Introducing a New Series in The Hamiltonian “What Is It Like to Be a ______?”

Ever wondered what it’s really like to walk in someone else’s work shoes?

The Hamiltonian is pleased to launch an exciting new series that goes behind the scenes of everyday professions and roles — from the well-known to the rarely explored — to uncover the personal, human side of work.  This series offers a candid and thoughtful look at life on the job, straight from the people who live it.

Each installment will address a different career, sharing honest reflections from individuals in the field. Our goal?

- To provide valuable insight for those considering a similar path
- To foster greater understanding and appreciation for the work others do — in all its complexity, challenge, and reward

This series is not about politics, policy, or reform. It’s about people — their stories, their struggles, their passion, and their purpose.

We’ve asked our contributors to be open, sincere, and reflective, so that readers can truly grasp what it’s like to work in their shoes. We’re proud to kick things off with: “What Is It Like Being a Nurse?” 

We welcome Erin Ariss, RN, who shares her insights below: 

1. What is one of the most emotionally challenging situations you've faced as a nurse, and how did you cope with it?

As an emergency department nurse, the most emotionally challenging situations have involved the death of a baby or young child. As a parent, it’s impossible to not identify with the parents and ask, ‘what if that was my child?’

As for coping with it, as nurses, we are expected to swallow any distress or emotion, focus on providing the care and tasks involved, perform CPR, start an IV, draw blood…and let our emotions out at a later time and place. It is important to do that, and to get support if we need it.

One thing is certain: after getting home from a shift in which a baby or child was at risk, I always hugged my children tighter.

In addition to this, the lack of personal protective equipment we experienced as nurses at the start of the pandemic was horrifying. Far too many of us were infected with COVID and many of us were afraid to go home to our families for fear of infecting them. It was a terrifying experience and has left a lot of trauma in its wake.

2. How do you maintain a sense of personal well-being and prevent burnout in such a high-stress environment?

Avoiding burnout is a constant challenge, especially with understaffing and underfunding across our health-care system.

Like everyone, we try our best to leave the stress at work. Our families sacrifice a lot of time with us because we work long shifts, a lot of overtime, and on many holidays, especially with the extreme nursing shortage. But it is crucially important for us to access mental health supports when we need them and address traumatic experiences we have at work.

For many nurses, the answer to burnout is engagement. Getting involved in our union allows us to support our coworkers and advocate to improve our work and health care. This is empowering and can lead to change.

3. Can you share a moment when you felt truly appreciated or recognized for your work—and how that impacted your motivation?

When a patient or their family says a heartfelt thank you, it is clear that the care I’ve provided and clinical skills I have used are valued. When a patient takes the time to express a meaningful thank you, I know I’ve made a difference.

4. To anyone who is considering nursing as a profession, what advice might you have? What type of questions should they ask themselves to self assess as to whether the profession would be a good fit for them?

That’s a tough question.

There are so many sub-specialties in nursing, and they each require a different skill set and personality. Nurses can opt to work in public health, long-term care, hospitals and more. Even in hospitals, each unit or department varies.

I think what people don’t understand is how highly educated and skilled nurses are. There is often a perception that they we are there just to follow the orders of the doctor, when in fact, nurses constantly re-evaluate their patients’ conditions, use our clinical knowledge to prevent patients from crashing or suffering complications. We also face personal danger while doing our jobs – workplace violence has been a serious problem for decades.

Nursing is a demanding job that requires a high level of intelligence, skills and education. Today, the challenges in the profession make it important for new nurses to be advocates – not only for patients, but also for our profession and our public health care.

5. How do you balance empathy and emotional detachment when dealing with patients and families in crisis?

We are medical professionals, and supporting patients in crisis is part of our job. We aim to provide the best care possible, meeting the needs of the patient, while still protecting our own mental health. It is important to stay focussed on providing high quality care, and part of that is understanding the needs and experiences of our patients.

When we experience distressing situations that impact us personally, it is equally important to acknowledge that and seek help. Debriefing with coworkers can help, as can accessing mental health supports more formally. Sometimes, a little more support is needed as nurses have high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder from the often harrowing work we do.

6. In what ways has your experience as a nurse changed your perspective on life, health, or relationships outside of work?

First and foremost, my experiences have inspired me to step up and become an advocate for my profession. I pride myself in using my experiences to fight for better protection, respect and recognition of nurses, and for better quality workplaces and patient care.

I have also come to realize that my family and friends are incredibly important and they come first.

Being a nurse has taught me that you never know what tomorrow has in store. I hug my family and friends more and tell them I love them. I make time for them whenever possible because you never know what will happen in the future. I always remember a 50-year-old man with a wife and two teenage sons, who came into the emergency department having a massive heart attack. We performed CPR for more than two hours, until the doctor called the time of death. That man thought he had more time. Life is fleeting and you never know.

7. What do you believe is the most misunderstood part of being a nurse in a hospital, especially by the public or even other healthcare professionals?

So many believe that a nurse’s job is solely about caring, holding a hand, giving a bath, etc. Those are outdated ideas that fail to acknowledge that nursing and other jobs in the care economy are highly skilled professions. The skills we are required to have are ever evolving and expanding. We need to have a very broad and growing knowledge base to function as a registered nurse. We have to understand everyone else’s job, like physiotherapists, occupational therapists and more. We have to have the knowledge and confidence to question a doctor’s order when necessary. The personal care part is still there, but the rest is just as important and even more necessary.

8. Many people view nursing as a calling rather than just a profession, suggesting that not everyone is suited for it. In your opinion, is nursing something anyone can learn, or does it take a certain kind of person to truly thrive in the role?

Referring to nursing as a “calling” or nurses as angels of mercy or heroes are outdated and often gendered ideas that ignore the high level of education and clinical skills we have. These ideas may seem harmless, but they play a role in nurses being sidelined and our insights being ignored.

Nursing is a tough job that not everyone is cut out for, but it’s not a calling. Instead, the best nurses possess technical skills, commit to gaining the practical experience they need and learn about the patients they care for.

We have to know all the technical stuff – how to draw blood, start an IV, how to work the machines (monitors, IV pumps, dialysis machines, ventilators), make split second decisions. But we also need to understand every patient, resident or client – including how their realities impact their health, whether they face poverty, housing or food insecurity, addictions and mental health issues, racism and discrimination, and many other factors. Valuing human rights, dignity and equality is an equally important and vital part of the job.

Thank-you Erin for sharing your insights with Hamiltonians on The Hamiltonian! Thank-you also to Sheree  for helping facilitate this exchange!


Stay tuned for future installments as we continue exploring the diverse and fascinating world of work — one story at a time.

Photo by Elen Sher on Unsplash