When people hear I'm a nursing major, I usually get the same response, "Gosh! