Nurses Announcements Archive
Published Jul 12, 2002
Kazz
6 Posts
Do you have any idea who I am?
I mean besides the nurse in white, who cares for your loved one?
I, too, am a mother, sister, aunt, or daughter
I have family that I love and love to be with.
I enjoy many activities, reading, writing, music, crafts, cooking, driving, fishing, and many others.
If you could just take the time to know me, you may be able to better understand me.
I too would like to be at home with my family on holidays, but the fact is,
I spend most holidays with your loved one, here, working.
I knew this when I chose nursing as a career; I do my best to be cheerful and happy while my family is home feasting on holiday meals... without me there. I'm here because I care about my patients.
Perhaps, if I were a robot there would never be errors, but then robots don't hug too well do they? I do hug my patients; they need to be touched.
I tuck them into bed at night too, maybe rub feet or a back, or sing them to sleep.
Yes, I know that this facility and the employees aren't perfect, but we truly try, and yelling at us won't make us perfect, it makes us feel unappreciated and humiliated.
Do you know how bad I feel when I have to call you, and tell you that your loved one fell, or is ill? Even worse is when I have to call you holding back my own tears to comfort you when your loved one dies. Do you realize how often I get hit, spit on, slapped, scratched, pushed, called names, and
bitten each day? I put up with doctors who think they know it all, but when it comes down to it I know there patents better than they do. Your loved one is one of the twenty people whose lives I am responsible for while IM here...do you know what its like to have that responsibility? Do you know
what its like to have PT, OT, ST, pharmacy, SS, doctors, dietary, MDS, Lab, patients, family and a multitude of other people wanting a piece of your time in the short eight hours you're here. Do you realize I have to pass meds, chart, call doctors, labs, and pharmacy, hang IVs and so forth. And that the time I have stood here and listen to you yell and me is time taken away from someone else's loved one? Who will be waiting in line to yell at me next? So please if I don't have the time to clear up whatever problem you are having right that second please understand its not that I don't care; I will get to it as soon as I can. Because trust me I would rather
take care of it than have a family member yell at me and accuse me of not caring. Then have to explain to my DON that IM sorry I just did not have enough time to get to it with all the other non patient care things I had to deal with that day.
I've learned more patience than I ever thought possible.
So, lets call a truce, I won't complain, if you won't yell at me.
I will try to make things run more smoothly... and I will smile even when I'M having a bad day.
If you'll bear with me and realize that I'm a human working with confused,sick, injured or dying humans, and I'm just not perfect...
We both need to remember that we live in an imperfect world. If it were perfect, we wouldn't be here now.
adrienurse, LPN
1,275 Posts
That's really lovely. Thanks for posting it.
jschut, BSN, RN
2,743 Posts
Beautiful...
jevans
224 Posts
SOOO TRUE
j
kdhnursern
69 Posts
Thanks, I needed that.
Just the right thing said at the perfect time!
k
patchuli55
3 Posts
WOW is about all I can say.....I read it with a really hits home feeling hope you don't mind but I would like to pass it along and even place it in our family new letter at the facility that I work at.... just maybe it will allso hit home to the family's that I deal with every day thanks for posting and making me remember why I went into nursing 24 years ago :-)