How has nursing changed you?

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I definitely don't feel like the same person I was, years ago, before I started going to nursing school and working in healthcare. How has nursing changed you?

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Keep in mind, the reason I did all that I did for him was because a bunch of lazy nurses before me never did--probably atheists.

Judge me? Go judge yourself.

It would seem you are doing a bit of judging yourself doesn't it?

He couldn't do for himself, so I did for him.

I did unto him, as I would have it done unto me.

Are you sure this man was a practicing Christian? You state you took care of him more than once, did you have a conversation with him about his faith, his wishes? Or did you have that conversation with his family? Are you confident that what you did "for him" was something he wanted for himself?

I am sure that you would be fine then with a Muslim (of Hindu, or Jewish, or Shinto, or Athiest, or any other religion) nurse do thins to you while unconscious, correct?

And I can tell you right now, he was lucky I was his nurse.

Do you ever consider in your practice if the thing you do are in your own best interest or the patients?

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Specializes in Pedi.
I can understand your POV. Yes some patients harden you BUT what has done me in is the ruthless lying manager I had and her Director and VP. She was a total narcissist , but was labeled a golden girl. Her cute tricks included hiring her bestie from another hospital over a well qualified current employee. Bestie turned on her. She also had affairs with both a permanent CIO and interim CEO. She called herself RNC but was not actually certified. Also pulled out her daughter's prenatal, read aloud, and complained about how irresponsible it was for her daughter to be pregnant.

I worked at a different hospital and had a staff nurse lie on an incident report about an error she made and tried to blame me for. I guess she did not realize I reviewed all of the incident reports. She just got a little talking to and when she cried the unit manager gave her a hug and no punishment or write up. So much for integrity. I am a bit cynical now!

It's not so much my patients that have done this but the situations they have ended up in. I wrote a post some years back about how nursing has turned me into a non-believer. It was about a child I cared for who lived in a neglectful situation and child protective service's refusal to do anything, even after repeated reports. I don't believe that an all-powerful and all-good being would ever leave a child in such a situation therefore I do not believe that such a being exists.

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Specializes in School Nurse, past Med Surge.

It's made me much more anxious when my children are sick. I tend to think the worst...

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I'm more open minded but also more cynical. You wouldn't think these two states could co-exist, but they do in me.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Infection Control/Geriatrics.

Your article touched me. Thank you for writing.

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I believe the personality is expressed from a predisposed template and people change only by dealing with trials and tribulations, subsequently experiencing illuminating revelations. People rarely change their behavior. They titrate their behavior to the given circumstance.

Once upon a time, I believed that whatever job someone did, they were the very best person for that particular job.

Not so.

I now believe that anybody can do any job they want if they have the ability to overcome stumbling blocks and huddles or merely jump through loops.

The Peter Principle states "the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and "managers rise to the level of their incompetence".

In other words, we ascend to our level of incompetence.

It's probably one of the reasons why I, and many others, work at Wrongway Regional Medical Center.

We're either too incompetent to work at a real hospital or we're merely satisfied with our lot in life.

The PP - either it's true or someone above us perceives it's true and we are stuck at that level. I think. LOL

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It's not so much my patients that have done this but the situations they have ended up in. I wrote a post some years back about how nursing has turned me into a non-believer. It was about a child I cared for who lived in a neglectful situation and child protective service's refusal to do anything, even after repeated reports. I don't believe that an all-powerful and all-good being would ever leave a child in such a situation therefore I do not believe that such a being exists.

Please read the book by Corrie ten Boom called '"The Hiding Place".

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Specializes in ICU; Telephone Triage Nurse.

1) I'm afraid to go the the "doctor" like a child.

2) I've become OCD about details.

I was neither before I became a nurse.

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After working in trauma it's made me more careful especially when driving. I'm more vigilant at intersections no matter if I have the right of way or not, I look harder for pedestrians crossing the street. I'm more careful when I'm performing tasks at home with ladders or anything with heights, always thinking about how I could smash my brain bucket.

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Specializes in New Grad 2020.

I am only a CNA I have 11 months left in an ADN program but I feel something change in me due to my expirences here we go...

1: my sense of humor has gotten darker (in a good way)

2: my stories (Hipaa compliant always) have gotten way better

3: I have become a little better at what I eat and how much becuase I have seen the effects of MI and stroke. Butter is awesome but in moderation.

4: Real Christianity is really hard I know I try. Personally a lot of the big church stuff is dumb and was not the intent (I'm looking at you Joel Olsteen)

I think your heart was in the right place but think that praying for someone (unless they ask you too) should be kept for home or in your mind. My take is that stuff between Him (the patient) and God. God gives each of us free will to accept Him or not it's not our place to try to get around that.

Our job is not really to do that stuff. I in the hospitals I worked for they had a clergy service for those interested. (Catholic hospitals but they had different faiths on speed dial)

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He was comatose. Nothing hurt or offended him...

You think because someone is comatose that no offence can be done to that person??? Wow, there is nothing to say that can get through to that messed up logic. With that messed up logic, no harm is done when comatose patients are raped.

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Specializes in Education, Informatics, Patient Safety.

Nursing took me down a peg, and I needed it. I thought I knew everything and that science was the answer to everything. Experiences have taught me that I don't know much...in fact the older I get, the more I realize that listening with a caring presence might be the most important skill anyone (nurse or not) can bring to the table. It' hard to just listen...and to listen with heart. I just keep showing up and hoping I am of service to someone. Thanks for this topic - all the comments are incredibly interesting - it amazes me how different we all are. I will continue to seek common ground and understanding - that hasn't changed. I brought that desire to nursing and it will be with me till the day I die (I suspect).

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