Nurses: Remember The Calling?

When I wake in the morning, I never know what God has in store for this ole' nurse. As I drive to work, thoughts of what can happen stream through my mind. Will I lose my patience, or will the twelve-hour shift take a toll on me, seven hours in? Will my mind stay clear of my own problems long enough to make critical decisions that affect my patient's life? Nurses Announcements Archive Article

Will I make a medication error, or will someone not receive the care they deserve because of my patient load. Will I remember the patient at the very end of the hall? Will I meet the needs of my patient, physically and emotionally. Or will I be strong enough to hold a dying child's hand as they slip away? Only to then turn and search for the right words to comfort grief-stricken parents, who are lingering on every word...Searching for a reason...(I never want to relive that again).

This should go through every nurse's mind...Everyday...Am I strong enough to carry the responsibility for another person's life? Am I willing to give of myself to a total stranger? Even if I am treated poorly by them? Who sets the standards of care you give to these strangers? Where is it written that a nurse should give of herself...Unconditionally?

If you agree with the concept that patients receive the quality of care based on the attitude they project to you...And you are a nurse...Go back to nursing 101. I know of a nurse who comes to work every day with a smile on her face. The patients love her. They ask for her by name. Wow, what a difference she makes in a person's life. I was once told that there is more to nursing than just talking or "bonding" with patients. There is more to nursing than saying goodbye at the end of the day...Well, this nurse was almost right. There is more than just talking to your patients or connecting with them...But not much more. I feel this nurse has lost herself in the everyday shuffle of her job. A routine that every patient is treated the same, regardless of the need. A robotic attitude produces a sour nurse. My advice to her is to remember the calling.

When the human touch is the last thing you give a patient...It shows. Taking the human touch out of nursing is nothing short of a nurse who does a job, but a job to be a nurse is a much greater approach. What an honor God gives us...To endure a calling for nursing. As a nurse, can you remember the calling God gave you? Where were you when he called your name to the profession of nursing? What happened in your life that drove you to the honor of becoming a nurse?

Florence Nightingale gave of herself. Born into a rich, upper-class British educator, she one day heard the calling of God's mission for her. Timeless days were common to a single, childless woman. By night, she would carry a lamp to light her path to help care for those in need. With little to no money, a hospital was her home. At times, a blanket of stars is all she had to sleep with. A long white dress with a navy shaw and a white cap was her attire. She traveled many miles, on foot, to help those who needed her. Never thinking of herself, and never complaining, she set standards that all nurses should abide by. "with a human touch, care for those who demonstrate a need."

At times, I get tired. But when I feel I just can't smile another smile, or give one more ounce of myself, I jolt quickly to a mindset that anyone can nurse, however, not everyone was meant to be a nurse. Patients know the difference. At the end of the day, when I say goodbye to my patients, warm hugs and kind words are all I need to justify my care for them. As I walk away, I am always shocked to learn the difference they made in my life that day. What a gift God gives me daily. For a short time in their lives, I was an important part of their family. How blessed am I that God gives me the endurance to withstand the day so I may deliver the Florence Nightingale touch? Although I may not carry a lamp, the light of her mission illuminates from me. Nursing to me is a god giving profession. A profession that can not be substituted by a computer or industrial machines. There is no surrogate for the human heart. No replacement for the human touch. No exchange for the compassion you give. The difference you make as a nurse lasts a lifetime.

As I drive home, the echo from my daily travels with me. I take a small slice of my patients day and try to recapture the care I have given. Every patient touches my heart, in one form or another. Every patient teaches me and molds me to do what God has intended for me to do.

Such importance is the nurse who can make a difference. For every life we touch, blessings will descend. And you hear a voice that sings, "well done." I know the care I give is God's hand lifting me up, guiding me.

When the time comes, and I hang my white cap to rest, I hope to hear the sweet rumble of angels flock away from me and flutter to another, to help guide and even carry her through her day, just as they did me. But, let there be no misunderstanding, my flame will continue to flicker and burn.

