Did you choose nursing because it was your "calling"?

Nursing Students General Students

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  1. Was nursing your calling?

    • 20
      Yes
    • 56
      Not at all
    • 27
      To some degree
    • 4
      Other

107 members have participated

Hello :) I'm a first year in college interested in pursuing nursing.

Did you feel "called" to be a nurse? Did your expectations of nursing fit reality?

I read that people who choose nursing because of their desire to help others, rather than the actual enjoyment of the job, were more likely to burn out quicker.

Any thoughts on this?

I'm trying not to see nursing as a profession that is always "rainbows and butterflies" and to not let that cloud my expectations of nursing.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
A "calling" is more of a strong inner desire to a specific cause or need. It is not necessarily "religious". A commitment to nursing, for the right reasons, may be your place or "calling" in the workforce. For others it may be "volunteering " having the same desire or need to help people or animals. I think its all about whats in a persons heart. Some are "compelled" to do things, some positive some negative...

What, pray tell, are the "right reasons"?

I went into nursing because it was in the health field, which interests me, did not involve medical school (which is what I first thought I wanted to do until I started college and got a big dose of reality), pays decently, and allows for flexibility. It was not a "calling". I don't need a calling to be good at what I do- which I am.

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For me it was a sense of duty. A duty to take care of anyone in need. I also think that nurses are truly the backbone of healthcare. I wanted to do more than just treat a disease and give the patient some sound advice. I wanted to actually work with the patient and see them improve day by day because people need connection with others. In nursing I can build that connection with people that I care for and truly help them get better. The nursing process in my opinion surpasses medicine because medicine can fail people. Something can go wrong with the surgery, or you have an untreatable disease. Again if you were the patient who is going to be with you when you hear that. The nurse will. As a nurse you have many opportunities to dig deep into people's lives and have meaningful conversations with them so they don't feel that they are alone in the fight against a life threatening disease. Nurses do the little things that make the most difference in a patient's life. This is why I became a nurse.

Hope to be a humanitarian nurse with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) after nursing school.

Are you a nurse? This is just never going to happen.

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I have been a nurse for 2 years. I went through a great training program, but the newness has worn off and work is becoming the grind I always knew it would be. some days are more fulfilling than others, and I appreciate that my schedule (3 12's) allows for lots of time outside of work to find fulfillment in other areas.

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Specializes in none.

I wanted to be a nurse after I had my son. I was walking to the bathroom right after having him and blood was leaking all on the floor. I was so embarrassed!! My nurse was walking behind me with a towel cleaning it up like it was no big deal. For some reason that stuck with me.

In my most open, exposed, and messy moments there was this woman quietly helping me.

I never had any good expectations of being a nurse. I went in wanting to be there in people's hardest times to help.

And you will save lives and have big impacts in people's lives. But it's also the small things you'll do that will leave big impacts.

Yesterday I had 5 PIC pts....tranfusion, heparin drip, cbi, iv drug user, stage 4 wound, and a new afib conversion.

I was super busy. My cbi pt was sun downing and pulling at his foley. In between his random ramblings I deciphered that he was hungry. I told him I'd be right back. As promised I returned with food. He quickly quieted down, ate then fell asleep.

I didn't have to bring him food. Dinner was coming in another hour or so. Plus he would have forgot about it as soon as I walked out the room.

But I helped him. I gave him what he needed. I listened to him .Of all the things I did yesterday I feel that was the most important.

Some days you hold doctors' hands and correct their mistakes and save lives......other days you do small things. Like listen or make a cup of tea. Or tuck someone in for bed.

It's all important.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I chose nursing because I have a lot of passion for educating and supporting women in connection with their reproductive health at all stages of life. I want to start out in L&D and eventually transition into something more low-key and education-focused. I'm definitely very interested in the tasks associated with L&D as a specialty but the big thing (for me) is getting to be a support to other women as they navigate different health challenges and changes specific to them. I think the role of cultural/religious background in how women approach their reproductive health is so fascinating, too.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.
Hello :) I'm a first year in college interested in pursuing nursing.

Did you feel "called" to be a nurse? Did your expectations of nursing fit reality?

I read that people who choose nursing because of their desire to help others, rather than the actual enjoyment of the job, were more likely to burn out quicker.

Any thoughts on this?

I'm trying not to see nursing as a profession that is always "rainbows and butterflies" and to not let that cloud my expectations of nursing.

Yes and I'm right where I'm supposed to be. There's a certain sense of satisfaction and contentment to know I'm where I belong.

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Hard to believe you can call yourself an atheist and still be a nurse. I have been a nurse for 33 years and witnessed beyond a doubt there is a God in heaven who created the living and the dying.

Many people will have no problem being both an atheist and a nurse. Living and dying is part of the fascinating process of science and evolution, and for many that's enough. I've seen some of the most amazing pieces of art, seen the product of a talent I will never know, and never once did I wonder whether the artist was an atheist or think that he cannot possibly be an atheist to have such a gift. If you truly believe in the Almighty you should know that you don't have to believe in Him for Him to believe in you!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Many people will have no problem being both an atheist and a nurse. Living and dying is part of the fascinating process of science and evolution, and for many that's enough. I've seen some of the most amazing pieces of art, seen the product of a talent I will never know, and never once did I wonder whether the artist was an atheist or think that he cannot possibly be an atheist to have such a gift. If you truly believe in the Almighty you should know that you don't have to believe in Him for Him to believe in you!

What a kind, thoughtful, NICE answer to what seems to be a challenging questions. Thank you.

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What a kind, thoughtful, NICE answer to what seems to be a challenging questions. Thank you.

you're welcome :) I'm a believer myself but it can get hard to handle those who feel like there's only one way to know the Lord. Too many people don't understand that living a good and productive and moral life doesn't require belief in Him to have all that happen. I enrich my life by having Him in it but if someone else is happy and not hurtful to another who am I to say that they have to follow the same path as me? If the Almighty put wonders in front of me I'll thank Him for it and if that means thanking Him for some others who don't see the connection I'll be happy to do that too!

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I had a pretty unique experience ending up with studying nursing. Though my parents suggested it out of high school, and though I researched it up and was intrigued, I never thought I was fit for it because I was extremely shy and reserved back then. So I studied something else...international relations at a large university. Got a chance to study abroad. Encountered natural disasters abroad and helped volunteer there also. During that time, I met a very unique and inspiring nurse who took care of the volunteers and sick people in the area. I was so inspired by her that right after coming back home, I ended up in nursing school and I am enjoying it very much. It's been quite an up and down roundabout way of ending up in nursing but if I could, I would do it all over again. I want to keep volunteering abroad as a nurse in the future as well. :)

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