Nursing - no other job is quite like it.....

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in A and E, Medicine, Surgery.

Don't get me wrong I have my fair share of days when I am thoroughly disillusioned and fed up with being a nurse but I do think what we do as nurses, wherever in the world we are doing it, is both incredible and unique and sometimes it is easy to lose sight of that.

What got me thinking was my shift today. Pretty much a normal day in the ED until we got a call through pre-alerting us to a major trauma. We where told to expect a number of casualties from a factory fire and the paramedic kept repeating "this is bad, really bad".

I won't go into details about what followed but anyone who has worked with severely burnt patients will have a pretty good idea of what we encountered. The nurses on duty, even those not directly involved in the patients direct care where all massively affected by what they saw, smelt and had to deal with and yet all I saw was utter professionalism and compassion. Not a single nurse involved left before they had done everything they could for their patient - many working hours after the end of shift. I know that after they left they will all be hugging thier love ones a little bit closer tonight and that very few if any of them will sleep tonight.

Despite the magnitude of what they faced every nurse involved did what they are trained to do, quickly, gently and efficiently. Its not just about the clinical care. I saw fear, terror and pain on patients faces and whilst chaos ensued it was the nurses talking to them telling them everything was going to be just fine. It was the nurses that the patients kept looking to for reassurance.

Day after day nurses everywhere deal with people that are in pain or frightened. What we do and how we do it makes such a difference and is seen as just part of our job. We hold hands with the dying and try to make sense of chaos with distressed, confused and bewildered relatives. Today I saw nurses struggling with their own emotions but still managing to bring comfort to families. It takes a special person to be able to do that.

When I started nursing, nurses where held in the highest of regard and sadly that is not the case today. I am not saying that all nurses are angels or anything even close to that but I do think that every day we do things that other people could not even begin to understand. Yes we moan and complain and sometimes think about switching to something less physical, emotional and demanding but underneath that I hope that every nurse out there knows what an incredible job they are doing. I stared my nurse training almost 25 years ago to the day and remember then feeling desperately proud to be working towards being a nurse. Today reminded me that nurses are right to feel proud.

Specializes in Critical Care/Coronary Care Unit,.

That's great...it reminds us that what we do actually does affect people. Most of the time on the floor you don't feel that...and nurses definitely aren't respected today....but at the end of the day...we save lives.

Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

Thank you for that beautiful post. I had a trying day and you reminded me why I'm so proud to be a nurse!

Thank you! You motivated me to go and do my nutrition homework :p As a prereq for nursing school, thanks for reminding me why exactly I want to go into nursing.

I've said it before and i've said it again, nursing is one of the MOST frustrating and rewarding fields a person can go into. Only you can decide for yourself if the frustrations are worth the reward.

I'm glad to hear that during your shift they were. My heart goes out to all those affected by whatever the massive trauma was, and a thank you to those people who are strong enough to care for them!

Specializes in ER, L&D, RR, Rural nursing.

Days like that...wow

They show us what nursing is REALLY about. You all made a difference in their lives and did what you could to ease the suffering. Great Job!

Thanks for the reminder.

Thank you so much for posting your story, I have read a lot of negative things associated with nursing. And stories like this remind my why I have studies three days for a A&P test to ensure that I make an "A" to get into nursing school in the fall (2011). Also sums up why I want to be a nurse... Thank you!

Specializes in med/surg, tele, OB.

Thanks for the post. Just what I needed to get me back to work on my fifth day straight! I do believe in what I do, but somedays a little reminder is very much appreciated.:redbeathe

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