The Unexamined (Nursing) Life
We generally don’t study the classics of philosophy in nursing school. Unless we encountered philosophy in high school, a previous time in college, or out of personal interest, we nurses may not frequently think about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, let alone Heidegger, Kant, and the rest.
Nurses aren’t alone. Even though philosophy could be argued to be the underpinning of civilization, not many people spend much energy trying to understand it. We know it’s essential, but it’s not easy reading, and we have a lot of other things to do, like managing our careers, planning our next vacation, paying bills, and raising our families.
However, certain philosophical questions and statements are part of the popular consciousness, and sometimes, a brief reflection can yield some valuable gold for our life’s journey.
The Unexamined Life
The statement that “an unexamined life is not worth living” has been attributed to Socrates for thousands of years. While the exact wording is sometimes slightly different, the general idea is there: if we don’t look deeply at our lives and consider our motivations for what we do and the truth of who we are, life may not hold as much meaning as it could otherwise. Whether that examined life is not worth living is a matter of opinion, but we get Socrates’s point.
If you take a good look at your nursing life, what do you see? What gold is there to mine from your experiences, and what has being a nurse brought you? Have your original motivations remained with you, or have your experiences significantly changed how you view your career?
This is not to say that you can’t simply go to work each day, do your job, and come home to your family. There’s nothing wrong with doing your job well and enjoying the rest of your life. You probably work pretty darn hard, and you deserve enjoyable and restful time away from work.
Not everyone is predisposed to philosophical reflection. But when we realize the potential value in taking a deeper look at what we do and why we do it, sometimes we’re led down a path that bears the fruit of what Socrates was getting at.
A Precious Gem
Taking the above statements to heart, there’s much to say for periodically pausing to reflect on your nursing journey.
You could visualize your career as a precious gemstone expertly cut into multiple facets, be it a diamond, a ruby, a tourmaline, etc. Holding your faceted nursing career up to the light, what do you see? Consider these questions as a place to begin:
- What were my original motivations for becoming a nurse?
- What has changed for me since I first graduated? Do I see my career differently?
- Is there something I’ve always wanted to do in my career that I haven’t yet accomplished?
- How do my colleagues perceive me? What do they see and experience when interacting with me?
- What impact do I have on patients? How do they experience and perceive me?
- What have I learned about myself in the course of my career? Has anything about me fundamentally changed based on my experiences as a nurse?
- Does my work as a nurse hold enough meaning for me?
- What would I tell my younger self if you could message the nursing student or new grad I once was?
The precious gem of your nursing career has many facets; depending on how you hold it up to the light, you will see different things. If you take the time to examine your life and career, you may discover things about yourself that you’ve never realized. Focused self-examination has the power to reveal a great deal.
To Examine or Not to Examine
There are no rules about how introspective anyone has to be. Life in the 21st century is complicated, and as mentioned earlier in this article, we have a lot of other things to do just to keep afloat. If you’re raising children, have aging parents, or are feeling your own aging process, there’s plenty demanding your attention.
You probably work hard, have many responsibilities, and always have a lot to think about and do. There’s no need to take a deep dive into your deeper motivations and desires, but if you do for a moment, there may be some valuable insights about you, your life, and your identity as a nurse.
Is an unexamined (nursing) life worth living? You don’t need Socrates to tell you — you know the answer that works for you.
