It is a true calling or isn't it?

[Fireflynurse]

I have always wanted to be a hospice nurse and I think it is a calling. However, last week a hospice nurse came into our facility to see one of our patient that we finally got her back to a certain degree of wellness after few days of caring and countless of hourly check crushed my idea of hospice nursing, at that time. She stomped her feet and pouted while telling me that she thought this resident should just die now so the nurse doesn't have do visits with her. I was in shock and was very disappointed. Without being too harsh on her so I told her that I was busy passing meds if there isn't anything else that I could help with. She left and also make me doubt my beliefs. Is hospice nursing really a calling or just another job?

Then there came another hospice nurse. Two nights ago, I held a resident's hand while she took her last breath. After I confirmed my first death, I couldn't help myself and felt very sad. This resident's hospice nurse came in within 10 minutes. She confirmed my initial assessment and finished up everything with the patient and all the paper work for the resident then she did the most amazing thing that I thought a nurse could have done to a brand new nurse. She spent a lot time talking to me and explained all the decision for this resident from admitting her to hospice along with every little details that came with. at 2 am, she was not tired. She talked to me in great empathy and understanding. She spoke to my heart and restore my belief. She said hospice nursing is a calling. It is a calling from what I see in her. She could be so kind to a brand new nurse that she just met who is not even her co-worker show me that there are nurses out there believe the same thing.

I am so grateful that I have met her.

[elkpark]

Nursing is the ultimate "big tent." There is room for everyone. The answer to your title question is different for everyone. Some nurses in every specialty see their work as a special "calling." Other nurses don't share that view. As long as people show up, do their jobs competently, and interact appropriately and professionally with clients and colleagues, I don't really care what their motivation is.

I agree that it sounds like the nurse you describe was pretty unprofessional in her interaction with you, and I hope the exchange didn't take place where the client could overhear, but, other than that, enhhhh ... I'm kind of concerned that you say her behavior made you "doubt my beliefs." If that's going to happen every time someone doesn't behave the way you expect them to, you're going to have a long, rough ride in nursing! You are more than welcome to consider your work, in any specialty, a special calling, but I encourage you to get used to the idea that other nurses don't need to share that view. They are just as entitled to their opinions as you are to yours.

Best wishes for your journey!

[Fireflynurse]

Thank you ekpark but if you see the 2nd part of my original post, you will see that another hospice nurse restored my belief or rather, she validated my belief. I don't know what an angel looks like but the 2nd nurse whom talked to me for long period of time sure look and act like an angel. :)

Nursing is the ultimate "big tent." There is room for everyone. The answer to your title question is different for everyone. Some nurses in every specialty see their work as a special "calling." Other nurses don't share that view. As long as people show up, do their jobs competently, and interact appropriately and professionally with clients and colleagues, I don't really care what their motivation is.

I agree that it sounds like the nurse you describe was pretty unprofessional in her interaction with you, and I hope the exchange didn't take place where the client could overhear, but, other than that, enhhhh ... I'm kind of concerned that you say her behavior made you "doubt my beliefs." If that's going to happen every time someone doesn't behave the way you expect them to, you're going to have a long, rough ride in nursing! You are more than welcome to consider your work, in any specialty, a special calling, but I encourage you to get used to the idea that other nurses don't need to share that view. They are just as entitled to their opinions as you are to yours.

Best wishes for your journey!

[elkpark]

Thank you ekpark but if you see the 2nd part of my original post, you will see that another hospice nurse restored my belief or rather, she validated my belief. I don't know what an angel looks like but the 2nd nurse whom talked to me for long period of time sure look and act like an angel. :)

I did see the second part of your post; my point was that, if your "beliefs" can be swayed by the interaction you had with whatever nurse you last spoke with, I have to wonder how firm your "beliefs" are. You're going to meet lots of nurses that behave and think the way you would like them to, and plenty who don't. Is that going to change your thoughts and beliefs from day to day?

[Fireflynurse]

it probably wont change my belief anyway. 😊 Thanks again for your advice. They are wise words.

I did see the second part of your post; my point was that, if your "beliefs" can be swayed by the interaction you had with whatever nurse you last spoke with, I have to wonder how firm your "beliefs" are. You're going to meet lots of nurses that behave and think the way you would like them to, and plenty who don't. Is that going to change your thoughts and beliefs from day to day?

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

In every specialty, there are kind, supportive, gentle people and people who are just the opposite. In my experience, hospice tends to attract more of those people with something of a spiritual connection to what they're doing than many other specialties but ultimately, hospice nurses are just people, with all the weaknesses and foibles inherent therein.

Both of my parents have transitioned under the care of home hospice nurses. One of the nurses was fantastic and one was... most definitely not. We ultimately 'fired' the latter.

