By Liz Seegert
While much attention is focused on burnout, staffing shortages and retention challenges, there’s also the flip side: the countless nurses who devote their entire careers to the profession. Whether at the bedside, in the classroom, in leadership or even in the air as flight nurses, they know nursing is more than a job. Most say it’s even more than a way of life. It’s a calling from the heart.
Finding Purpose in Nursing
Lula Lokas has worked in critical care, as a flight nurse, and in the UCI Medical Center emergency department. Her 35-year journey has been one of continuous growth and discovery, beginning in a small intensive care unit in Orange County and leading to a position as a flight nurse. It was a role she embraced for its challenges, autonomy and need for quick thinking. Eventually, she found herself in Omaha,
Nebraska, where her true passion—emergency medicine—emerged while she was working part-time in the emergency department of the hospital where her helicopter was based. She never looked back.
“It was hard at first,” Lokas recalls. “What I could do 1,000 feet up, I couldn’t necessarily do in the trauma bay, so I had to hold back.” She thrived in the high-energy environment. Coming into the emergency department with 10 years of experience gave her the confidence to tackle the toughest cases and ignited a desire to pursue a clinical nurse specialist role in adult critical care.
Reflecting on her career, Lokas highlights the flexibility and opportunities nursing offers: “You just get introduced to different specialties, and you realize, Oh, I kind of like that. Let me explore it a little.”
Ask nurses what gets them out of bed in the morning, what keeps them going, and you will hear many variations on these themes.
Recent research underscores the importance of job flexibility and multiple career paths in retaining nurses. Findings from the 2024 State of Nursing report found that 61% of nurses viewed nursing as a great career, with 69% expressing love for the profession. Job satisfaction is closely linked to higher education levels, specialty certifications and work engagement. Improved working conditions and positive work environments also contribute to increased retention.
For example, a University of Michigan study reported a significant drop in nurses planning to leave their workplace between 2022 and 2023 (39.1% vs. 32.0%), as the profession began to recover from the peak years of the Covid pandemic. Enhanced mental health support and reduced burnout rates have played pivotal roles in this shift.
For Lokas, it’s the connection with patients and the camaraderie with coworkers that fuel her. “I know in my heart that I’m helping someone, and that just makes me wake up and want to go to work the next day,” she says. Lifelong friendships with colleagues, strengthened by shared experiences, form an unshakable bond.
Building Connections and Resilience
Not all nurses spend their careers at the bedside, but most say the deep connections formed with
patients, families, students and colleagues keep them motivated.
A multicenter qualitative study of ICU nurses in the Netherlands identified several key factors contributing to job satisfaction, and the results track closely with what nursing school and medical center nurses say: fulfillment comes from being part of a solid team; professional autonomy; opportunities for skill development; appreciation of work by others; engaging work content; and supportive human resource management. Conversely, monotonous tasks, poor leadership and excessive bureaucracy were found to diminish job satisfaction.
Kim Hicks, now a clinical instructor at the UC Irvine Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, exemplifies these themes. After 14 years in critical care and teaching part-time, Hicks transitioned to academia full-time, a role she enthusiastically embraces.
“It was a passion thing for me,” Hicks says of her decision to focus on education. She aims to prepare new nurses for the challenges of the profession, ensuring they are resilient and confident in their choice. Drawing from her early career struggles, Hicks shares with students the importance of relying on teammates and finding balance.
At the start of her career, as a newly qualified nurse working in the ICU, Hicks says she often “took my patients home with me,” constantly thinking about them on her days off. She worried that another nurse might not pick up on some nuance or subtle change. She phoned in often and asked for frequent updates, despite being off duty.
Fortunately for Hicks, “I had two amazing charge nurses and the most supportive manager. They helped me let go mentally and trust my coworkers,” she recalls. This support system allowed her to enjoy her down time, recharge and approach work with renewed energy, an experience she now strives to replicate for her students. Hicks is now pursuing a doctorate in nursing education at Ohio State University, in addition to her role at the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing.
Always Something New to Learn
Providing fulfilling careers through continuous learning for nurses is a personal crusade for educators like Susanne Phillips, senior associate dean of the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing. Phillips notes that nurses’ drive to help others translates beautifully into nursing education. “You’re never not learning how to be a better educator,” she explains, highlighting the ongoing mentorship that extends well beyond graduation.
“Nursing is such a multifaceted career that it’s easy to redefine yourself whenever you want,” Phillips says. “Many choose a teaching role; there’s always something new to learn on the education side of the equation. Just like any other aspect of nursing, faculty members must give it their all every day. Not only do the students deserve that, but so do the patients they’re going to serve.”
She understands that teaching isn’t for everyone, especially given the often-significant pay differential. “It’s not easy,” she says. “You have to want to do this.” Not only is there a pay cut involved in moving from hands-on nursing to nursing education, but the best educators must translate their energy and enthusiasm to their students, be familiar with the latest teaching methods, keep students engaged and make whatever topic they’re teaching
immediately clinically relevant for their students.
