Healthcare...

Healthcare is a calling, not just a job for a paycheck. If your heart isn't in it, you shouldn't do it. Patients are people, not bar-codes. When I did floor-nursing, I put my heart & soul into it. I read constantly about different conditions, meds to treat them, I read psych care plans to try to deal with "difficult" patients and studied lab tests and normal/abnormal values for them. I answered call-bells and worked on anticipating my patient’s needs. Pain meds were dispensed in a timely fashion, wound care was done gently as possible and I spent time with patients on the DNR list, to make sure they weren't alone when the end came. I never took advantage of my nursing assistants either. Never asked one to do something I wouldn't do myself, and made myself available to help them if patients needed cleaning up, or linen changed.

Working in the OR, I was still an advocate for the patient, along with my circulator. I did my best to help maintain a calm, quiet atmosphere when the patient came into the room. I learned new things, asked questions of the surgeons when I could. I've held hands, soothed foreheads and talked to family members. I made sure to stay "on top of my game". This stuff seems to be lacking in today's nurses. Not all, but enough that it disturbs me. I don't care for much of what I've seen recently.

This was my practice while I worked as a staff nurse @ SJHMC, circa late-80's to early 90's. The max # of patients I had was 12, and I worked night shift (11-7). When I did per-diem in nursing homes, this was NOT how it was, and nothing I did could make it like that, which broke my heart. I came home crying every Sunday because I hated that people were treated like livestock. The point of the post is, that anyone going into such a field should have the heart and compassion for others, instead of it just being a job. For every one nurse that is good, and nice, I see three that aren't. Makes me so sad.