Don't judge hospice by the nursing that you see others practice, judge it by the nursing that *you* will provide.

It is, in my opinion, the purest and most significant form of nursing there is.

[purplegal]

I think there may be some truth to nursing being a calling. It seems like the nurses who view their jobs as their purpose in life tend to be better nurses than nurses who are doing it just for a job. Not saying it's true in all cases, just my observation and your experiences seem to display that. It seems obvious that the first nurse you described views nursing as a job, and, even worse, not one that she wants to do. Why would someone go into nursing if they don't want to make visits to their patients? I would think that most nurses would want their patients to live, not die. Without living patients, nurses aren't needed. Hospice nursing is a bit different, since most patients who are placed on hospice care will not live long, but this nurse should be focused on comforting the patient as long as he or she still is with us, their family or loved ones, friends, etc. I cannot understand why she would want to be a nurse if she is like that. The second nurse sounds like the ideal nurse for hospice care, and I'm glad you were able to learn from her. Not only is she a good nurse, but she is a good teacher and a coworker. Ideally, all nurses would be like that.

[Maygone]

While I think that nursing in general is a calling, I strongly believe certain fields within nursing are the real "calling." I work in corrections, and lately, have been having many issues with my job (mostly management/co-worker stuff) but I always feel like it is where I'm supposed to be and my true calling. I've trained several people at my job. Most of whom quit after several hours to a few days stating, "this is not for me!" But I have had so many instances where I have caught something or helped someone that may have gotten completely overlooked by another nurse who would have viewed the patient as "just an inmate." So for me, my ability to do something well, that many others can't, makes it a calling for me. I also work PRN at the hospital, and while I enjoy that job fine, it's more of a job for me, versus my calling. So I think the "calling" really comes from finding where you fit and feel like you make a difference. We all (well, most of us) went into nursing feeling like it was a calling to help people, but not every job is going to feel that way for everyone. Hospice may have been "just a job" to that one nurse, but may be your calling and you will never know until you give it a shot. Btw, I knew nothing about how correctional nursing actually worked until I got my job, but I knew in nursing school it was something I wanted to do, and it ended up being a fit! So if your even CONSIDERING hospice this passionately, you need to give it a try. You may love it! You may also hate it, but it will still be beneficial in your path to nursing. If I let every nurse who hated or talked down on corrections influence me (and trust me, there's a lot!) I wouldn't have allowed myself to find my true calling! Good luck!

[canigraduate]

Nursing is a job. Unless you are volunteering. You do get paid, yes?

Some people feel a spiritual need to help others and channel that into being a nurse. Some don't. There are atheist nurses, agnostic nurses, deist/Buddhist/Christian/Muslim, etc., nurses. They are all nurses.

There will be nurses you don't get along with. There will be nurses who practice differently than you who you don't agree with. None of that means that they are inferior.

I guess what I'm mostly trying to say is that you shouldn't explain away two interactions with different nurses as one being called and one not. It doesn't matter. One nurse was unprofessional.

Advocating and being compassionate with the patients is what matters, not whether you have a religious/spiritual mandate to do so. Unless you're a nun and a nurse, then I guess it matters.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I hate black and white blankets.

For you it may be a calling. For someone else it is a job. Both are okay.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I once saw a Venn diagram about the differences between a calling, a job, and a career. When I saw it, it finally clicked with me.

It's important to remember that classifying work as a job, a calling, or a career is partially dictated by the work itself--a CNO's job fits into "career,"--but it is also partially dictated by the beliefs and values of the person who does the work. A nurse whose personal identity is enmeshed with the work will most likely classify nursing as a "calling." If a nurse does not depend on the work to help define themselves as a human being, then he/she will classify the work as a job or a career, depending on perceptions of advancement opportunities.

And elkpark is right...you can't let others beliefs and values define your own on a whim or a single interaction.

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

I once saw a Venn diagram about the differences between a calling, a job, and a career. When I saw it, it finally clicked with me.

It's important to remember that classifying work as a job, a calling, or a career is partially dictated by the work itself--a CNO's job fits into "career,"--but it is also partially dictated by the beliefs and values of the person who does the work. A nurse whose personal identity is enmeshed with the work will most likely classify nursing as a "calling." If a nurse does not depend on the work to help define themselves as a human being, then he/she will classify the work as a job or a career, depending on perceptions of advancement opportunities.

And elkpark is right...you can't let others beliefs and values define your own on a whim or a single interaction.

This is a great way to explain it. I think that explains a lot of why people have this belief. A government contractor would likely not think of their work as a calling, they would look at it as a career. All jobs are careers but how a person embodies their job is the defining aspect.

As for the two different nurses, maybe the first one had a bad day, was off their game, or just may not be professional, the second nurse may have been having a good day, felt like their was time to talk, maybe also had more experience, etc.