Nurses who don't have the "passion"

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello nurses, I'm not yet a nurse, I'm not even officially in nursing school. I'm just another Rn-hopeful. I have a couple of questions for a specific group of nurses. I'm talking about the nurses who didn't feel like nursing was their passion or calling. What made you start/stay in nursing? Did you learn to be be love your job? Or do you continue to do it because it's a job?

I sincerelely appreciate any answers that you guys can give. Thanks :)

I have stated elsewhere that I think nursing as a calling is largely BS. However, I appreciate that there are some that feel nursing is a calling for THEM. I just hate it when those who are self righteous enough think that it should be a calling for EVERYONE, tell us that anyone who is a nurse for any other reason should get out of the profession because we can't be the kind of nurse they think we should be!

I've seen a lot of nurses who obviously hate their jobs and are extremely rude to patients, so in my opinion I feel like you do need to have some sort of passion or motivation for doing it.

Others have pointed out the possibility of burn-out. I'd also like to point out the possibility that maybe those nurses just happen to be rude-- and would continue to be rude-- even if they worked in another field.

You also don't know what's going on with those nurses. Their life could be really really crappy at the moment. I always hear people excusing patients from their negative behaviors because "oh, they're not well"... well how about extending that compassion back to the nurse for a change? I'm sure if you met these nurses on a better day, your opinion of them might be much different.

And I have to ask anyone who's on this "passion" bandwagon... what does this exactly mean? Making it #1 in their life? Living and breathing it 24 hours a day? Being a martyr to it? Working for free? Hell no. If you really loved nursing-- and yourself-- you would not would not do any of those things.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Others have pointed out the possibility of burn-out. I'd also like to point out the possibility that maybe those nurses just happen to be rude-- and would continue to be rude-- even if they worked in another field.

You also don't know what's going on with those nurses. Their life could be really really crappy at the moment. I always hear people excusing patients from their negative behaviors because "oh, they're not well"... well how about extending that compassion back to the nurse for a change? I'm sure if you met these nurses on a better day, your opinion of them might be much different.

And I have to ask anyone who's on this "passion" bandwagon... what does this exactly mean? Making it #1 in their life? Living and breathing it 24 hours a day? Being a martyr to it? Working for free? Hell no. If you really loved nursing-- and yourself-- you would not would not do any of those things.

I've been singing this song for years. You hear it often from the dewey eyed newbie: "Oh, you may have problems at home but you should NEVER bring them to work." I remember being very young and thinking the same thing -- back before I had any REAL problems to bring to work. Yes, it's an ideal NOT to bring your personal problems with you when you clock in, but I defy you to NOT when your dad just died, you've got Mom at home and she has Alzheimer's, your son just totaled the car and is in jail awaiting arraignment on a DUI, your husband is in CHF again and their talking transplant and you've used up all your PTO and FMLA caring for Dad before he died, and you HAVE to keep your job because you're the only one with health insurance to pay for care for your mother, your son, your husband and yourself because now you REALLY need a knee replacement but cannot afford to take the time off.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Others have pointed out the possibility of burn-out. I'd also like to point out the possibility that maybe those nurses just happen to be rude-- and would continue to be rude-- even if they worked in another field.

You also don't know what's going on with those nurses. Their life could be really really crappy at the moment. I always hear people excusing patients from their negative behaviors because "oh, they're not well"... well how about extending that compassion back to the nurse for a change? I'm sure if you met these nurses on a better day, your opinion of them might be much different.

And I have to ask anyone who's on this "passion" bandwagon... what does this exactly mean? Making it #1 in their life? Living and breathing it 24 hours a day? Being a martyr to it? Working for free? Hell no. If you really loved nursing-- and yourself-- you would not would not do any of those things.

YES YES YES.

Specializes in PACU.

And I have to ask anyone who's on this "passion" bandwagon... what does this exactly mean? Making it #1 in their life? Living and breathing it 24 hours a day? Being a martyr to it? Working for free? Hell no. If you really loved nursing-- and yourself-- you would not would not do any of those things.

Right on. I don't think that is real passion, I think doing things for free and putting your job first all the time is unbalanced and will bring you misery.

I find in my life that I find pleasure in doing things I do well. I think I'm a good nurse, so I enjoy it.

I'm a great student and I love learning... you may even say I'm passionate about it (I get an intense excitement, even twitter-patted when I start a new class). But that passion has worn down by finals and I'm just putting my shoulder to the wheel and grinding it out to get it done. Of course the next class I start out with the same high!

What people mean by and what passion feels like to them is so subjective. But I don't think even the most zealot of nurses can be passionate about every aspect of their job 24/7.

And remember passion and hate are so closely tied... it's easy to see someone who was once "passionate" about their nursing career could get burnt out and come to loathe it.

(and yes I used a thesaurus for this post. :whistling:)

Specializes in Med-Surg, Progressive Care Unit.

I think it was a little of both for me...I had always felt a pull towards helping others, and I had considered becoming a nurse since I was a kid. But honestly my "passion" was always music...I was a competitive musician in high school and always felt most alive and fulfilled when I was onstage, playing with an ensemble. But I ultimately chose nursing as my career because of the practicality...as much as I loved music I knew it would be difficult to find a job that paid well and allowed me to live the life that I wanted.

I never really felt like nursing came naturally to me. I was always more of an artsy person than a science person, and I'm kind of an introvert so dealing with patients and families was stressful for me as well. But over the years as I've worked in different settings and gained experience, I feel like I've become more passionate about nursing. I may not be the loudest or the most outgoing nurse, but I know my stuff and I'm assertive enough to advocate for my patients when it counts. I'm really proud of how much I've learned and grown up throughout my career. I feel like I'm very good at my job, and nursing has made me a stronger, more confident person.

I think the passion that nursing students and new grads have is admirable, but fleeting. It's so easy to get jaded and bitter once you enter the field. But real passion develops and strengthens over time as you grow and develop as a nurse and push yourself to be better and better every day.

I was never a person that you would go to for caring assistance when I was younger. Becoming a nurse was not on my radar but my first job was as a CNA/Medication aide in a nursing home was because it was respectable for a young woman in my small hometown. I was good at my job and the residents were great. When I was trying to decide how best to take care of myself as an adult I chose nursing because my grandmother was a nurse and she supported herself well doing it. I went to school rec'd my LVN and went immediately into home health. I spent 10 years in home health and hospice. That is where I found my passion. I have since moved to psych and I feel that is the place I was meant to be. Helping those that cannot help themselves is one of my great joys. I cannot imagine not being in nursing and when we retire (soon) I will be volunteering my skills in Costa Rica.

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