Here's to all the Good Nurses!

Doctors often get all the credit for healing and fixing problems. While I was in the hospital, a team of doctors and surgeons fixed my leg and for that I am extremely thankful to them. However, it was the nurses that left an impression on my heart. They were the ones that helped me during my recovery and “nursed” me back to health. During my stay, I estimated that I had around 30 something nurses. Some nurses I had once, some for multiple shifts. Some of the nurses that really stuck in my mind were the ones who cared about me as a person, not just a job. These nurses greeted me with a smile, held my hand when I was scared or in pain, knew that I preferred water with no ice, and that I liked to wash my hair, brush my teeth, and “bathed” before I started therapy in the morning. They chatted with me and shared about themselves and asked me about my life.

One particular nurse that I will remember for the rest of my life was Eddie who took care of me while I was in CCU (Critical Care Unit). I remember him being there every time I was awake. I couldn’t talk because I had a tube down my throat and he patiently watched me spell words onto his hand. He found me a fan when I told him it was stuffy in the room. And when I thanked him for all he did for me, he held my hand and told me “no problem.” These are the nurses that loved their job, cared about people’s well being, cared about me.

Then I had terrible nurses. I had nurses that never checked on me during their 8 hr shift. One nurse didn’t know what medication to give me. Another one didn’t even bother to put my nurse log in my room. She put it on the door and I watched as she just initialed off the log every hour without even coming in to see me. For these nurses, I was just a job. Being a nurse was just a job.

There are jobs in this world that people can just treat as a job. People go into the office, or workplace, do their job and that’s it. Nursing is not one of them. Nurses have to care about their job and the people they take care of. Not just care for the patients, but care about them. They have to have the patient’s well being in mind. To all my nurse friends, I hope your job never becomes JUST a job for you. To all the great nurses out there, I thank you and salute you!