Your Nurse has not been born yet

LilyBlue · Mar 9, 2009

I can't even imagine how terrible nursing will be in fifty years. It frightens me. I can't imagine that anyone would even be a nurse at that point in time. It'll probably have to start being mandated, like being drafted.

Glad you had a great moment with your little lady. She sounds sweet.

DeadHead219 · Mar 9, 2009

YIKES! Whate are you ladies talking about ... the one thing I fear is that many nurses I see have become cold to their profession, and I keep praying that I never lose my compassion and empathy towards those in my care. Why would nursing be mandated like being drafted?? I apologize, since I am starting my nursing program in May, and trying to learn that everything is not as rosy as my rose colored glasses make them out to be.

annmariern · Mar 9, 2009

YIKES! Whate are you ladies talking about ... the one thing I fear is that many nurses I see have become cold to their profession, and I keep praying that I never lose my compassion and empathy towards those in my care. Why would nursing be mandated like being drafted?? I apologize, since I am starting my nursing program in May, and trying to learn that everything is not as rosy as my rose colored glasses make them out to be.

Hi,

first, congrats on getting in to your program. I guess my point was that after being hounded about paperwork every minute of my day, all of it taking away from the actual hands on time I have to actually do it and given only so many nights you can stay 1-3 hrs late to catch up, its sad & scary to me that this is where we are. All the advancements in care we have and it alls boiled down to charting say, DVT prevention ( an example) instead of having the actual time to get a difficult pt up and in a chair, ambulate, deep breathe & cough etc. Teaching, talking to families etc. Charting is all they seem to care about. Real prevention, not so much. My LIL this weekend just brought it home to me what a difference every single nurse makes to the people who have to depend on him or her as one day, its very likely we all we be that pt. The "cold" nurses you see are probably burned out, a sad place to be, but feeling it myself lately. Not from lack of loving being a nurse or caring about my pts, but for lack of being able to be a good one. For you, starting school in this day & age, where lawyers, insurance companies, state & regulatory agencies seem to rule the day and more & more of your time is wasted trying to meet conflicting needs, I hope you find a way to still be a nurse, because it is still a great thing to be; hope the tide turns eventually and "data entry" is not the only thing that matters. Good luck in your program, this post was not meant to discourage, just share an eye opening moment I had today that reminded me of why I do this for a living.

Chaya, ASN, RN · Mar 9, 2009

Wow. It's an eye-opener when viewed from that perspective!

snapper1960 · Mar 9, 2009

Annmarie,

Thank you for the thoughtful post. It is moments like this that make me continue to stay in nursing after 25 years. I am a hospice nurse, so I deal with many intense emotions and moments, both from patients, and families. Last weekend, I had a patient who was particularly difficult to comfort, and his daughter was even more difficult to connect with on any kind of level. She obviously had some sort of borderline personality issue, so it was an exercise in futility. I was thinking of some way to find another career choice (which is easier said than done in this day and age!), when I stepped into the room of my next patient. She, too, was in her 90's, and had never laid eyes on me. She beckoned me to come closer, put her arm around me and drew me in close, and said, "I love you." This small moment reminded me of why I continue to do what I do, and balanced out the difficulty earlier in the day.

I think nursing has a bright future. It is finally becoming a respected profession, and not just seen as someone to help the doctors. I am completing my master's in nursing education (distance learning), and hope to have the opportunity to educate and mentor some of those nurses who have not yet been born!

:typing

oramar · Mar 9, 2009

Yes, that thought has occured to me also. I am in my early 60s so a lot of the people who will care for me in 20 to 30 years are just being born right around now. I have also had the reverse thought. At a previous job there were several early 20 something nurses and nurses aides that were constantly sneaking out to smoke. One day I was thinking how awful it will be for them when they got COPD and lung cancer. I would get all tensed up just thinking about it. It suddenly dawned on me that it was more than likely I would not even be here when their time came to pay the piper. Even if I still happened to be around I certainly would not be the nurse who would have to watch them suffer not to mention the fact that there might be a cure by then. I kinda chuckled to myself because it was such a perverse thought and it was a relief to know I was off the hook for their problems.

MisterSimba, BSN · Mar 9, 2009

YIKES! Whate are you ladies talking about ... the one thing I fear is that many nurses I see have become cold to their profession, and I keep praying that I never lose my compassion and empathy towards those in my care. Why would nursing be mandated like being drafted?? I apologize, since I am starting my nursing program in May, and trying to learn that everything is not as rosy as my rose colored glasses make them out to be.

I'm starting nursing school in May too! Congratulations to you on starting nursing school soon! I hope we both do well!!! :yeah:

snapper1960 · Mar 9, 2009

Oramar, I, too, have that "Oh my God they are not going to live to see their grandchildren born" thought as well. It is so amazing to me that so many people continue to smoke, and START smoking, despite all of the information regarding how it will KILL you! I am a hospice nurse, so I see the end-result very often, and it is not pleasant.

StNeotser, ASN, RN · Mar 9, 2009

Funny, I've often thought that too and I suspect a lot of us have.

I really hope there will be some sort of shake-up in nursing and we'll see some Dateline in-depth report one day where they'll be admonishing Press-Gainey and how hospitals are rated. Something like "Back in the 1990s and 00's nurses were rated on how often they smiled at patients and how much time they spent getting food and pillows for family members and not what was most important - the healing process" So my nurse who hasn't been born yet won't be nursing in the same way we do.

When I look at how old a person is, I often relate their age to how old my parents or grandparents are/were. Gives me some perspective if I don't see their family that this is someones mother, grandmother, was someones baby at one point.

Jean1313 · Mar 9, 2009

OP: That brought tears to my eyes. Those moments keep you going. Thanks for sharing.