Throughout my nursing career, I have worked with four nurses who have never taken a day off. These four nurses are named I Don't Know. Somebody Else, Nobody, and Not Me. These four are the hardest working nurses in our unit. Tonight for example, one of the nurses was complaining about her assignment. "I have had this PIA for three nights in a row. I think Somebody Else should take care of him." I asked her who she thought should have the assignment, and she said "I Don't Know. Not Me." Of course Nobody wanted to take the assignment, but she was to busy with other things. Nobody checked the crash cart and counted narcs. Somebody Else was responsible for these tasks, but Nobody was glad to do them. Our 11-7 shift cleans out the med fridge every Wednesday night. When I put one nurse's name on the board for this task, she said "Can't Somebody Else do that tonight?" I told her that since Nobody had done it last week she would have to take her turn also. When I asked who wanted to be assigned to in-house codes, everyone said Not Me. Of course, these nurses do cause some trouble also. I found empty syringe wrappers and medicine packaging lying on the counter in the med roon. I asked who left the mess, and everyone said "I Don't Know." And Not Me spilled coffee and sugar all over the break room. Nobody cleaned it up of course.
Funny thing is, when my grandchildren came to live with me, they brought these same four with them. They are not at all well behaved in my home, however. Just today Not Me wrote all over the wall with a crayon, and I Don't Know poured shampoo all over the dog. Somebody Else spilled juice on the carpet, and Nobody was in Granpa's office playing with his computer. Come to think of it, these guys lived here when my own kids were little, too.
