What keeps you in the nursing profession?

[Gardengal]

I responded to a poll today asking how long have you been a nurse. I struck me that many of the responses were positive in reagrds to nursing as a career choice. I would love to hear why you stay in nursing.

We all recognize that there are frustrations. I like to try to look at the positives and ask you to do the same. i found some of the comments to the poll for length of time in nursing energizing. i know there are lots of us out there who like nursing and (gasp) admit to it, but so frequently it's overshadowed by our complaints. (Yes, I'm as guilty as the next nurse). Please help me to feel good about our profession by sharing your positive thoughts.:)

[apols_uk]

as they say if you dont like heat stay out of the kitchen.

this is my calling and i loved it. ive been fried, stirred on the pot

due to stress and pressure but i do love it and proud to be a nurse. cry with them in their pain. laugh with them in their joy

being with them in times of fear and doubt its very rewarding though this is a very thankless job but that what makes me stay

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Because in nursing, sometimes you do make a difference. I volunteer on rural ambulance/fire dept. Went yesterday morning to pre-trauma full arrest to find that it was my neighbor. Wife comes up to me and thanks me for being there. She said she knew if I said nothing more could be done, than everything had been done.

[JAYNE DANCE]

1) JUST BECAUSE

2) $$$$$$$$$

3) I LOVE TO DO IT (THE JOB THAT IS :), OH AND THAT ALSO )

4) MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE

[renerian, BSN, RN]

I love to help the poorest of the poor. I think that is why my new case manager job working as a medicaid case manager will allow me to do just that...

renerian

[nursenoelle]

this (nursing) is the only job that i've ever had that meant anything. I can't even imagine doing anything else. Nursing is overwhelming at times, but always inspiring.

[Mattigan, RN]

Originally posted by Sleepyeyes

I used to tease my mother, an artist, about nursing being an art because a lot of us nurse as an artist paints--art for art's sake.

It's not about pay or about patient personalities; to us, it's noblesse oblige.

Professional nurse standards have encouraged nurses to make sacrifices above and beyond the call of duty, and to even deny our personal needs for job security and equitable pay. Our sense of duty to the greater good far outweighs the practicalities of labor-management issues.

With that in mind, I nurse because I want my life to count for something. I want to make a positive difference in someone else's life. It could be something as simple as the pt. who came to us with CP who really needed to grieve and be comforted on the loss of her spouse. It might be something as dramatic as watching a person in full arrest come back to life after a post-op MI. Sometimes it's something as simple as getting the IV on the first try that makes a difference to a pt. Or helping a frightened young woman have a baby.

It's always a challenge intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I put my whole self into my work, and no other job has satisfied me as much or felt as important to do.

I love nursing and I am honored that I was called to do it. [/quote

I wish I had said that. Beautiful... absolutely perfect. The exact words in my head and heart. Thanks Sleepyeyes.

[Scavenger'sWife, RN]

Because I love being a know-it-all, bossy person......

No, really I do it for the same reason stated here by all these other loving, beautiful, big-hearted people...I do it for the patients. I have never felt so needed since my children were babies. I love meeting the patients and their families and trying, and succeeding usually, in making a difference in their lives. I, too, want my life to mean something. When I die, I want there to be people on earth who say, "She made a difference in the world." I feel God called me to this , and to deny it would be to deny Him and His Wisdom in knowing my talents.

That, and I love being a know-it-all, bossy person.....

[OB/GYN NP]

Your story made me cry. That's what we're here for. It takes a special breed to have the attitude and loving heart to help near strangers. Because of you, a dying woman and her family are one (make that 5,6,7,8) steps closer to coming to terms with her inevitable death. You've fed her soul, not just helped to make her body feel better. That's what we all hope to do every day. Most people in other professions may hope to do that once or twice in their lifetimes. Bravo, Cactus Wren. Job well done.

:) :) :) :) :)

[live4today, RN]

Amen.....nursing......any health field.......is a "calling"......never doubt that truth. :kiss

Good morning nurses and all others! :balloons:

[mattsmom81]

I believe we are obliged to do the best we can with 'what we've got'. I have a nursing diploma so.....

The alternative is too expensive right now (going back to retrain) ...so I'll keep pluggin'...lots of options out there for nurses which is a good thing this profession offers us. :)

Right now I'm doing flu clinics...maybe an instructor position in my future...LPN's and CNA's...which I look forward to.:)

[finallyRN]

When I was a little girl, when someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I always said I wanted to be a nurse. Everybody always said it fit me. Now here I am a real NURSE and you know what, It fits me. I love what I do. I may be tired and rather be somewhere else. But when I am at work and helping a mom give birth I feel good about my self. I feel that I have made a difference. I can't see myself doing anything else.

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

Lots of good reasons to stick around. The pay is OK, the job security can't be beat. I get more respect in this business than I would in alot of others. It feels good to make others feel good. I like the fact that after 3-12 hour days, the rest of the week is mine. My coworkers are fun, interesting and intelligent people (overall) and I have made alot of good friends on the job. Nuff to keep me around for awhile!