The Hidden Cost of Calling: How We're Harming the Nursing Profession

This article is cross-posted on The Circulating Life.

In conversations about the nursing profession, it's not uncommon to hear phrases like “nursing is a calling” or “nursing is a passion.” These comments, while often well-meaning and somewhat glamorized, generally come from a place of admiration, attempting to honor the compassion and dedication nurses bring to their work. But this language, however laudable it may sound, has far-reaching consequences that have contributed to the systemic undervaluing of nursing as a profession.

The Problem with "Calling"

When nursing is framed as a calling or a passion, it implies that the work is intrinsically rewarding enough to justify sacrifices. This framing can lead to unrealistic expectations, such as the assumption that nurses will endure long hours, unsafe staffing ratios, or low pay without complaint—because they are “doing what they love.”

In many caregiving professions, the “calling” narrative can normalize burnout and emotional exhaustion by implying that suffering is simply part of the job. In nursing, this expectation becomes particularly harmful in a profession where the stakes are high and the workload is relentless.

Exploitation Disguised as Dedication

One of the most insidious consequences of the calling narrative is workplace exploitation. As we know, most people who choose to enter the nursing profession are people who genuinely care for others and naturally want to help. But employers and administrators may lean on the idea that nurses are naturally self-sacrificing, using this as justification for stagnant wages, mandatory overtime, or the lack of meaningful mental health support.

For example, Bunderson & Thompson (2009) found that employees who saw their work as a “calling” were more likely to accept poor working conditions and personal sacrifices. Similarly, Wang et al. (2023) demonstrated that while a sense of calling can buffer some stress, it also interacts with job demands in ways that increase burnout risk among nurses.

These findings echo decades of workforce research. Aiken et al. (2002) showed that inadequate nurse staffing leads to higher burnout and job dissatisfaction, highlighting that systemic issues, not lack of passion, drive nurse stress. More recently, Dall’Ora et al. (2024) confirmed through meta-analysis that nurse burnout directly harms patient safety and care quality. Yet the “calling” narrative shifts responsibility from organizations to individual nurses, masking the need for

change.

The Professional Reality

Nursing is not volunteerism. It is not missionary work. It is a highly skilled, evidence-based, and indispensable professional career. Nurses complete rigorous educational programs, pass licensure exams, engage in continuous professional development, and often serve as the backbone of patient care in complex healthcare systems.

Recognizing nursing as a profession—and not a calling—demands that nurses be treated, not as a commodity to simply be used, but as the professionals that they truly are. Which then produces an environment that is committed to fair compensation, safe staffing, respect for time off, and investment in professional growth. All of which must be the basic standard, not the exception.

Shifting the Narrative

Reframing nursing as a career rather than a calling doesn't diminish the compassion and care that nurses bring to their roles. Instead, it reinforces the idea that professionals deserve professional treatment.

When we drop the romanticized language and focus on the structural realities of nursing work, we create space for advocacy and systemic change. We can hold institutions accountable—not for nurturing nurses' passion, but for creating environments where nurses can thrive, both professionally and personally.

I’ve been in this profession for 23 years now. I’ve been told nursing is a calling for my entire career. So much so, that even writing this essay against that thinking makes me somewhat fearful of the backlash. Of course, we want to provide the best care for our patients. Of course, we are committed to safe patient care and best practice. Removing the idea of calling from the equation doesn’t change who we are, it simply changes how we, and how others, view our profession. And I, for one, would like to see our profession recognized as the dignified career that it is, and one that promotes advocacy, fairness, and sustainability.

Nursing is more than a calling, and I think it’s high time we demanded more for ourselves and for the nursing profession.

Until next time,

Melanie

References

• Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., Sochalski, J., & Silber, J. H. (2002). Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction. JAMA, 288(16), 1987–1993. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/195438

• Bunderson, J. S., & Thompson, J. A. (2009). The call of the wild: Zookeepers, callings, and the double-edged sword of deeply meaningful work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 54(1), 32–57. https://apps.olin.wustl.edu/faculty/bunderson/Bunderson%26Thompson%282009%2CASQ%29.pdf

• Dall’Ora, C., Saville, C., & Griffiths, P. (2024). Nurse burnout and patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of care: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 7(4), e241071. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2825639

• Kallio, H., Kangasniemi, M., & Hult, M. (2022). Registered nurses’ perceptions of having a calling to nursing: A mixed-method study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(5), 1473–1482. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35188282/

• Wang, L., Ma, H., Zhu, J., & Zhang, Y. (2023). Job stressors and burnout among clinical nurses: A moderated mediation of need for recovery and career calling. BMC Nursing, 22, 70. https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-023-01524-1