Finding a job you love in healthcare doesn’t always start with a carefully mapped-out plan. For many clinicians, it begins with taking any job in healthcare, then slowly discovering what truly makes their work meaningful. Paula Denum knows this firsthand. When she first entered nursing, she wasn’t thinking about a long-term healthcare career. She just needed experience. Decades later, her journey offers a powerful lesson for clinicians searching through healthcare jobs and wondering if fulfillment, balance, and longevity are actually possible.
From “Just a Job” to a Lifelong Healthcare Career
Denum was finishing a biology degree when she needed six months of nursing experience to qualify for a genetic counseling program. Her mother suggested applying for a CNA role at a nearby long-term care facility.
“I never made it to my genetic counseling program,” Denum said. “I stayed as a nurse.”
That one decision turned a temporary role into a decades-long healthcare career. Over 30 years, Denum advanced from CNA to RN to Director of Nursing (DON), serving in multiple leadership roles across multiple facilities.
Like many clinicians, she didn’t find her calling by searching job boards for the perfect role. She found it by showing up, learning the work, and realizing what mattered most to her.
Why Loving Your Job in Healthcare Isn’t About Prestige
In today’s healthcare landscape, many clinicians feel pressure to chase the most “exciting” or highest-paying jobs in healthcare. New grads often gravitate toward ICUs or emergency departments, believing that’s where the real impact happens. Denum sees it differently.
“I really get to know the people that I take care of,” she said. “So often in nursing, the new grads want to go to the ICUs and the emergency departments because they’re the most exciting, the most glamorous, and they pay the best. But today, I made a dining room full of people laugh because I was talking like a pirate.”
For Denum, long-term care offered something many healthcare jobs don’t: connection. The chance to build relationships, share moments of joy, and care for patients who become part of your daily life. She believes residents in long-term care facilities are a gift, one that grounds clinicians in humanity, history, and perspective. For her, that connection is what made the job worth loving.
When Dedication Turns Into Burnout
Even a job you love can become unsustainable without boundaries. Denum’s commitment to improving long-term care facilities was relentless, especially during the pandemic. As a DON, she routinely worked extreme hours, often exceeding 40 hours on weekends alone, not including weekdays.
The reality of that workload became painfully clear when her grandmother-in-law moved into Denum’s facility after a hip injury. Out of the 36 days her grandmother-in-law was there, Denum worked all but four.
“I was going to work at like 6:00 in the morning and getting home at 11:00 at night,” she said. “I told her as long as she was there, I would be the director of nursing. She told me if I continued to work like that, I would lose my family.”
When Denum finally took a day off to visit colleges with her son, her grandmother-in-law passed away. Shortly afterward, Denum resigned. Her experience reflects a challenge many clinicians face across healthcare jobs: loving the mission, but being stretched beyond what’s humanly possible.
Redefining What the “Right” Healthcare Job Looks Like
After stepping away, Denum pushed back on a familiar narrative in healthcare leadership.
“People say, ‘Oh, that’s what directors of nursing get paid for. That’s what they signed on for,’” she said. “No. They sign on to make the building better and help the building remain compliant. That doesn’t mean that they’re also the person who staffs the building.”
Not long after resigning, a recruiter reached out to ask if she’d consider travel work. Denum discussed it with her family and agreed to one non-negotiable condition: when she was home, she would be home. That decision reshaped her healthcare career.
How Travel Roles Helped Her Fall Back in Love with Healthcare Work
More than two years later, Denum continues working as a travel Director of Nursing and thriving.
“People are amazed that through travel I actually have a good work-life balance,” she said. “It’s so much harder when you’re a mile-and-a-half away from home and you don’t see your family. Now, when I’m home, I can be completely present.”
Technology helps her stay connected while on assignment, but the real shift is the structure. Travel roles gave her clear start and end points, predictable time off, and freedom from constant call-ins. For Denum, this version of her work finally aligns with her life, proof that sometimes the right healthcare job isn’t about doing less, but about doing it differently.
Lessons for Clinicians Searching Healthcare Jobs They’ll Love
Denum’s story offers reassurance for clinicians navigating jobs in healthcare and wondering if fulfillment is realistic:
- A healthcare career doesn’t have to follow a straight line
- The “best” healthcare job is deeply personal
- Burnout often signals a need for change, not failure
- Flexibility and boundaries matter just as much as purpose
- The right opportunity can renew your love for the work
She still loves long-term care. She still enjoys walking into chaotic buildings and helping teams create sustainable improvements.
“The biggest compliment is when a surveyor comes in and says, ‘This building feels so different,’” she said. “Then I’m like, ‘OK, I did my job. We’ve made it better.’”
Finding a Healthcare Job You Love Starts with Medical Solutions
If you’re a clinician feeling stuck, burned out, or unsure whether the job you love even exists, Denum’s story is proof that it’s possible to find meaningful work and balance.
Sometimes, that means changing roles. Sometimes, it means changing settings. And sometimes, it means working with a recruiter or staffing partner who understands your goals, not just your credentials.
Whether you’re exploring travel roles, leadership opportunities, or a new care environment altogether, Medical Solutions has the support you can count on to help you find a position that aligns with both your professional passion and your personal priorities. Apply today and let our recruiters connect you with a job you’ll love.
