This reflective essay offers a first-person account of what it means to work as a nurse. The author describes the core mandate of the nursing profession — promoting health, preventing illness, alleviating suffering, and supporting patients and families — and walks through a typical workday, from morning briefings and room-to-room patient rounds to medication administration, physician consultations, and end-of-shift documentation. The paper also touches on the emotional dimensions of nursing, including both the rewarding and difficult interactions that characterize the profession.
There is nothing that compares to serving in any of the helping professions. In the past, I have come across articles highlighting some of the most desirable professions and jobs — and in some cases, some of the worst. In a Forbes article titled "The Best Jobs for 2014," what is particularly striking is that "all the positions, aside from tenured professor, are math- or health care-related" (Adams, 2014). What this means is that I work in a profession regarded as one of the best in the entire world — I am proudly a nurse.
My responsibilities as a nurse involve not only the optimization, but also the promotion and protection of the health of those placed under our care. Alongside my colleagues, I do this by alleviating suffering and preventing illness, playing a pivotal role in both the diagnosis and treatment of patients and offering relevant care to affected families and communities. According to the World Health Organization, nurses serve as the backbone of healthcare delivery worldwide, a role that resonates deeply with my own daily experience. This, in general, captures the core mandate of nursing.
I wouldn't say that each of my days as a nurse is exactly like the last. There are days I report to work very happy and leave even happier. There are, however, days that end on a sad note. That said, there is a recognizable structure to a typical day in my nursing life.
On a typical day, I wake up at 8 A.M. and get ready for the day ahead. I then drive to work so that I am at the hospital — my workstation — by 9:45 A.M. My day usually begins with briefings, during which I receive reports from the outgoing night-shift nurse regarding all current patients. I then proceed with a room-to-room visit in order to examine patients and identify key vitals. During these rounds, I also administer the relevant medications.
Between the first round and the second round, which is typically scheduled at 11:30 A.M., I attend to any administrative issues assigned to me. It is also during these breaks that I reach out to family members and keep them informed of the condition of their loved ones. As described by the American Nurses Association, patient and family communication is a central ethical obligation of nursing practice — something I experience firsthand in these daily interactions.
"Doctor consultations, difficult patients, emotional challenges"
I love being a nurse. Although the profession has its own ups and downs — as every profession does — I wouldn't trade it for anything else. In addition to getting to work with wonderful people, I also get to interact with, care for, and comfort patients and their families, making a positive impact at a time when they feel rather helpless.
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