Nursing is so much more than a collection of skills and knowledge that make up a job title. It is the choice to dedicate one’s life to helping others, and a complex fusion of traits, abilities and beliefs.

So what does it really mean to be a nurse?

Nursing is learning something new every day. It is the highs and lows of doing something incredible for someone else while constantly being at risk for self-mortification. It is the art form of constantly changing your plan based on the ever-shifting conditions of your patient, your environment and yourself.

Nursing is about giving someone else strength when they have none, and providing answers in a time of weakness and uncertainty. It is, above all else, about caring.

Top 10 Traits of Nursing

1. Compassion

2. Expertise

3. Selflessness

4. Teamwork

5. Humor

6. Healing

7. Intuition

8. Resilience

9. Courage

10. Humility

Nursing is a permanent path of growth, experience, tragedy, adventure, happiness, collaboration, inspiration and amazement. In some ways, it is impossible to define what nursing really is, because it’s more than a career: It’s a way of life.

Molly Rose Hershman is currently a student in the Accelerated BSN program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing. Her writing can be found on several nursing websites and on her personal blog, The Awkward Times of MRH.

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This article was republished with permission from SCRUBS Magazine.