What I Love About My Job

amcgraw

78 years. That's it. That is the average life expectancy at birth in the United States. Doesn't seem like enough time to accomplish it all does it?

As a nurse, I work with people who are at the end of their lives every day. Most are elderly and have accepted it - even joke about it. Others are young frightened and feel unprepared and out of control.

I am amazed that literally everyday I, a young (sort of) woman who happens to be a nurse, find myself center stage cast into the final chapter of people's lives. And it never ceases to take my breath away. That is what I love about my job.

Over the years I have had many a conversation with patients about their lives. Patients love to tell stories - really they love to be listened to. People feel uninhibited around nurses, and why shouldn't they, we see, smell and touch pretty much every part of their body inside and out. And there are no agendas when you are sick. Life is universal and so is sickness and death. People tell it like it is and boy do they tell. But that is what I love about my job.

For me, the best stories come from elderly patients who reminisce about their lives. Their wrinkled, spotted hands and tired eyes tell of simpler, but harder times. Of lost loves, and was won, of goals achieved and forgotten, and of regrets.

These people give unsolicited but appreciated advice about raising children, celebrating milestones, finding happiness, lessons learned and living a good life. They all, without exception, tell me how fast the days, weeks, decades pass, how they wish they could go back and do it again, or do it just a little bit, or a lot differently. And these conversations, these people, these lessons are why I love my job.

Our perception changes after a major milestone, a tragic accident, an illness, the birth of a child, the loss of a loved one. We become introspective and we email our friends more often. We rethink our jobs, our homes, our family, we exercise more, we watch TV less. But soon after our newfound enlightenment fades and we slip back into our regular routines.

A friend recently told a story of a man he met on a train while traveling through Scotland. The man was middle-aged and alone and he spoke about how he was in the middle of a trip around the world, he had quit his job and decided to pick up and travel.

As they disembarked from the train and began to walk in different directions he asked the man what had prompted his spontaneous adventure. The man smiled, leaned in and took him by the hand and said in his thick Scottish brogue, "It's not a dry run, eh?"

I hope this story inspires you to get the most out of your 78 years (+/- a few). I do not claim expertise, only humanity and a willingness to listen, share and motivate others. I will be sharing more personal accounts and patient stories and would love to hear from you as well.

What I Love About My Job

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