Nursing

I read an article earlier this week entitled "What nurses really do". It was a disappointing article which spoke mostly of the need for nurses to have a larger voice than they currently do. Today in our local paper's help wanted section there was a large article about nursing being a great career...the qualifications for this apparently are only job security and good salary. Nursing does have both but it is so much more than that, so I am going to tell everyone what nursing is to me. Please be aware this is only my opinion.

Nursing is hard work, it is long shifts and a lot of overtime. Nursing is taking care of your patients without getting too involved. Nursing is pushing every medication you have available on your patient so the family can have one more minute with the patient "alive". Nursing is holding your patient's hand after they have found out they have terminal cancer and their closest family is in California. It is sitting with the family of a teenager and listening to their stories about her while the rest of the staff is busy finding organ recipients for the ultimate gift her parents are making. Nursing is dealing with family members who want to sue you for being 5 minutes late with medicine. It is having patient's yell at you, hit you, kick you, spit at you and swear at you. It is one back injury after another.

Nursing is walking in a patient's room and have them smile and say "thank goodness you are back tonight, you are the best nurse I have had", having family members thank you through their tears for taking care of their loved one. Nursing is a box of chocolates left by a patient as a thank you gift for being kind. Sometimes it is even having a doctor say thank you for taking such good care of his patient.

Nursing is dealing with doctors who don't want to deal with you. It is constantly being put down by doctors and your fellow nurses. It is a doctor who doesn't have time to come and pronounce his patient dead, you get to do it. It is also awesome teamwork and the understanding that the patient always comes first, even if I don't like you as a person. Nursing is full of near misses, close calls and optimism even in the face of death. It is falling asleep hearing the alarms that you heard your entire 12-hour shift.

Nursing can't be described in a 1,000 word article. It is a profession that I am proud to be a part of and one that I think about leaving a couple times a year. I wouldn't trade it for the world.