For I am, and always will be, a nurse.

I enjoyed your post about the calling of Nurses. I am not a nurse but I do work in a hospital and I work closely with nurses in my position. I have only be employed in healthcare for 3 years and I too have noticed that a lot of patient care revolves around the computer and not the actual patient. It seems to me, and let me know if I am wrong, nurses have become task driven and they view their patients as a "to-do list". I think a lot of things are to blame for this not just nurses. At some point we need to evaluate the insurance industry and all of the government/state requirements. More paperwork is not the solution, getting nurses back to the bedside is a must.

I enjoyed your post about the calling of Nurses. I am not a nurse but I do work in a hospital and I work closely with nurses in my position. I have only be employed in healthcare for 3 years and I too have noticed that a lot of patient care revolves around the computer and not the actual patient. It seems to me, and let me know if I am wrong, nurses have become task driven and they view their patients as a "to-do list". I think a lot of things are to blame for this not just nurses. At some point we need to evaluate the insurance industry and all of the government/state requirements. More paperwork is not the solution, getting nurses back to the bedside is a must.

SO VERY WELL SAID!!! Now if we could just make this a reality, w/o worrying about what lettersa a nurse has after their name:yeah:

Specializes in Psych/Home health/Med-Surg.

I sit here today, unemployed and so very depressed for my future. Feeling very sorry for myself. Why? I miss being the nurse I once was allowed to be. Caring, giving and waking up in the morning wanting to get to work to actually talk and care for patients. The pay was not the greatest, but you enjoyed what you did and the people you could help. Before the advent of DRGs, there was actually a profession that I wanted to be a part of and stay in as long as I could. Now, I have seen a whittling away of caring little by little and the proud profession of nursing does not exist. The previous posts are so true--we are task oriented, understaffed and insurance rules everything. Nearly all the new grads I have met know nothing about real pt care--and their arrogance is unbelievable! There was a time when the new grad wanted to pick the brain of the experienced RN to become a better nurse, but that no longer exists. They know it all. In my case, an RN for 40 years, was squoze out of a job and replaced by an LPN who lied and manipulated to get my job and did! After it was all over and I confronted her she had the audacity to tell me that I did not deserve my job and was too old to work!! She is all of 21 and I am 62. The worse part, she has no idea what nursing does and IS! All she knows is how to pass meds (she does not know what they are for) and do a wet to dry dressing (which she does poorly). Her charting is mediocre and she has very little pt contact during her day. May God help us all--our once proud and necessary profession is being destroyed and replaced by robots, techs and non-caring witches!!!

My thougts are with you-you have been dealt a miserable blow. More and more it seems that , as nurses approach a well earned retirement, and shown appreciation for their years of hard work, they are instead "shown the door"-in order for a. lest costly, and all too often an undertrained "new hire".

Health "care" is most certainly what it was..and at the rate things are happening, God help us all

Thank you so much for this beautiful article.

As someone who was just accepted into Nursing school, reading this post was great! When I think of nursing, I see it as a calling. I know it will be hard. I know it will be draining and tiring and I know it will not be a "perfect" profession at all. I have yet to experience the hardships I know I will encounter, and therefore I know I have a lot to learn, but I have learned already that life is not easy. Nursing cannot be easy either. I do look forward to that meaningful human interaction, and along the way I am sure I will encounter pain, grief, and despair. But still, I feel that this is what I was meant to do. I prayed about this decision long and hard, and I keep getting green lights that nursing is right for me... it is the calling from God for my life.. and I am so exicted to start my journey. Thank you for writing this...

