My mouth began to water in anticipation. My stomach was already growling, and I entertained the thought of what wine would go best with the new nurse I was about to devour.
Before I could sharpen my knife and fork, however, a realization came over me. I've only been a nurse for three years. How was it that I was ready to snack on a youngster, when I'm barely out of training pants myself?
The statement "kids these days," that played in my head is what whet my appetite. The funny thing is, the "kid" in question is older than I am. Become a nurse at 21, you're soon a young veteran, especially on the floor. And I couldn't help but think to myself "you were raised better than that! You were raised here, by good nurses. You know better!"
So, instead of taking the hatchling under my wing, I was ready to take a big bite. For that moment, fleeting as it was, I understood why more experienced nurses desire to do what they do (or don't do, it depends on what side of the debate one happens to be on).
I can't be the only one who's felt this way. Come on, you know when you hear the newbies complain about nurse:patient ratios or the latest protocol, you think to yourself, "we used to have twice as many patients when I started working nights," or "back when I was new, we didn't have a nice protocol for acute constipation. We had to hound doctors for a Colace order!"
