What does Nursing mean to you?

[FutureRNontario]

hello ladies and gents,

i was wondering if anybody could tell me their opinion of what it means to be a professional nurse from the perspective of nursing standards. i am a first year nursing student and still trying to grasp the concept. maybe some of you have recently learned this and could help me out? thanks!:)

[ebear, BSN, RN]

Learning that it is just as important to know when to LEAVE SOMETHING ALONE as it is to intervene. "First, do no harm."

[pauline Imbowela]

i love my job, though it comes with an aching back, but helping patients is a calling and comes from the heart. its so satisfying when patients come to say thank you after recovery. enjoy your nursing, encourage yourself and always do the best in what you can.

[trauma_lama, BSN]

It means watching life come in to world and watching it leave. It means having a soft heart and a steel spine. Laughing and crying sometimes within the same hour. Tired feet and legs and every muscle in your body hurting. A wink between yourself and patients who you have watched improve from death's door. Tears of frustration and tears of joy. Eating cake out of an emesis basin with a tongue blade. A bladder the size of a Winnebago. Mastering being assertive without being aggressive. Learning that you are both stronger and weaker than you thought you were. Laying your weary head on a pillow at the end of a day knowing you made a difference. Having a sixth sense that "something just isn't right" with your patient and it's not in a book....and thanking God for His mercy and grace. :redbeathe:redbeathe[/quotec

can i steal this as long as a promise to credit it to "ebear?" beautifully worded and it just reminded me why i'm working so hard to put myself through nursing school HELL.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

It means watching life come in to world and watching it leave. It means having a soft heart and a steel spine. Laughing and crying sometimes within the same hour. Tired feet and legs and every muscle in your body hurting. A wink between yourself and patients who you have watched improve from death's door. Tears of frustration and tears of joy. Eating cake out of an emesis basin with a tongue blade. A bladder the size of a Winnebago. Mastering being assertive without being aggressive. Learning that you are both stronger and weaker than you thought you were. Laying your weary head on a pillow at the end of a day knowing you made a difference. Having a sixth sense that "something just isn't right" with your patient and it's not in a book....and thanking God for His mercy and grace. :redbeathe:redbeathe

Well said!!:yeah:

[ebear, BSN, RN]

absolutely, RN in training, and read PRN when you're pulling your hair out! Good luck!