Nursing is a passion?

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I am aware of this being a touchy topic on AN, but my school has a nursing information session and within the session they state that nursing is more than just a steady income, it is a passion. You need to be passionate and able to set aside your problems to help somebody in "what could be the worst day of their life." Thoughts?

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

What a horrible, ageist post. YOU will get older, and God forbid, someone say t these things about you Between night shift and older nurses, you managed to insult a large demographic.

As a patient, I totally respect all hospital staff and nurses!

As I was in ICU in 2006 for acute renal failure, they were all wonderful except for 1 older nurse in the step down unit on my d/c day who was flat out, arrogant, rude and impatient.

No compassion what so ever!

Sounds like she was burnt out and I admit, I did call her ***** and she sure got mad and said, don't talk like that to staff! Sorry, but if you're gonna be disrespectful and be a ***** i'm gonna call you a *****.

I know you may be stressed but be grateful your getting a good salary.

There was one middle aged icu nurse who got mad that my bp cuff wasn't staying on and said, This is getting ridiculous, you're like a child" Do some older nurses that have done their job so long get annoyed when things like heart monitor leeds coming off at no fault of the patient.

For the most part, i've always gotten compassionate care from younger nurses to middle age nurses but some of the old ones just tend to be burnt out and take it out on good patients. This one had wrinkly skin, bags under her eyes and a mean streak!

When I was in the ER recently, I had a good nurse who I wouldn't say showed passion but she was very respectful and knew her job well. The morning crew always shows more compassion. Night shift personalities are quite different. I know the ER can be stressful especially at the one near me who gets the drunks & druggies hoarding that small ER.

Whether or not nursing is a passion, just as long as I don't get a ***** disrespectful nurse. I either wonder why she went into the field or has all those years made her bitter.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
As a patient, I totally respect all hospital staff and nurses!
Oh no, you most clearly do not.

As I was in ICU in 2006 for acute renal failure, they were all wonderful except for 1 older nurse in the step down unit on my d/c day who was flat out, arrogant, rude and impatient.
If you had 1 dud out of a host of nurses, that's not too bad. Show many any group in which 100% of the people are "wonderful" at any given point in time.

Sounds like she was burnt out and I admit, I did call her ***** and she sure got mad and said, don't talk like that to staff! Sorry, but if you're gonna be disrespectful and be a ***** i'm gonna call you a *****.
You're clearly not sorry at all but the best I can reply with is that it's a pretty small person who hasn't the maturity nor self-control not to simply let things pass. The mature and proper response would to have simply contacted the charge nurse, department manager, and/or patient relations department.

I'll also venture to say that, at the end of hospital stay, you may not have been the most respectful or simple patient with whom to work.

Her response of saying, "don't speak to me that way" was entirely appropriate. I would have likely said the same thing and then followed it up with my own incident report documenting your abusive behavior. While we are required to provide care, we are not required to tolerate abusive behavior and your name-calling certainly qualifies.

...but be grateful your getting a good salary.
My wage doesn't require me to tolerate abusive behavior.

For the most part, i've always gotten compassionate care from younger nurses to middle age nurses but some of the old ones just tend to be burnt out and take it out on good patients. This one had wrinkly skin, bags under her eyes and a mean streak!
Hmmm. It could be that the senior nurses have enough experience with entitled patients and enough credibility in the organization to go ahead and call a spade a spade and refuse to tolerate inappropriate or demanding behavior.

Are there burned out nurses? Of course. Are there nurses whose demeanors or personalities aren't terribly well suited to what they're doing? Of course.

Is it age related? Not in my experience.

Does it correlate with wrinkles under the skin and bags under the eyes? I find it revealing that you even make such a statement.

What a horrible, ageist post. YOU will get older, and God forbid, someone say t these things about you Between night shift and older nurses, you managed to insult a large demographic.

Including some nurses who have received the largest number of public kudos from their patients and their colleagues.

I'll chalk this entire post up to an immature person with limited life experience and even less experience in the realities of nursing on the wards, in the units, or in the ED.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Case Management.

