Art or Nursing, ink and watercolor, 2021 by Julianna Paradisi

The phrase ‘art of nursing’ describes how nurses bring personalized care to our patients. People with creative impulses are often as attracted to health science as to paint and canvas. My own combined career path of artist, writer, and nurse is an example. But although nursing and creative arts careers sometimes overlap, they require very different preparation and academic degrees .

Because of the path I’ve taken, I’m often approached by multitalented young people wanting advice when deciding between dedicating themselves to a career in the arts or taking a chance with building an art career while enjoying a relatively more dependable income in nursing.

A recent email from an artistically gifted high school senior distilled her concerns into these questions:

  • Do you find it rewarding to be a nurse?
  • Did nursing help your art career?
  • Do you have regrets about choosing nursing instead of another career more related to a career in art?
  • What advice would you give about this decision?

Yes, I have found nursing rewarding.

I have written in other blog posts that nursing was not my first choice for a career. I wanted to be a writer and make art, but I come from a working class family. Although the arts were appreciated, they were not considered a “real job.” When discussing future career choices, my father advised me, “Get a job, and then you will have life experiences to write about.”

His advice conflicts with the popular Pinterest and bumper sticker slogan “Follow your bliss.” But Joseph Campbell, who coined the phrase, explained its deeper meaning in a late-in-life interview.*

“I have a firm belief in this now, not only in terms of my own experience, but in knowing the experiences of other people. When you follow your bliss, and by bliss I mean the deep sense of being in it, and doing what the push is out of your own existence—it may not be fun, but it’s your bliss and there’s bliss behind pain too.”

Nursing hasn’t always been fun; there are painful shifts, emotionally and physically. But nursing, caring for others, has pushed me outside of my own existence. It has enhanced my sense of integrity, and my compassion for others. In this manner, nursing has been my bliss.

Yes, nursing has helped my career in the arts.

Julianna Paradisi/ Love You to Death

A story I have not shared before in writing is how I came to be known in the nursing blogosphere as an artist and writer.

In 2009, after two short stories I wrote about my experiences as a pediatric intensive nurse were published in an anthology, I started my blog, JParadisiRN, also illustrating my posts. During this time, the NY Times published an article about the economic downturn’s impact on artists after the crash of 2008. I commented on the post, including gratitude for my nursing income, which allowed me to keep my studio, and a link to my blog.

Then something unexpected and wonderful happened: An editor from the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) saw my blog and invited me to submit artwork for the journal’s peer-reviewed Art of Nursing column. My painting, “Love You to Death,” was published on the October 2009 cover.

More opportunities followed. Ironically, my father died in 2009, before my dreams of art and writing came to fruition.

Regrets?

As I wind down my nursing career and transition into a full-time artist and writer, I’ve spent a good deal of time reflecting on this question. Sometimes I consider what I have accomplished as an artist and writer while nursing full-time and raising a family, and wonder what might I have accomplished if I had dedicated my life to art instead. 

The tone of my question is wistful, not sad. Of course, I’ll never know the answer. I’m grateful for the opportunities, and my existing life. While I’d love to have my paintings in national museums, my accomplishments so far have exceeded my expectations. Neither am I limiting myself for future achievements just yet.

No advice, but some guiding values.

I’m not qualified to advise on choosing the course of another’s life, but here are some of the values I used to make my career decisions:

  • Financial security is important to me. I enjoy a dependable paycheck, and health care insurance.
  • I wanted to raise a family.
  • I wanted to own a home.
  • I believe financial independence is important, especially for women.

Nursing met these needs. The hours are flexible, and I went to art school in the evenings.

A profession you have to love.

I have also written that unless you love nursing, it takes more than it gives. Many nurses leave the profession. Others stay, and many become administrators. I wouldn’t encourage someone to stay in a field they find intolerable. Personally, the farther away I get from patient care, the less I enjoy nursing. There are people alive today because I was the nurse attending them. I’m doubtful if having my artwork hanging in museum collections would ever provide the same sense of humble satisfaction.

For those struggling to choose between nursing and a career in the arts, I suggest defining your life goals in addition to a career. As a young person, those answers might change over time, and that’s okay. One thing I’ve learned in nursing, and life, is that knowing what questions to ask is more important than having all of the answers.

And, while planning, leave a little room for something unexpected and wonderful to happen.

*Joseph Campbell interview at the Director’s Guild, Hollywood, CA, May, 1987