Dear Reader, Nursing is a journey all on its own. For the last 10 +years nursing has been my chosen career path. There are sooooo many positive and negative things that can be said for that. The average nursing career lasts 9 years, and, well, that’s on the high side if you ask me. One of my friends had a nursing career of 45 minutes and he said it was the weirdest 45 minutes of his life. I also have several nurse friends who have been with it for 40 years or more. The die hard nurses. The life long nurses who were taught to be like Florence Nightingale and they believe their duties will only be discharged upon their death. God Bless them… I have nothing but admiration. I don’t know how they made it but I don’t know how I’ve made it 10 years, personally, either. Although, I admit, hearing about a squad of nurses coming to your funeral to say that you have been released of your duties is quite touching. I guess one has to ask themself if it’s all worth it. Is this your calling or your paycheck? Lord knows you will be miserable if it’s the latter. Some of us fall in the middle, wavering back and forth from hating life for the burden and stress, to loving it for its fulfillment and opportunity. Balancing self care and family life is not something we always do well with. Change is positive and even needed within the field. I’ve tried working nights, days, 16 hour+ shifts or filling in for a couple hours. I’ve spent time in nursing homes, home health, hospital settings, as well as some agency and private work and but I’m telling you that balancing nursing and the rest of your life is difficult no matter where you are… it’s probably worse for hospice nurses but that’s just speculation….. Like I said it’s a calling. Maybe a calling on top of a calling to specialize in death or cancer. Indescribable. If you have a nurse in your life, or in the mirror, please be kind. Try to understand that they need some extra care themselves as they are, often, a warrior in their own right. -Their own right.