Shae Baldwin: Nursing As a Calling, Not a Job

Has anyone ever told you that going to work makes them excited?

For me, being a nurse is that thing that makes me want to get up in the morning because it means I get to make someone else’s day a little bit better. That may sound cliché, but my externship at Roper St. Francis in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) and the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Intermediate Care Unit (3HVT) helped me realize that nursing is more than a profession; it is my passion and purpose. Throughout my experience, I faced moments of challenge and reward that deepened my understanding of what it truly means to care for others. I cared for patients in all stages of recovery. Some were up and walking, eager to be discharged so they would not have to endure another day of hospital food. Others were in critical condition, fighting for their lives while their families tried to stay strong at the bedside. Each encounter, whether difficult or uplifting, taught me that nursing is not just about medicine; it is about connection, empathy, and resilience.

During one especially challenging shift, I assisted a nurse in caring for an older patient who was extremely confused due to a urinary tract infection. Throughout the shift, she repeatedly tried to get out of bed, pulled out her IV lines (7 in total), and cried out for help. We attempted several therapeutic interventions, such as chatting with her, leaving her door open, and keeping a staff member at her bedside, but nothing worked. Eventually, we obtained an order for restraints to keep her safe and maintain her IV access. The situation stabilized until her family arrived, confused and upset to see their loved one restrained. As I was the only person in the room at the time, they accused me of not adequately caring for their mother and dismissed my role, telling me to “get an adult.”

In that moment, I felt angry and misunderstood. I think I went through the 5 stages of grief. I was continuously thinking about what I could have done better and where my interaction with the family went wrong. I wanted to stand up for myself because I knew what I had told her was correct, but I knew I had to step back, stay calm, and prioritize communication. I asked a registered nurse to join us and helped ensure the family’s concerns were addressed respectfully and thoroughly. Reflecting afterward, I realized that the family’s frustration came from fear and love for their mother. With better communication, their involvement in her care actually increased, and together we achieved the common goal of ensuring her safety. That experience reminded me that empathy and teamwork often mean setting aside emotion to do what is best for the patient.

Even though there were some struggles during my externship, one of the most impactful moments came during my very first day in the CVICU. My assigned patient had once been vibrant and active (especially in the videos that his family showed us) but now lay partially brain dead after a cardiac event. His family, influenced by their own experience with organ transplants (the patient’s fiancée’s mother had once received a heart) made the decision to donate his organs to help others. I came into that shift ready to fix problems, but in his room, I learned that sometimes comfort replaces cure. My nurse and I spent the day simply being present (holding his hand, listening to stories, and supporting the family as they began to grieve). We helped the family connect with the patient finger painting, washing the patient’s hair, and by using an ultrasound to make recordings of his heartbeat to put inside a teddy bear. These small acts seemed insignificant at the time but significantly impacted the families grieving process.

In school, organ donation was always taught like this super clean, clinical process that was step-by-step, organized, almost textbook-perfect. But when I actually experienced it with a real patient and their family, it was nothing like what I had imagined: it was not clean or simple; it was emotional and heavy and incredibly human. There were a couple of times during that shift when I just had to pull my preceptor aside and talk through what I was feeling, because I had never been part of anything like that before. In the moment, I was trying so hard to be a steady and strong person for the family to lean on; however, the second I walked out of the building, I just fell apart. I still think about that shift. It is one of those experiences that sticks with you and reminds you that nursing is so much more than skills and procedures. Honestly, it feels like nursing is just as much human connection as it technical skills (you have to learn how to show up for people when their world is falling apart).

A couple days later, when the time came for his Honor Walk, a silent hospital tradition honoring organ donors on the day of organ removal, I stood with dozens of healthcare workers as his bed was wheeled down the hall toward surgery. The atmosphere was filled with respect and quiet strength. I was later invited to his funeral, an experience that taught me the profound emotional depth of nursing. I remember hugging the patient’s fiancée’s daughter, who was my age, as she cried for the first time since his passing. It was a reminder that healing takes many forms, and sometimes, empathy is the most powerful medicine we can give.

Nursing is a calling precisely because it demands empathy, resilience, and grace. It requires us to step into what is often the hardest day of someone’s life and offer understanding and hope. Nursing school provides the technical skills and knowledge to care for patients, but my externship at Roper St. Francis taught me what textbooks cannot. It taught me how to be an advocate, a listener, a professional, and a light for others in their darkest times. These experiences reaffirmed that nursing is not a job I chose; it is a lifestyle I am proud to live every day.

Shae Baldwin, originally from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, is expected to graduate in December 2025 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She has accepted a position at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, where she will begin her career in the Pediatric Heart Center, working in both the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) and the Pediatric Stepdown Unit. Passionate about caring for children with complex cardiac needs, Shae is excited to continue growing as a nurse and serving patients and families during some of their most vulnerable moments.