Odds are, you don’t give yourself enough credit. Nurses deserve a lot of credit and gratitude
for the jobs they do, and its time you just think about what all it is that you
do during a day, and then give yourself a pat on the back.
Typical Shift
-
Most nurses work 12 hour shifts. That means you spend 12 hours medicating,
comforting, and providing care for sick or injured patients.
-
Starting your shift, you visit the patient’s
room, introduce yourself to new patients, and say hello to the existing
patients that you already are familiar with. Of course, every nurse always asks
if there is anything the patient needs, so the needs provided will keep you
busy for some time.
-
Depending on what shift you are working,
you may need to speak with doctors, and accompany them on rounds.
-
If working day shifts in particular, you
will speak with insurance representatives, and essentially be an advocate for
your patient.
-
Check on patient’s multiple times, and
administer procedures per doctor’s order.
There are a million more details involved in a day;
however the list varies nurse to nurse and hospital to hospital.
The Saint
The story goes like this. There was a woman that walked
up on an old man standing on the sidewalk. He looked ill, so she asked what was wrong. He said he did not know, but he knew he felt
bad. So, the woman took the man to a
safe place, and checked his temperature. She then provided him food and drinks, all the time asking if he was
ok. She then sponges bathed him and
combed his hair. Later the man had an
accident, and while apologizing, the woman helped him remove his pants so she
could clean them up, all the time assuring him it was not a problem at
all.She cooked the man some dinner, and
then she cleaned up after him. As night
fall approached, she tucked him into bed, and made sure he was comfortable. When he needed anything, she was right there
to do what she could to make sure he was comfortable and well cared for.The following day she sat down with the man
and discussed his future plans. She
explained the importance of a healthy diet, and provided him numbers that could
assist with a substance abuse problem. As he walked back out to the sidewalk, his friend approached him, and
told him how great he looked. As the man
described to his friend, how the woman cared for him, and he was so much better
now, the friend had to ask, who was this saint?
The man simply answered, “My nurse”.
Work can become pretty routine, sometimes you may feel
like a robot, especially on those long shifts. You may be hard on yourself, and focus on the things you did not get
done. Sit down and make a list.
Actually concentrate, and put everything on that list
that you did during your shift, and even your entire day. now go back and read that list
carefully. I’ll bet by the time you
reach the end of the list, you feel physically exhausted, that’s a lot of work
for one person in one shift. Now, give
yourself credit. It takes a very strong
and unique person to have completed everything on that list. Now go ever further and list all you have
accomplished in your adult life. What
education have you completed, seminars, awards, trainings, or even just
be-friended a patient that needed a friend. After you go back and read over that list, you should feel pretty
proud. Go ahead, celebrate all of your
accomplishments, you deserve it.
Comments
Post a Comment