Alina Pokolo
Being a nurse is not just a job but should be a calling. A calling is a deep desire to devote one to serving people, according to the high values of the task or profession.
Being a nurse is a calling day in day out. Nurses make a difference in countless lives, and they care for the sick, tend to the injured, and even save lives. The pursuit of nursing appears to be both a choice and a calling; a calling can be a choice, and vice versa. Motives, values and attitudes matter in society, no matter what the era.
It takes a great deal of altruism to become a nurse, and this is the reason why nursing is a calling probably more than it is a profession. The job requires one to go the extra mile, and the reason behind that is that nurses work in the same setting as others in healthcare. The majority, however, fail to really understand what being a nurse means. It means patients in your care should be able to trust you, which means treat your patients and colleagues with respect, kindness, dignity and compassion, taking care of your patients as if it were your precious family members, and not forgetting/putting it in mind that tomorrow you can as well find yourself in the same situation. So, as a nurse, be kind and act accordingly.
Nursing is a desire to make a difference, and the potential has a profound effect in changing. The valuable facet of nursing is understanding that the patients’ perception is a significant indicator on how patients perceive themselves. Their healthcare providers and nursing care they receive is of the outmost importance.
They say if your stomach does not become queasy after visiting healthcare centres, it is a great sign that you are prepared to become a nurse. As a nurse, you will deal with unusual and unpleasant odours and sights like blood spillage in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices that can make one feel sick. As a young girl, I always wanted to be in a field where I could help others. So, as years went by, I started finding the human body very intriguing, which eventually led me to realise that I definitely want to do something in the health field.
Some qualities of being the best nurse are confidence, a great memory, endurance, integrity, communication, kindheartedness, emotional stability and empathy.
Nursing is not just a job. This goes to my colleagues who are studying to become nurses to take note of. We are not going to work with papers, but human beings. In nursing, we don’t guess. We must be sure of what we do and say, simply because we are working with a human life.
Nursing can only be a calling if you are that type of person, qualified or student nurse, who sacrifices his or her time to help patients, and not leaving them unattended even when it is time to knock off. That really shows that nursing is your calling because you actually know that it is useless to leave a patient unattended and save a life rather than rushing to go home. Just a reminder: hard work really pays off. I try by all means to go the extra mile, could it be during my studies or clinical allocations, and never limit myself because I know this is my calling. The purpose is to save lives and relief pain in injured people, and not to worsen their conditions. In nursing, every day is a learning experience, and you can’t really say you know everything.
A nurse is always punctual. Reporting for duty early allows you to get the report from the night or day-shift colleagues.
I am worried about the behaviour of my young colleagues. Leaving patients untended, or giving false excuses to be off work for a day or so without any valid reason. If one has the capability of helping or caring for family members at home in terms of sicknes,s then it could be that nursing is his or her calling because he or she is doing it willingly.
Nurses have compassion and the ability of helping or saving a life wherever you find yourself, and not expecting anything in return. You cannot tell me that nursing is your calling, yet you are sneaking away from patients when they need you to treat them. Remember, you will eventually be accountable for your actions.
Unfortunately, some only joined because of money, and not because it’s their calling. I advise those coming after me to choose their careers wisel,y and not make money the deciding factor.
* Alina Pokolo is a second-year enrolled nursing student at the Welwitchia Health Training Centre.