Before I jump on my soap box, I'd love to hear from the ageist poster as to what she considers a "middle age nurse" and an " old nurse".

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As a patient, I totally respect all hospital staff and nurses!

As I was in ICU in 2006 for acute renal failure, they were all wonderful except for 1 older nurse in the step down unit on my d/c day who was flat out, arrogant, rude and impatient.

No compassion what so ever!

Sounds like she was burnt out and I admit, I did call her ***** and she sure got mad and said, don't talk like that to staff! Sorry, but if you're gonna be disrespectful and be a ***** i'm gonna call you a *****.

I know you may be stressed but be grateful your getting a good salary.

You didn't like the nurse because you thought she was (bad name) so you called her by that bad name? That can't ever be ok! You were not being respectful when you called someone a nasty name! You as the patient can think whatever you like but if you start calling staff bad names or being inappropriate why do you think they'd want to even deal with you, you have no right to behave like that unless you're a child and even then one who needs to have his mouth washed out with soap! Patients who are abusive get assigned to different nurses every day where I work because no one wants to have them more than once! No one is grateful enough for a job to take meanness from an ungrateful patient either. You should be ashamed of yourself and your behavior!!

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For me it definitely feels like my passion although I am a senior nursing students I have an actually entered the workforce yet. I can definitely tell the difference between the others in my class who feel it is just a job or a paycheck and those who feel very passionate about it. I can also tell the difference between those two in the hospital. As long as patients are kept safe and treated with the proper care it doesn't really matter which category you fall into the problem I see is when those who feel it is just a paycheck or a job to provide a substandard care.my hope is that I have able to remain passionate about nursing once I actually get a job!

I am a little doubtful that you know what internally motivates people. I can tell you that patients and coworkers probably think I'm passionate about nursing, and for me it's a job. I like being a nurse, but it's not a passion for me. I am enthusiastic at work but I LOVE my time off.

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How about the idea that nurses should be passionate about doing a good job. I know I'm passionate about making sure I have everything signed off before I leave so no one calls me at home lol!

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
Before I jump on my soap box, I'd love to hear from the ageist poster as to what she considers a "middle age nurse" and an " old nurse".
I'm 51... and planning another 19 years at the bedside.

I don't consider myself "old" although I do sport some pretty impressive bags under my eyes. One of my buddies decided - for that reason as well as some others - that my spirit animal is a racoon. I am a NOCker after all.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
How about the idea that nurses should be passionate about doing a good job. I know I'm passionate about making sure I have everything signed off before I leave so no one calls me at home lol!

I try to do a good job because (a) that's what they're paying me (very well) to do, (b) part of my identity has always involved being very good at whatever I'm doing and being a very hard worker, © because I've been a patient as well as the son, brother, husband, and father of patients so I 'get it' in a very visceral way, and (d) I want my colleagues to think well of me, give me the benefit of the doubt, and help me out when I need it so I do my best to 'pay it forward.'

All that, and it's just more pleasant to be pleasant... even if I have to turn it into a game and acting job.

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I'm a midwife, and it is central to my identity. I could never do anything else.

The problem with calling it a "passion" or a "calling," is that it makes it easier to justify lower wages or crappy work environments, because we somehow get a deeper satisfaction from our jobs that cannot be measured in compensation. Or something. Most female dominated fields have the same talking points, and we internalize it far more than we realize. Teachers, child care professionals, social workers, nurses- all are supposedly professions that are driven by a calling to serve. All are underpaid grossly (nurses less so than the others I listed).

YES! It's a feminist issue. By calling us "angels" & "special" & promoting nursing as a calling (like being a nun?) we are being diminished.

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ummm full of stereotypes...

But it was not that long ago that if a young woman wanted to or needed to work , she had 2 options nursing or teaching. Maybe the older nurses wished they had other options. And working night shift is very difficult.

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Specializes in ICU, CARDIOLOGY.

Yea, they say that in nursing school. And I'm sure you're told you'll make good money, too. And every nursing student falls for it.

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I don't think passion is absolute necessary. but i feel like you do need good conscience and some empathy.

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