An RN Looks At Forty ... years of service(with apologies and thanks to Jimmy Buffett)

Mother Mother Florence

Never really heard your call

Yet I have walked upon your halls,

Since I was 23 years old

Have I seen it all?

Never say I've seen it all….

capping 

Carried charts for the doctors

Back when people smoked at the desk

Now Epic login takes us to orders

And messages saying no beds in sight

while

In your Kardex you hold the careplans and drug cards from us chumps

It’s now on-line

It’s all on-line…

graduation

Yes, I am an RN

Forty years this year

I’ve been on-call for a third of my life

Only 348 scheduled shifts to go 

Wearing blue scrubs not whites

And no longer a cap

Just annoying masks

Those annoying masks

birthday in the OR -why Sesame Street??

I’ve worked med-surg and OR

DId the ED thing for a while

I’ve recovered so many

I say take a deep breath in my sleep

And GO AHEAD AND PEE

Please, just go pee…

New Years Eve in the ED - sparkling grape juice and urine strainer party hats

IV drips were counted by sight

Pumps replaced dial-a-flow now they alarm

All through the night

Air in Line

Battery low

pandemic, seriously 

Worked every shift

Eight hours, tens, twelves

Breaks rarely taken

Eating between call bells

Buffets left out for who knows how long

But never got sick

Never got sick

don't wear the cap any longer, except once a year to make the newer nurses feel grateful

Mother Mother Florence

I will admit there are days

When my occupational choice should have been 

Patricia Stevens Business School for Girls

But I have learned so much

About people, live and myself

I wouldn’t change a thing

Would not change a thing. 

I honestly never thought I would be a nurse, only to become one so I would have 'something to fall back on' as my Mom use to advise. That being said, I would not be the person I am today, if I hadn't done so. I have seen the best and the worst of people. I have helped welcome babies into the world and fought to keep people in this world and held hands as they have departed it. Along the way, I have worked with some of the most amazing people you could ever hope to care for you, some older and more experienced, some younger and more experienced some new to the profession who actually looked to me for guidance. And I have learned something from each and every one. 

My advice to any nurse - young or old, new or experienced: Never stop learning. Never stop being amazed. And on those days when you just can't even...consider the fact that while it may not be your best day, you might actually be the bright light in someone else's. 

Happy Nurses Week

And if you would like to read more of my occasional  musing about nursing - click here:

It's a Living