New year, New you and a New love for Nursing!

Daily inspiration! Love just keeps growing. How the 1st year of my nursing career has changed my life. Nurses Announcements Archive

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I'm quickly approaching my 1yr anniversary as a Registered Nurse and I have many mixed emotions today as I reflect on my growing career. Through this experience, I feel as if I have been through the valley and at times on top of the mountain. (I'm sure all nurses can relate to this at some point in their career) I mean we've made it through nursing school, passed our boards and I know we all thought it would be smooth sailing after boards and landing that 1st job (This was my mindset 1 year ago, but I was so wrong)

This year has been full of great learning opportunities, new friendships, and heartache. I absolutely love my nursing career with pediatrics, but the loss of patients due to diagnosis has been the most difficult. I know it's easy to tell someone to leave work at work, but honestly how many of us take work home? Whether it be good or bad experiences. I couldn't possibly count the times I've left work wishing I could come up with a solution to fix problems our patients face or crying and praying on the drive home knowing I can't change the situation. I couldn't imagine being in their shoes facing unimaginable decisions or outcomes.

As nurses, we're supposed to be strong and optimistic even in the most unpromising of times and what I find awe-inspiring is that often times our pediatric patients are some of the most accepting and determined individuals I have ever met. They give me hope, strength, and inspiration to keep the fight going. To never give up no matter how poor the prognosis may be. It's hard to express, but I've never felt such a love ever in my life for all my little patients. I hope that one day they grow up and continue to share that same love, compassion, and perseverance for life. This past year has had it share of hard times, but every day I go to work and look into the little innocent eyes of my patients and I see and feel what real love means. I see it when they get excited about their favorite nurses coming in to care for them, I see it when they take care of their baby dolls by cuddling them, listening for their heartbeats with my stethoscope and then wanting to listen to mine to compare, or when their baby doll is hungry and I rig up a baby bottle that I've made from our feed room or when they comfort, kiss and put band-aids on their baby dolls after receiving fake vaccines from Doc McStuffins. Or when their favorite stuffed animal is well overdue for a bath and we make it a spa day for them and their bear or when we have wheelchair races down the hall.

Even though I somehow always lose the race (wink, wink) I never lose the love I have for my kiddos. I see and feel real love when they hug me after they've had a successful day and completed a skill they've been working so hard at or when it's been a rough day and they just need someone to hold them and love on them for awhile. This is not at all what I thought I would be doing as a career, but it's more than I could have ever imagined.

Writing this article has made me tear up just thinking about all the things I have witnessed and have been apart of over the past year. I am so grateful for this position I have been blessed with and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've never been so proud and humbled in all my life for the job I get to be apart of every single day.

Thank you to all who have read my article.

I hope this sparked a new love for life and nursing. I just want to leave you with a few last words. Keep fighting the good fight! Keep letting your light shine! And to love life and remember our patients need us not only for the skills we provide but the love we have to offer as well. God Bless!

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