Nursing rocks

It was a good shift last night at work. Not only because we were fully staffed, but also because I felt like I was getting things done. And by getting things done I don't mean getting all the normal tasky stuff done. It's more about feeling like I am helping a patient get BETTER. These are not always obvious huge steps. But sometimes I can see small improvements throughout the shift and it feels great. This is the part of nursing that I love. Even if a patient slept throughout most of the shift, but they wake up in the morning feeling rested and less stressed...this is good stuff. Often times this means they will have an easier, more productive day. Day shift often includes working with physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc etc, so if they feel good to start with, things will go a lot better.

There are many other small things I could list. The rewards of being a nurse. Like when a patient tells me that they were starting to feel anxious or frightened, but I somehow made them feel better. Or when a patient vents about something that was frustrating them and then later thanks me for letting them get it off their chest.

I feel like people may think, that just because I work in a hospital, I am all for everything that happens there. Not that everything is shitty....but medicine can be really fucked up sometimes. I am there to gain experience so that I can go into an area where I feel like I am making positive changes. Nursing isn't all about medicine, it has so much more to it. It's about caring for people when they are their most vulnerable. About being an advocate for someone who may not be able to speak for themselves. It's about comforting families in crisis. It's about educating people about their options and their right to choose the option best for them. Etc.

I don't want to make a career out of being a hospital staff nurse. I'm not totally sure what it is I want to do long term. I am just trying to gain a foundation of medical-surgical experience that can only help me in whatever field I go into. I don't think I'm really trying to defend what I am doing. Well, maybe. No one has ever bad mouthed what I do. I guess it kind of bugs me though, when someone will be talking about the medical/hospital practice and how horrible they think it is and how they don't agree with a lot of or all of it, and then they'll turn to me and add an "oh, I'm sorry" like I am contributing to it or something. Or that just because I work within the system, I am not an individual within it that actually has the potential power to change things from within it.

Dang. This is a rambly post and I have no idea where it came from. Probably just being tired. Time to go to bed.