so.this.is.nursing

I am not just a nurse. I am YOUR nurse.

I will sit beside you and hold your hand when you vomit so hard that your TMJ gets dislocated and has to be reduced so you can close your mouth all the way, when you're screaming at your family to get out of the room because you don't want them to see you like this.

I will stand with a smile on my face (and only roll my eyes a little..!) when you take over half an hour to take your morning medication because each half pill needs multiple sips so you don't aspirate, and you're screaming at me that you "don't remember taking all this shit at home".

I will suck it up and page the hospitalist I dread working with because you've had a change in status and need further interventions NOW. I will stumble through my tentative SBAR to get you what you need.

I will spend an extra half an hour on the phone with your health care proxy after I discharge to make sure you will get the follow-up care you need and that someone will be home when you get there and that your discharge medications will be picked up.

I will think critically about your orders and NOT automatically give you medications that aren't indicated and advocate for orders that make sense (... Like MiraLax that's PRN and not standing order which takes up half your fluid restriction allowance for the day. One of the renal docs was like "see?! You're smart and use common sense").

I will be moved almost to tears when you tell me what a good job I did taking care of you, and that I'm a great nurse (and laugh with you when you add "and didn't take any BS..!").

This job is a privilege.

Intern (from Germany): *gets paged: 'pt soandso dtr here'* *looks up confused*. What does DTR mean?

Med student: Deep Tendon Reflexes

Resident: Daughter

It never comes from a malicious place. It comes from an “I want to do a good job and not leave a mess for the people who come after me” place. It comes from an “I don’t want to have to bug people and ask for help multiple times” place (though don’t worry, I ALWAYS will). It comes from an “I have high expectations of myself” place.