the week from hell

Your poem was beautiful, heartfelt, and it is also a good release for the stress you are feeling.

I have had about 3 difficult weeks, BUT after the school shooting it went from difficult to me stating last Friday was the worst one of my career. I noticed staff, patients and familys were noticably on edge. Families brought all their children with them at all times, increasing everyones stress from the increased noise, but I understood their need to have them close. Patient's families had the news on which did not settle fears but increased them. I wanted to turn all the TV's off and put on some quiet relaxing music. Also we have TV spouting today is the 'end of the world' and this holiday time of year also increases emotions, not just in patients, but in everyone. It will be January and hopefully the tension will relax.

I think what happened in Connecticut was a collective shock to most Americans and I had a horrendous week with little sleep. I was horrified at the unspeakable tragedy and was so saddened when I thought about the utter terror those children and the teachers must have experienced. I know every story that the media has put out.I thought about my own daughter at that age,her cherub baby face and her soft massive head of curly hair and those deep set dreamy eyes and mostly her pure innocence.

I must tell you that you sound like a very caring and loving person and you must know that you do the best you can with all your resources. I always have promised myself that I will always give 100 percent and realize that I am only one person and never beat myself up over that. I tell my coworkers that too when we are overwhelmed as a team. We will work as a finely tuned team,we will communicate,change the plan as needed,make sure the patients has some kind of line and we will stay calm and not be stressed. It really works what you tell yourself and your coworkers. It only takes one person to set that tone and I have seen that work all the time. Fake if you must until it becomes second nature so you can keep being the great nurse that you are.

Thank you so much to both of you, you also seem like very caring people as well. And I have to agree, the shooting and the fact that they were such small children tugged at my heartstrings and made the common everyday stress that much more difficult to handle that week. I pray for all those parents this christmas who's children's gifts stay unwrapped under the tree.

I find that being able to'vent' whether hear or in a journal helps release a lot of my stress and find some kind of perspective.