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As a GMercyU nursing student , I was always taught by my professors to go into every shift and every patient care experience with Mercy .
” a cough and although elderly , she and her husband lived together and were very independent . I swabbed the woman , and she came back positive for COVID . I had her for three night shifts and by the third night , her oxygen requirements had increased so much that I just knew she would never leave the hospital .
A few days after she was admitted , her husband was admitted with COVID . To make a very long story short , the husband and wife both died just days apart . They both did not want the other to know that they were in the hospital with COVID . The family kept their wishes and they never knew that they were in hospital rooms just next to each other .
Yes , there were scary moments , but there were also moments that made you smile , like when the Rocky Balboa theme song would play over the speaker , signaling that a COVID patient had been discharged .
In school , you learn that this profession is not always easy . It ’ s not always happy stories , and you will have some shifts where you will go home tired , upset , and even angry . I believe that if I didn ’ t have these emotions after some shifts , nursing wasn ’ t meant for me . These feelings mean you have compassion for yourself .
LEADING WITH MERCY If you had told me while I was in school that I would serve as a registered nurse during a historic pandemic , I would have said you were crazy . If you had told me that I would first-hand watch some nurses and other healthcare professionals burn out to the point of leaving healthcare altogether , I wouldn ’ t have believed you .
As a GMercyU nursing student , I was always taught by my professors to go into every shift and every patient care experience with Mercy . You learn about compassion for patients and therapeutic communication with patients . Throughout my four years as a nurse in the professional setting , I have learned that you also need to have compassion for yourself and therapeutic communication with your colleagues and yourself . Take time to take care of you .
If you don ’ t take care of yourself , how are you supposed to take care of someone else ?
I am blessed to work alongside people that I consider my family , people who share the same professional values as me and strive every shift to make sure patients ’ lives are improving . Not only do I use the Mercy values of integrity , respect , social justice and service in my everyday work , I also now incorporate my employer ’ s mission of “ We Improve Lives .”
I strongly believe that the Mercy values that were instilled in me as a student-athlete at GMercyU are the reasons why I can still go into work with a smile on my face , ready to take on anything that is thrown my way . I strive to help my coworkers who may be having difficulty and use my leadership skills in my unit to instill my values into my peers , especially the new nurses I am training . These values are intricate tools that help me not only take care of my patients during these trying times , but also myself .
Use these values and add your own over your practice to help your patients , coworkers , and yourself in your career .
TODAY 7