, on fire with devotion, selfless and willing to sacrifice, needing only the satisfaction of meeting the needs of others to be happy. maybe there are a few folks out there with that kind of incandescent zeal, but i don't know any.
most of the nurses i know are intelligent, capable, creative people who juggle many roles and constantly try to find balance in all they do. they care a great deal about their patients, but they understand and respect the boundaries necessary for their own emotional health and for patient autonomy. they give, often more than they should, but they have expectations, too, understanding that every gain they make will benefit their patients, co-workers, and their own children as they enter the workforce years down the road.
it would be nice if we could all operate out of that early childhood energy and enthusiasm, and maybe we can to some degree. but for the patient to receive optimum care, the inner child had better be accompanied by the outer nurse. that takes training, experience, and a willingness to value what we do.
as deb stated, it's not either-or. nsg is an art and a science. the 'art' is where we can develop, nurture and hone the caring, the sensitivity, the sympathy, the empathy, etc. the 'science' is where our schooling enters, continued education, reading, perpetual learning. not many professions consist of an art & science. to be a good nurse, one needs to embrace both.
You are born a nurse. We are all born as nurses. This is actually a really simple question with a really simple answer.
This means that everybody, whether male or female was born with pure nursing hard coded into their genes. To give you a visual on this try observing young children playing. If somebody gets hurt the friends will immediately gather around and sincerely want to help soothe the injury or console the injured. Now bear in mind children as children we do this not because we where thought formally, but it's because it was hard coded into our genes/DNA code. As children we also do this not expecting to get any form of economic compensation. We do this so Buck, or Karen, or Beckys bruise heals, or so she feels better. That is pure nursing.
We have to look at humans as energies with a bio shell (tissue). If we all practice the form of nursing we had as children there would not be as many challenges as their are today in the nursing field.
To trully test if you practice pure nursing is really simple. Ask yourself if you can do it for free? Can you practice nursing for free without expecting anything in return economically? If you can trully say yes to yourself (cos you're the only one that knows this), then you know you are practicing that form of nursing that we where born with. That is, the type of nursing driven by our energy engine. If you ask yourself that and you feel this odd hesitation before the answer comes to you, then you probably are not practicing pure nursing and might conform and be pulled in by the wake of the status quo.
50Cal
Plain and simple, this is a confusion of terms.
The verb "to nurse" can have such meanings as "nurturing," "caring," soothing," etc.
But that is not what we mean by professional nursing.
Professional nursing (which is the only subject under discussion here) is assisting the client in restoring function, in adapting to malfunctioning, in adapting to life changes (such as pregnancy, birth, death, or intra-surgical states).
And that's a technical definition because that's what we're doing as professional nurses: providing a professional service. We're not there to soothe or console, except in an incidental sense.
If nursing is just doing what we instinctively did as children, then schools of nursing should close, right now. Professionals with their skills and talents should leave the field because we'd be better off with -- and let's be frank here -- a bunch of kindly grandmas who can just pat the sick on the head. Of course, there's nothing wrong with kind people who pat sick people on the head. It's just that that's not what nurses do. Envision putting such a "caregiver" in almost any setting, and asking them to provide professional care. The thought would be laughable, were it not so pathetic.
No other professional field ever seriously argues that their field of knowledge is basically what children do. And as long as we entertain such ideas as something that should be taken in the least seriously, we can count on professional nursing remaining a sub-professional field (at best) in the public's mind. Because if we think of ourselves that way, we can count only imagine what those outside the field think.
And as for practicing nursing "for free," well, I'm sorry, but that is just too silly to even be seriously discussed. I have no problem with providing professional services pro bono, and do. But professional nursing is a compensated service. Period. Those who think it should be done free should stop talking nonsense.
Specializes in cardiac, psychiatric emergency, rehab.
Often it is a calling. The message may start out small and soft and one may get hints for years and years! When the BIG calling comes, you NEVER forget it! It's as loud as a bang regardless of how many years it takes to get there!
hmm I dont know,someone told me I look like a nurse,so maybe I was born to be a nurse and found that out in my twenties,I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a child and I still love animals!!!
I have not met many nurses that use this term. In fact, the Nurses I know that are admired within my Nursing community asked me one question about Nursing when I told them I was interested. "Can you handle a lot of stress?" NOT ONE asked me if I thought it was a "calling" or warned me to stay out because I did not think it was a "calling"!
I think it is so funny to see these kind of posts (usually by a pre-nursing student) that promote the stereotype of Nursing that is not accurate. I know a few Nurses that were/are motivated like me to be a nurse for other reasons in addition to having the chance to care. And they are still Nurses today!!
In fact, if I did not know them I probably would not be going into this field because I would have assumed the stereotype of nurses was true. I'm glad I know that their personality and intelligence mirrors my own and I am making the right choice.
To those of you whom find it to be a "calling" I think it is nice because this is what YOU use to keep yourself motivated. DO NOT presume the rest of us need to do the same to turn out to be good Nurses! I am sure there are plenty of student Nurses that think they have found his/her "calling" whom might FLUNK OUT/DROP OUT of school (Pre-reqs or Nursing). Or later, may end up being a bad Nurse because he/she does not have the abilities (intelligence, skill set, etc.) to be a good Nurse despite his/her belief that Nursing is his/her "calling".
Personally I think this is the most admirable and thought-provoking thread on allnurses.com. The input by numerous experienced and respected nurses is invaluable and should be read and REread.
DaFreak71
601 Posts
Mua ha ha ha