Touching the untouchable...first months in a Trauma1 County Hospital

[deeDawntee, RN]

Life changing experience...it is the only way I can describe my first months at a Trauma1 County Hospital. This is where the homeless, the downtrodden, the uninsured come for all their medical needs. This is the first time in my life where I have been able to touch and be touched by these people who live at the fringes of our society. It is heart-breaking and mind-boggling. People actually can eke out an existence on nothing. The go from shelter to shelter, from soup kitchen to soup kitchen...and sometimes with wounds from being attacked in the streets or from over-intoxication they end up in my emergency department... Or it is the impoverished parents with their child with an ear infection who wait 8 hours for some ear drops....the schizophrenic who is being bothered by unseen beings come in for help...the rape victim, the accident victim, the gunshot victim, the convict with cuffs and cops watching come in for treatment... Then there is the omnipresent power of addiction. I never grasped what addiction can do to a human being until witnessing it first hand. The drug addict who will use any ploy to get some narcotics, the homeless alcoholic who lives only to drink....

There has never been a place where I have worked as a nurse where I have been certain that what I do does make a difference, even if only for a short time. There has also never been a place where I have been so moved by people's courage and humanity to keep going given overwhelming circumstances. People still want to keep living their lives...I know for certain that they have a thousand times more hope and faith and courage than I will ever have. I strive to be a worthy caregiver and I know that by the grace of God go I.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

You are so right - you truly can make a difference in the ER. That is why I loved it and my heart will always be there.

The place will make you cry, laugh and commiserate with all the patients. Thank you for being there.

[Neveranurseagain, RN]

Sometimes there is a thin line that is crossed to become homeless. You may not realize how thin that line is until a spouse dies, and depression sets in. Most of us are vulnerable to mental illness or homelessness at some point in our lives, and without a strong support system, will slip thru the cracks. Thank you to all the compassionate ER nurses and other staff out there tp help these people.