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?

It's a gig

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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.

The money is good.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
The money is good.
In some places, for sure.
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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.
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?

When you're passionate about something you will bend over backwards to get things done. When you're not passionate about something, you're more likely to admit defeat when things get sticky.

To me, that's the difference between someone who does it for the paycheck and someone who has a passion for it.

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Specializes in Documentation, Medication Administration.

My answer is gonna be a little different: I love studying about the human body but I don't actually like nursing at all. If that makes sense. When I was a little girl, I used to read my mom's old textbooks and read about anatomy and physiology. I like the science and theory aspect of it but when it comes to practice, I suck at it. I don't hate nursing, I'm just bad at hands on training. No, nursing is not my passion and I never dreamed of becoming one but here I am. I admit, I am doing this for the money... to fund my passion which is acting, writing, and anything artistic. I used to feel guilty about doing nursing for the money because there are people who are passionate about this job. I feel bad just saying that I don't really like nursing and that the reason I am one in the first place is solely for the money.

The things I like about the job is that there's a lot of writing involved and the science of it.

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I've been studying to be a nurse since I was 14, in high school. So I would say it's a passion of mine. I know I might be in the minority here but despite searching for 3 years for a full time job and countless denials I still love Nursing. I love the science behind it, the chance to meet and help people, I also love how it is always changing.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
When you're passionate about something you will bend over backwards to get things done. When you're not passionate about something, you're more likely to admit defeat when things get sticky.

To me, that's the difference between someone who does it for the paycheck and someone who has a passion for it.

I've never been passionate about nursing. I have been passionate about being competent and having a good work ethic. I am also passionate about getting my bills paid on time.

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When you're passionate about something you will bend over backwards to get things done. When you're not passionate about something, you're more likely to admit defeat when things get sticky.

To me, that's the difference between someone who does it for the paycheck and someone who has a passion for it.

That's not true. If you have character and strong work ethic you will do your job as best you can, passion or no.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

MODERATOR NOTE: Please stick to the topic: "Is nursing a passion?"

Keep the insults out of this discussion. All off-topic posts will be deleted. Thanks in advance for your compliance.

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Specializes in ED, psych.

Back to topic ...

Is nursing a passion? As a second career (soon-to-be) nurse, for me the answer is 'no.' Do I enjoy what I do? Yup, so far. Do I get satisfaction from what I do? Yup, so far on that too. But for the most part, that was me when I was a SPED teacher too. I'm just tweaking my career to make it more user friendly for me now.

But I'm closing in on 40 this year and have no 'passion' for a career. I have a 'passion' for life *outside* of work: my kids, my husband, travel.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.

My nursing enables my passion by providing the resources for it.

Nursing is the means to an end, not the end in and of itself.

A passion is something I pursue because of intangible rewards; nursing is something that I pursue because of tangible rewards.

A passion is something that I happily pay for; nursing is something for which I demand to be paid.

Nursing is a job, a vocation, a career, a profession, a livelihood... nursing is not a passion, a mission, a calling...

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I tend to think the topic is destined to be a fruitless discussion in all cases, because someone's passion and even their compassion (we haven't had a real good compassion throw-down in a while!) generally exists in a realm that is not observable to others, and for the most part none of their business anyway. Performance is the only thing we may observe, and I'm 100% sure that self-identified "just a job" nurses can be regarded as possessing every outstanding attribute the "get out if you don't have the passion/compassion" nurses, and sometimes more so.

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