However, the nurse educators that do their jobs often have an impact long after graduation. Some alumni, 10 or 20 years into their careers, still seek advice from faculty. Phillips says this ongoing mentorship helps reignite passion and guide nurses toward new career paths.
Higher Education: A Gateway to Opportunity
Candice Whealon, a family nurse practitioner and clinical coordinator of the nursing school’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, exemplifies how higher education can unlock different career opportunities. Whealon began as a certified nursing assistant and progressed to a family nurse practitioner master’s
degree from the school in 2013. Her path included roles in urgent care, student health, at Chargers games and even a stint at Fox Studios. She received her doctorate after realizing she wanted to pursue a higher education track.
“I’ve done such crazy, different things,” Whealon says. “We have such a luxury that our job and training prepare us to do so many things.”
During her 20 years in the UCI Medical Center emergency department, Whealon’s coworkers—her community—became a crucial source of support. “Even if you’re doing something unpleasant, when you’re doing it with someone you look forward to grabbing coffee with the next day, that’s meaningful.”
The nursing profession isn’t without challenges. Recognizing the emotional toll and moral injury of trauma and critical care, especially post-Covid, Whealon has played an integral role in piloting the nursing school’s burnout education prevention program. This initiative builds on the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ wellness strategies, tailoring support to hospital staff needs. It’s one of several innovative approaches that faculty at the nursing school and leadership at the UCI Medical Center are developing to support their nursing professionals.
When Nursing Finds You
For Anne Marie Watkins, chief nursing executive at UCI Medical Center, nursing is a road she never anticipated going down. Watkins originally planned on becoming a physician. Enrolling in nursing school at California State University, Long Beach, to strengthen her medical school application, she discovered her true calling.
“Oh my gosh, this is what I want to do,” she recalls thinking. “There were just so many aspects of nursing that resonated with me.” She quickly lost any desire to become a physician.
Her early career in pediatric intensive care was deeply fulfilling but became emotionally overwhelming after she had her own children. Seeking a different direction, Watkins moved into leadership roles, where she found even greater purpose.
Her commitment to caring is still there, just in a different form. “I realized I could make a difference not only for patients but also for those taking care of them,” she explains.
As chief nurse, Watkins now represents nurses at the highest levels, advocating for innovation and addressing challenges like burnout and workplace safety. Programs such as Operation Safe Shift, which flags potentially agitated patients to enhance staff security, reflect the medical center’s commitment to creating a safe and supportive environment.
The Heart of the Matter
Nursing has changed a lot since Watkins started 35 years ago. While some, like Lula Lokas, have remained at the bedside most of their career, many find renewed interest elsewhere within the profession. They may leave the bedside, but they don’t leave nursing. They still feel the pull to help others.
The beauty of nursing lies in its endless possibilities, notes Watkins. There is a unique flexibility and breadth to this profession. “You can work nights, weekends, or three days a week and still have free time.” Nursing offers industry roles, teaching positions, opportunities in private practice and travel, just for starters.
Strategies to reduce burnout among nurses at UCI Medical Center include:
–Peer-to-peer support programs
–“Code Lavender” debriefing sessions with chaplains and social workers
–Integrative health initiatives teaching nurses mindfulness, aromatherapy and self-care in cooperation with the Samueli Integrative Health Institute
–Mentorship programs for new graduates
–Flexible scheduling options
–Transfer opportunities within the health system to learn new skills or take on a new career path
Nursing school is not just for the young, either. Like other nursing schools, the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing welcomes professionals from other fields—engineers, marketers and other career changers who bring unique perspectives. As Watkins notes, “The gift they bring to nursing is remarkable. You can see the light in their eyes—‘I was meant to be here.’”
Younger or older, mentorship and support systems are crucial for retaining talent and combating burnout. The school’s mentorship program pairs new graduates with experienced nurses outside their units, providing guidance and a sounding board. Group sessions and flexible scheduling further support work-life balance.
As the healthcare landscape evolves, so too does the nursing profession. Watkins notes, “This isn’t the old days where, for the most part, people stayed in one nursing role for a long time. Now it’s a different ballgame.” She emphasizes the need for leaders to rethink how nurses are prepared, both in school and as they enter the profession.
However, the profession’s core remains unchanged: a profound commitment to human care, healing and compassion. “You’re with people on the best and worst days of their lives. It’s a gift to help others and build such deep bonds with coworkers. Your colleagues become your other family, sharing holidays, triumphs and challenges,” Watkins says.
Most nurses get into the profession because they feel called. But they stay because nursing can, and does, transform their lives. Helping people is a gift, Watkins notes. “When nursing finds you, you never want to leave it. It becomes a part of you.”
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Liz Seegert is an award-winning freelance health journalist who writes about many aspects of health, nursing and health policy for national print and digital consumer and professional media.
