The Realities of Being a Nurse

Oftentimes when I wake up with legs and feet so sore I could not even walk to the bathroom without my face turning into a very unsightly grimace, I blame it on my shoes. In reality, it's from running around the floor all 11.5 hours of my 12 hour shift, and no matter what shoes I wear, I still end up with sore lower extremities at the end of the day. If you haven't guessed already, I am a nurse.

Most people think that nursing is an easy ticket to an above average salary, a way to fulfill dreams of owning a house, or buying that expensive car, or supporting a family. I have seen nursing students get the shock of their life on their first day on the floor, realizing the gravity of the profession that they have decided to venture into. No, nursing is not ideal. It's not only about doctor's orders and care plans and critical thinking. It's not all about the training, the knowledge, and the license that we have worked so hard to get. That's just half of it...the professional part, the part that can be taught.

The other half of it, the part that is innate to the heart of a nurse, that cannot be taught by the best teacher in the best school, is the passion for being a nurse. The part that makes you bathe your patients even if you have a million and one things to do in your list, because you know that it will make their day, or it will allow them comfort despite the illness that's eating them. Passion is the part that makes you cater to the family's need for an extra blanket, or an extra tray so that they can share and enjoy lunch with the patient even in the dire situation they are in. Passion is holding their hand and listening to them talk about their grandchildren, their canceled trip, their pain, their frustration, even when at the back of your mind, you're wondering about how you can get out in time with the many things still left to do.
You tell yourself that you should not be too close to the patients and their family but you couldn't help but care. Passion is when you cry in frustration because there's nothing else you can do to make things better. Passion is when you go home with sore legs and feet and you still come back for more.

Nursing has become so much more in this modern day, my work shoes cannot even cope. Do I think I need a new career that does not entail so much connection and personal involvement? I think not. I'm just going to go ahead and buy some new shoes. Because I am a nurse, and a nurse will never quit. Because quitting means there's one less patient getting the care that she deserves. And one patient less matters.