Allow me to repost this musings from a reader named KATE. She is a grade-school teacher in the US. She was once a patient herself and she is sharing her insights about the nursing profession. I copy-pasted this from the comment thread of my previous post How Do I Stay Focused. I thought I’ll make it as a separate post for everyone passing by to read. I asked her permission to have it reposted, and she was happy for me to do it.
KATE runs her site too - Recommended Daily Dose. Check her site out.
Thanks Kate, for making nurses feel good today.
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Yes, nurses have to multi-task…anyone in the medical profession. I’m sure I’ve told you this MANY times but when I was in the hospital (having Finn and then fighting for my life after nectratizing pancreatitis) nurses saved my life. I had a couple bad nurses (very few) and I had so many amazing ones that really made my life so much better. I don’t know how you do it…but after watching them for awhile I know that nurses are another profession that doesn’t get paid near enough. In my experience male nurses are A-MAZ-ING because it’s not a traditional “male” job…so when guys make that choice they really know that’s what their meant to do.
I had nurses who (after a major screw-up) were the only reason I got into the correct procedure because they called down to bug them every 5 minutes…because mostly they’re just sitting on their butts not doing anything. I say this in total sarcasm…I don’t know how they have a minute to take a breath, much less call to check on a procedure for ONE of their patients. When I finally got out of the hospital, they informed me that they better never see me again.
When I was admitted into the hospital they told me I would be out in 2-3 days. A week later they moved me into the ICU and I had my first male nurse. He had me laughing none stop. My mom told me that was the first time she knew I was going to make it, when she heard me laughing.
When I was delivering Finn (I was induced) the doctor would come in and tell me what he wanted to do and then we asked the nurse what she thought. I think it annoyed the doctor, but the nurse had been with us every moment…and I trusted her view way more than the doctor’s.
I know this is all over the place…and now that I’m taking some classes in the medical field (not nursing or anything…I’m not a saint like that…really bad under pressure and all that…more administration and business part) and I have WAY more respect for nurses…even though I didn’t think that was possible. This stuff is NO JOKE and I know that your classes are about a MILLION times harder than what I’m taking PLUS you have to deal with ornery patients and doctors that don’t appreciate you as much as they should.
Mainly what I’m saying is that I am SO grateful for what you do each day and if people don’t stop and say thanks enough…please know that’s what’s in their hearts. Good nurses (and I know you’re not good…but great…I can tell) are angels sent from heaven.
You’re amazing!!!!!
Thanks to Kate. I needed that.
SO flattered. All 1000% true. Nurses are amazing and angels sent from heaven to care for their patients!
Hi JOHN, thanks for dropping by.
Hi KATE, my last 3 night shifts was a thankless, bloody and really-exhausting shifts. I had to reread this post to make myself feel better. I can never thank you enough. My colleagues wanted to extend their thanks too for this wonderful words of yours.
I was really touched by this. You know, when I was still a student nurse, many patients expressed their gratitude for having someone to talk to. There is a reality here in our country right now that nurses in some hospitals have adopted the bad attitude, and I have come to witness it. I experienced a nurse shouting at a vomiting patient for involuntarily vomiting, and he pulled the patient out the ER and told the patient not to come back unless he stops vomiting.
I can’t do anything back then but hand a plastic bag to the client before being reprimanded and scolded by the same staff nurse for “spoiling” the patient who clung to the stairway. But it was a public hospital, my CI told me, and I felt really bad. Because even if I didn’t want to take up this profession back then, I thought that every person has a right. I hope things would change around here.
Awww… This is too bad. I have also worked in public hospitals in the Philippines, and there is really a saddening situation there. Sometimes, we could not blame the nurses as they are really overworked and underpaid. I experienced getting 30 patients per shift on a busy surgical unit there. The census was 60 and we are only 2 nurses
So just imagine the kind of care that the patients are oing to receive. Anyhow, what you witnessesed in the ER was really not acceptable. Patients are patients and they have to be treated humanely no matter what. The patient wasn’t vomiting just because he wanted too. Let’s hope that situations get better in the future 
Treatment from public and private hospitals is really different based on my experience when I was admitted a few years ago. Nurses from public are scolding their patients unlike dun sa private na super maalaga at halos every minute chini-check yung patient.
Totoo yong sinabi ni Kayce…lalo na dyan sa PGH…ang tataray ng mga RN…buti pa yong student nurse na lang ang mag ikot at wala kang maririnig…pero sa private, iba…maalaga at masarap pakinggan pag tinawag kang “mommy, ang gamot nyo po”
it is so true, nurses are angels. imagine being in their mercy when you are in the hospital? but still, i know a lot of people also has nightmarish experience with some of them. i’m only glad i never had bad experiences with nurses, i try to avoid being in the hospital as much as i can see
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