ICU Nurse

I need you to know these things.

This job is hard. It’s hard as a student, learning things most people will never understand. It’s hard as a brand new nurse; no patient or seasoned nurse truly has faith in you.

You want to learn. You want to know things. You want to get to the point in your job where you are comfortable in your skills, the patients trust you, and the doctors start to know your name and believe in your abilities.

It takes time. The first year of nursing will be the hardest year of your life and you will find yourself truly doubting your intelligence and intellect for the first time ever. You will make mistakes, second guess yourself, cry after work, cry during work, cry before work. You will triumph, and you will fail miserably.

But with literally every single moment of every single day, you will learn so much more than you’ve ever learned in your entire life combined. You will learn about human suffering, joy, love, sorrow, insanity, and pain. You will experience moments that will haunt you forever. Moments you will bury down deep inside because the people closest to you could never understand.

Student nurses, stay with it. You aren’t there yet. School is hard. It does get harder. But it also gets better.

I was a student. Nursing school was the hardest thing I had ever done up to that point. I will not downplay that. Ever. It is so hard.

But then I was a new nurse. And it was harder. I experienced things that will haunt me to the grave. I was bullied by patients, doctors, and nurses.

I’m still learning. I’m still a baby nurse. But I’ve got a bit of time and a little experience under my belt now. I’ve been a nurse in the burn ICU, a med-surg nurse, and now a bone marrow transplant/oncology nurse. I’ve dealt with nurse bullies, bully doctors, and abusive patients and families. I’ve seen all kinds of sickness, I’ve welcomed new life, and I’ve held countless hands as their pulses faded away.

I’m here to tell you, student nurses, new nurses, that this job is hard. It is cruel and unforgiving at times.

But it is so worth it. It may get harder, but it will get easier as time goes on. The bonds you form with patients, doctors, and fellow nurses will bring you through it.

You knew it would be difficult when you chose such a selfless profession. This job takes heart. It takes a special kind of person that was meant to heal this harsh world.

Stay with it. It gets so much better. It is rewarding. We are here and we want you to succeed. Forget the nurse bullies, forget the bad. You are a guardian angel and you chose this noble path.