Nurses, how do you view your job?

Per the OP's inquiry:

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/how-do-you-996621.html

It's just a job. An interesting, fulfilling job, but still just a job. If I lost a part of me every time one of these little people died, or went home with a terrible family, or had bilateral grade 4 bleeds, or or or... I wouldn't be able to do this anymore. They are not my children. They are not my family. The people who make this job their life don't last long.

Per the OP's inquiry:

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/how-do-you-996621.html

Can you really not do that? I want other peoples opinions. It's sad that a lot of people I've seen up here like to argue with one another and try to prove points. I thought being apart of this was going to help me, but every post I see, there are people that like to try and do exactly what you are.

Can you really not do that? I want other peoples opinions. It's sad that a lot of people I've seen up here like to argue with one another and try to prove points. I thought being apart of this was going to help me, but every post I see, there are people that like to try and do exactly what you are.

You want to hear what you want to hear.

It's background info directly relating to your question is it not?

You want to hear what you want to hear.

It's background info directly relating to your question is it not?

Lol I have a feeling that that's not why you posted that. Thank you though :)

Well I read the other thread too.

I've hit my one year on an oncology/med/surg floor last month.

Nursing was never just a job option for me. It's more than that. I came to nursing after other things, after years of marriage and a child etc. Nursing is part of my identity. I can't just turn it off and say "it's just a job".

That said I work hard at leaving work at work and learning how to decompress so I don't worry about it 24/7.

Well I read the other thread too.

I've hit my one year on an oncology/med/surg floor last month.

Nursing was never just a job option for me. It's more than that. I came to nursing after other things, after years of marriage and a child etc. Nursing is part of my identity. I can't just turn it off and say "it's just a job".

That said I work hard at leaving work at work and learning how to decompress so I don't worry about it 24/7.

And that's what I was trying to say. You just said it better. I'm not talking about taking the work home with me. But I am talking about not wanting to end up saying its just a job.

Well I'm not a nurse yet, but it'll probably be just a job. Nursing school for me is a means to an end, I plan to be a Certified Nurse Midwife. So while I'm a nurse, it'll likely be just a job, one that I enjoy, and will work hard at, but just a job. However, once I become a midwife, that will be my calling.

I think nursing can be just a job and still be able to give compassionate and adequate care. There are nurses who got into it for the pay and flexibility and long term potential, it doesn't necessarily mean that that when they are working, they are unable to be present and give 100% of themselves. It's not a calling for everyone.

I think the "just a job" comment was misinterpreted. I think that in response to your question of how to leave work at work, remembering that it's "just your job" is an important tactic in being able to function in your regular life. Yes, we all signed up for nursing because we are passionate about helping others. We are empathetic, compassionate, caring, etc. Yes to all of it. That being said, we still need to be able to go home to our families/friends/self and be able to take care of them and ourselves. Remembering that it's your job, and not your entire life helps with that.

My country home health gig is not just a job to me, it's my work, my trade. However there are boundaries that I set to make it feasible to say transfer a lovely scared patient to hospice. I look it as while they passed through my hands I gave them my best work and then it was time for someone else to provide their skilled service while I moved on to the next patient who then got my undivided professional attention.

Another way to look at it is that I can't give my best work to my current patients if my head is still with discharged patients. It doesn't mean I don't have memories, but that patient was a new patient at one point who took an even prior patient's slot in my case load. When they're mine they get the best I can give and then I let them go.

I would advise you to give consideration to all opinions, even the ones that seem contradictory.

I recently had a discussion with someone who views nursing as "just a job". But I feel it's more than that. They are using the fact that I am a new nurse against me and saying that basically I will eventually say it's " just a job". I never want to have that mentality though. I know that you get caregiver strain here and there and its hard work. But never could I picture saving lives as "just a job". Thoughts?

It's definitely a job. But "Just a job"?

Nope, it's a career, my livelihood, my choice - and my responsibility to develop it.

Good lord. You aren't doing yourself any favors posting this thread, OP.

I am a new grad. Young. I came into nursing for practical reasons...helping people is just a bonus. Yes, nursing is "just a job." Work is called work for a reason.

I deal with a very rough patient population. The vast majority are extremely rude, entitled and noncompliant clients who treat the nursing staff like crap. Just the other day, I broke down in tears because out of the five patients I was caring for, four of them were complete nasty, malicious jerks. Even my preceptors agreed that this assignment was unusually ridiculous.

But then I asked myself, why am I here? Surely not to be some butthead's punching bag. As my grandmother always says, "you don't have to take them home with you." You know what is a great motivator? Having financial stability. Great health insurance. A pension. Other fantastic benefits. The ability to help my single mother with her bills and mortgage and to help my special needs brother. To be able to live comfortably and live without deprivation.

Seeing nursing for what it is has helped me survive a brutal unit...not the intangible. If I wanted to help someone, there are many avenues besides nursing. Why aren't doctors shaming each other into being martyrs? Why is this calling only tied to nurses?

A nurse must be competent and safe. While it is nice to care, altruism in this profession is a guaranteed one-way ticket to burn out town. If I only came to be a martyr, I would have quit my job last week.

Nurses are professionals, not saints. The sooner you learn now, the better.