Well, today was the third time in six years of being a nurse that I either cried or was on the verge of tears. I'm a male nurse and I am NOT ashamed of this. I was on the verge of tears for two reasons. One of my patients had brain surgery more than a decade ago and recently had her first seizure and collapsed. She expressed her fear as well as her sadness due to her mother's recent passing. Since my father passed away a year ago and, as a travel nurse, I'm unable to spend the holiday with my mother, I easily empathized with my patient. In addition, I was discharging two patients and transferring one patient within 30 minute sof one another. One of these patients perseverated on something that, frankly, wasn't veru high on my priority list due to his impending discharge. I politely and calmly stated, "I am one nurse with two hands." Well, that was NOT the right thing to say because he ultimately said to me, "If you cannot handle the stress, maybe you shouldn't be a nurse." Well, I don't particularly like nursing. So, maybe he's right. I'm tired of taking care of non-adherent patients. I made a sacrifice to earn a graduate degree in public health and, as a bedside nurse, I am not living up to my potential. Thank you for listening. I think it's time to bid this (usually) thankless job adieu. Happy Thanksgiving!
