George Gardner, a charge nurse at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston 'can't imagine doing anything else' with his career.
George, 58, from Lowestoft, has been a nurse for 41 years - 28 of those were in the Army before joining the NHS.
He said: 'It's a cliché but I wanted to help people. I love nursing because it really is making a difference to individuals and their families, even when it's only doing small things like making patients more comfortable or keeping them clean.'
He said expectations on nurses were now higher than ever. He said: 'The amount of paperwork to complete sometimes this means there is less time to do the things we would like to do.'
But despite that he urged others to consider nursing as a career option.
He said: 'The relationship you have with patients, and sometime just getting thanks, makes it rewarding.'
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