Becoming A Nurse
Nursing is a living, breathing career. It is real, it is here and it matters. We cannot pretend that nursing is something it is not. That would be wrong. What we can do is let potential recruits know what nursing is about and the diversity of care and opportunities that exist.
Let’s forget about the glamorous image in running around with defibillators in one hand and a handsome doctor in the other, and concentrate on what nursing really is. To me, nursing is about having the knowledge to care well. It is about being able to clean up a patient’s very embarrassing mess and at the same time understand how the patient is feeling. Being able to put them at ease while communicating with them.
It is about making sure that the 96-year-old chap in bed can reach his drinking cup and that he is clean and comfortable and ready for the night. Checking that his is not worried about his pet dog not being walked while he is in the hospital, or that his wife with disabilities will not be able to manage without him.
It is about sitting with a new mom who thinks she is a bad mother because her baby is not feeding well and putting her mind at rest by providing her with information about why her baby may be feeding. It is about looking at both the mother’s and the baby’s state of health.
It is about ensuring that the woman just coming out of the operating room recovers safely from anaesthetic, knowing and understanding the post-operative complications that may arise for this patient and being able to act quickly and knowledgeably should any arise.
It is about dealing with angry relatives, worried and concerned for their family member whose operation has just been cancelled for their family member who operation has just been cancelled for the third time. Sitting and explaining to them the reasons why it has been postponed and providing them with information. It is about visiting the man in his own home and persuading...