{"id":63,"date":"2019-02-22T07:54:45","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T13:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alumni-association\/?p=63"},"modified":"2026-02-05T09:38:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:38:00","slug":"understanding-your-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alumni-association\/understanding-your-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Your Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Teresa<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWhy did you get into healthcare?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you giving patient care?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer I typically hear is, \u201cI care. I want to serve people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What impresses me about this is that in addition to our caring, people seldom come up with the question, is it the caring and the service that keeps our patients alive and providing excellence in care, or is it our science? When we talk about sustaining our calling, so many times people are called to a healthcare career because of a personal experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 3 key pieces in helping you identify your calling:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What is your significant purpose? What do you really think you\u2019re going to accomplish at the end of a day and in your career?<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you look a little bit at your significant purpose, if you\u2019re in this because you want to give back, that\u2019s great. If you\u2019re in this because you love the science, if you\u2019re in this because you like the adrenaline rush and you see it on TV, that\u2019s great. If you as an individual start in your career and you have not sat down and said, \u201cWhat is the purpose? Why am I really here? What do I want to accomplish at the end of the day?\u201d You\u2019ll find yourself being driven into things that aren\u2019t really connected to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. What are the values that drive you there? <\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Our significant purpose tells us what we want to do. Our values tell us how we want to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I think that honesty, integrity, follow through, accountability, and humor are the values and attributes of individuals in healthcare. We all need a little bit of humor because if you can\u2019t laugh, you\u2019re going to cry all day because healthcare has hard moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. What is your picture of the future? How can you make a difference?<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        People\u2019s lives depend on us every single day. And that is overwhelming. Quality, safety and life-long learning are key. Always be thinking about making that next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Everyone who wants to really sustain their calling needs to look at these three elements. Because if you don\u2019t have a significant purpose, you\u2019re just floundering in, \u2018I just care. I want to be here.\u2019 Well, it\u2019s hard work. It takes its toll. Being a caring individual every day all day, it completely empties your bucket, as they say. You can\u2019t give, and give, and give, and not figure out why and how you give back to yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        There are times when you will be challenged in your values. Integrity is easy on paper. Integrity isn\u2019t always easy when you\u2019re the person advising somebody. Temptation is going to be there. If you don\u2019t have a clear picture of where you want to be, your career will happen to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        People don\u2019t have the opportunity to write their own obituary, but we can write our career obituary. We can write how we want our professional story to be told, and that\u2019s how you maintain your calling. Because you have your purpose, you have your values, and you know your picture of the future. That helps you to know how you\u2019re going to sustain why you got here, how you\u2019re going to do it, and what you\u2019re going to accomplish at the end. I think that\u2019s probably to me one of the most powerful things that we can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        – Terry Anderson, EdD, MSN, NE-BC ’81, \u201983, \u201887<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        \u201cWhy did you get into healthcare?\u201d \u201cWhy are you giving patient care?\u201d The answer I typically hear is, \u201cI care. 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