experiences, and the worst would definitely be when I lost a patient. I would say that the absolute worst would be my pediatric code. It was a 6 week old baby and the mother was screaming on the other side of the curtain. I was the one running the code and we lost the baby. That was one of the times that I couldn’t help but cry.
On that day, did you still think your job was rewarding?
Yes, someone has to do it. Not everyone can do something like that and not even every nurse can do something like that. It all has to do with having a purpose. Sometimes you can save them and other times you can’t. In that moment I just reminded myself of all the patients who coded that I did save over the years. When I went home your father was watching the news. There had just been a school shooting and I couldn’t watch that. I instantly put in the Rugrats and your father knew not to ask questions. On days like that you have to appreciate what you have done and sometimes you do have to let yourself feel the loss but not let it discourage you.
What is the best experience you have had as a nurse?
That’s hard too. There have been so many good experiences on all different levels. Births that go well are obviously an amazing thing. But, I think the best experience would be a patient I had a lot in the ICU. The last time he was there he was in the ICU for days detoxing. He was a regular on the ICU. He had tried to kill himself many times by overdosing and wasn’t the easiest of patients to have. But, as a nurse you always treat your patients equally and with kindness. A little while after her was sent home for the last time this patient came back in on is own to the ICU and walked up to me to thank me.
Also, there is a good experience that many may view as sad but I was honored. When I worked in the nursing home as a nurses aid I was by the side of one of my favorite individuals as he died. This patient would always joke around with me at night, and even on his deathbed he was cracking jokes. I can remember it so well. His heart rate was in the 20’s and he was going in and out of consciousness. But one time he barely opened his eyes and looked at me and mumbled “at least I have something good to look at.” He was talking about how the “angels were coming” and everything. This was incredibly sad but such an honoring experience. I got to be there with him and hold his hand so he was not alone.
If you could have a different career would you?
I don’t know, I like my career. It had good job satisfaction and it’s not hard to find a job. If I had to choose another career I would start up a camp where mentally disabled children and adults could come and watch over animals and play with them. This is something I wanted to do as a kid and oddly enough I did end up working with mentally disabled individuals.
Do you think that it’s important for new nurses to start in a hospital setting?
That kind of depends on what they want to do. There are so many specialists in nursing that someone can get in to. But, working in a hospital sharpens your assessments skills and gives you many other skills that you can’t get anywhere else. Then from there they can decide where they want to go.
I think that those who don’t start in a hospital are at a major disadvantage. have known many nurses who started off nursing in a nursing home and they feel stuck. I left the nursing home when I became a nurse because I thought it was important to do so. I didn’t want to feel stuck and like I couldn’t do anything else. When you start in a hospital you are definitely opening doors for yourself in the future.
Was the stress of nursing school worth it in the end?
Yes. I actually loved nursing school even though it was stressful. I had a really good nursing class and that helped with the stress a lot. I am still friends with many of those that were in my nursing class because we got really close through the two years of nursing school. We had a lot of bad experiences as well and we had the stress of nursing school on top of that. But, in the end it was all definitely worth the stress. I had three kids and a full time job when I started working on my associates in nursing.
“Someone has to do it. Not everyone can do something like that and not even every nurse can.”
Nursing is a hard career to get in to and it’s not for everyone. The schooling is difficult and intense. The job itself has major downfalls but it is also extremely rewarding. I have grown up with a nurse mother and have seen how what happens at work can change her attitude at home. It’s a very personal career that requires you to care about those you are working with and depend on those on your team because you can’t do it alone. At the end of the interview my mom offered up some advice to all nursing students and new nurses. She talked about how it is extremely important to push yourself as a nurse. Not to push yourself completely out of your comfort zone because you have to be safe. Never push yourself to do something you aren’t able to do. But, put yourself in different specialties of nursing and learn how to do as much as you can. When you get out of nursing school you know the bare minimum. It’s important to get the experience in the workfield and not settle in to something too early. My mother also went over one of the essential parts in nursing, caring. Nurses don’t often times let their patients see this, but nurses cry. After a terrible loss the nurse will feel it. They go and comfort the family and loved ones, but then they walk away and let themselves feel it as well. One of the most essential parts of nursing is to let yourself feel and care about your patients. You aren’t just there to take care of them medically but also emotionally. This means that you gain a connection with your patients past what a doctor usually does. When you have a hard loss you have to let yourself feel it as a nurse but know that you can save others. You can’t let the lives lossed deter you from continuing on to help others. It truly isn’t a job that anyone can do. It is extremely difficult yet one of the most rewarding jobs that I can think of.