Amen. Amen. Amen. There's very little care in health care any more. A non-traditional student, (over 40), I went back to school (for a third degree) to become a registered nurse. I have a graduate degree AND 20+ years of work experience in fields where I worked closely with the medical field. (For several years I was a medical malpractice investigator doing defense work.) After seven weeks on the floor, I just resigned my first nursing job. Why? The work was impossible to do properly with an excessive nurse to patient ratio with patients of such serious acuity. I managed to get the TASKS done in a timely manner. To do that and properly assess, and monitor, and care for my patients I would have to stay over 3-4 hours each evening to get the charting done.

Here's the feedback I got from other staff:

1. "Your assessments are too thorough. You don't have time to get the doppler and find a pulse. Just tell yourself you will do it later and then don't worry about it." ******NOT happening! My patient arrived with CHF, CRI, and TWO feet and I intend to see that he leaves with TWO feet.

2. "You are just charting too much."******No, I am charting for accuracy. I'm not selecting the Within Defined Limits option when assessing one body system, when the information in that reference text contradicts information I typed in when assessing another body system. For example, if you have documented in the Cardiovascular assessment section that a patient has 2+ edema of bilateral ankles and feet, and then you select within defined limits on the musculoskeletal assessment which indicates NO edema, then you have charted conflicting information. Do you really want to be asked to read that out loud in court and have an attorney ask you, "Well, which is it? 2+ Edema or NO edema? Which are we to believe? What else have you charted that we are not to believe?"

3. "You must quit talking to patients. If they ask you something, the only thing to tell them is 'I'll check on that and get back with you.' You have tasks to do. You can't be wasting time answering questions and explaining things to patients and their families." ********Well, I'm not talking to patients about ball games and recipes. When a patient comes in for a pacemaker and he asks me why his doctor is talking about kidney function and asks me if there is something seriously wrong with his kidneys and why nobody has told him, I'm going to take several minutes and explain to the patient how cardiac function and kidney function are inter-related and interdepedent on each other. I'm going to make it clear to him: NO, Sir. There's no reason to believe that you have a serious kidney disorder.

To ignore a cool pale foot with no palpable pulse, to chart incorrect information, and to ignore patients would seriously compromise my personal integrity. I'M NOT DOING THAT. If I wanted to ignore people and their needs I can work at WalMart or Lowes. At least tmost of the clients there are only suffering with a non-lethal plugged up toilet or peeling paint.

I have stayed at the bedside many many nights with ill family members and I have seen TASK nursing done at frantic speeds. It is not best practice, nor is it at all desirable. I am not standing in a doorway and shouting at a patient. If a nurse does not have time to walk into a room, get close enough for a patient to be able to see and hear the nurse, allow the patient time to express his needs or concerns, and then address those needs and concerns, then that nurse has too many patients. That nurse may be checking off tasks on a patient activity list, but that nurse is not truly in tune with what's going on with the patients. And it is just a matter of time before something important is overlooked and something bad happens. And it's too late when it happens. There's a cost to pay.

Nurses need to make patient safety the priority. They need to refuse unsafe assignments.

You make some very good points...and thedon't just sound like the "initial over my head" feelings of a new grad . If only the medical profession would take heed..

Wonderful article -- thank you for the reminder!

Specializes in intensive care, cardiac care, emergency.

ahh yes! i remember all too well myself. i would like to tell my story as well because somewhere along the way, i became addicted to some evil things and lost my license for a while. i'm fighting my way back. i simply don't ever want any nurse, anyone to do what i have done. thank you for your story.

Specializes in general.

BEfore i was wondering why i became a nurse and then suddenly i love taking care of my patients.now i know it was a calling..a higher calling from God. Thanks for this article.

I have to say, I was both touched and shocked by this letter. I am not a currently a nurse, but recently made the decision that I want to go back to school for nursing. For me, this has been a long journey of internal reflection to figure out what I am really passionate about. I am shocked and a little nervous about the fact that there are nurses that don't see the importance of patient care. Personally, I cant see myself wanting to be a nurse unless I really give myself to the patients. Maybe I am being naive by stating that because I have no formal experience, but if you arent there to help to help those in need...why be a nurse?