the american dream: do not lose hope

[rookie_rn]

there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of posts here pertaining to the current immigration and economic situation of the us. in addition, the situation is also being played out in the media all over the world (i would think). with all of these information out there, i think most, if not all, foreign nurses are already aware of the sad realities of wanting to work in the us.

i got the following lines from the novel the alchemist by paulo coelho:

"... the soul of the world is nourished by people's happiness... to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation...

and, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

so, to all my fellow pinoy rns out there who are still dreaming of one day being able to work in the us as a registered nurse, don't lose hope. do not be discouraged. you will meet a lot of people who get pleasure from splashing water over the smallest ember of hope that you may have. but, no one could/should ever tell you that your dreams are beyond your reach.

in my opinion, we are all brothers/sisters in the world of nursing and we should be benevolent enough to welcome and help our colleagues on their way in as we, ourselves, may be on our way out.

ignis fraternum eterna est

(the flames of our brotherhood will burn forever)

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

Hope is an interesting concept. HOPE. As a former hospice nurse, I often had to counsel terminal patients regarding hope. Their doctors had given them a prognosis of less then 6 months, yet they were looking to me for hope. I did not feel it was good nursing care to give these patients false hope, yet where there is life there is hope.

Using science there was no hope, their disease had invade their bodies and the end of their life was nearing. Yet, I would never take away hope, since I believe only the almighty powers that be had control when life is over. I did help to prepare them for their eventual journey. Help with final arrangements, counseling, pain management, etc.

One patient I had a huge brain tumor which was effecting his eyes. He was going to get very expensive glasses that had would not improve his vision. His family could not afford it. I counseled him to check with his MD to see if the glasses would help ( his doc told him it was a waste of his money) I feel if I encouraged him to get the glasses I would be giving him false hope and cause his family economic pain. He did not get the glasses.

I had another patient who could no longer walk. The family wanted to install an elevator so she could go home, this would cost the family thousands of dollars and I knew she was dying. I talked the family out of that plan and the patient died shortly after. Should I have given hope? Should I have kept my mouth shut and let the family see a reminder of an illness on a daily basis and be saddled with a huge bill?

Yet, on a daily basis I tried to give these patients hope but tempered it with realism. I tried to prepare these patients and families for the realistic outcome so the pain would not be so hard on the patient or family.

So posting here on the boards, I try to be realistic and give hope. But also be kind so people won't set unrealistic goals and feel the pain when hope is not realistic.

The American Dream is not a realistic goal, the American economy is failing and unemployment is rising everyday. I think the only fair action is to educate international nurses that the American Dream is really a dream and becoming very hard to obtain.

[CanTerBuryBeLL]

thanks for that inspiring statement.....I salute you for posting this...

[bebotwaiting]

Nice!!!

[CanTerBuryBeLL]

for rookie_rn.....i salute you...

[dave787]

hhmmmm sounds someone would react against this, lets wait and see what are there opinio

[GSG9ers]

Very well said! . . . I salute you! Ora et Labora (Work and Prayer)

[Aviationurse]

thanks alexk49....what a wonderful post...

[pagcoritannurse06]

They should be thankful that we still want to dream the "American Dream" meaning we still want to serve them as a fellow human being though we get something but they benefit more..dont you agree?

[ythacniar]

dream untill your dream come true:bow:

[spongebob6286, BSN, RN]

don't stop when you're tired.. stop when you're done..

[SilverSurfer]

Hope is an interesting concept. HOPE. As a former hospice nurse, I often had to counsel terminal patients regarding hope. Their doctors had given them a prognosis of less then 6 months, yet they were looking to me for hope. I did not feel it was good nursing care to give these patients false hope, yet where there is life there is hope.

Using science there was no hope, their disease had invade their bodies and the end of their life was nearing. Yet, I would never take away hope, since I believe only the almighty powers that be had control when life is over. I did help to prepare them for their eventual journey. Help with final arrangements, counseling, pain management, etc.

One patient I had a huge brain tumor which was effecting his eyes. He was going to get very expensive glasses that had would not improve his vision. His family could not afford it. I counseled him to check with his MD to see if the glasses would help ( his doc told him it was a waste of his money) I feel if I encouraged him to get the glasses I would be giving him false hope and cause his family economic pain. He did not get the glasses.

I had another patient who could no longer walk. The family wanted to install an elevator so she could go home, this would cost the family thousands of dollars and I knew she was dying. I talked the family out of that plan and the patient died shortly after. Should I have given hope? Should I have kept my mouth shut and let the family see a reminder of an illness on a daily basis and be saddled with a huge bill?

Yet, on a daily basis I tried to give these patients hope but tempered it with realism. I tried to prepare these patients and families for the realistic outcome so the pain would not be so hard on the patient or family.

So posting here on the boards, I try to be realistic and give hope. But also be kind so people won't set unrealistic goals and feel the pain when hope is not realistic.

The American Dream is not a realistic goal, the American economy is failing and unemployment is rising everyday. I think the only fair action is to educate international nurses that the American Dream is really a dream and becoming very hard to obtain.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."- President Elect Barack Obama