I've been a nurse for a while now. I am pushing 20 years if I am honest. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the changes in nursing. Sometimes I feel like I started last week. Sometimes I am blown away to be old enough to be my co-worker's mother.
I have seen things you wouldn't believe. But then, if you found my blog, you've probably been in my shoes - and not only can you believe it, you likely have stories comparable to or top mine. This is my place to share some of the good, bad, and ugly aspects of being a bedside nurse.
I find I often teach by using my stories. I struggle to internalize knowledge strictly from textbook reading. But once I have lived through a situation - I never forget it. And I learn from my co-worker's stories. Each story leads to a better outcome for the next story. Maybe if I start writing out my stories, someone else can learn and make a better outcome for someone I have never met.
I have stories of trauma - the horrors of what the human race does to each other. The epically stupid decisions that often end in tragedy.
I can tell stories of the amazing recoveries and how the indomitable human spirit never gives up, even when faced with mind-blowing challenges.
Or the stories of grief so raw and palpable that it seeps into the souls of everyone who witnesses it. Forever altering the course of those it touched.
There are stories of how the medical system is so incredibly dysfunctional - run by the good old boys' clubs that want nothing more than more money while subjugating the female-dominated field.
The stories of co-workers being subjected to increasing levels of abuse - both verbal and physical by patients and other medical professionals.
All these stories need to be told. Come along with me as I share a little light from the night shift.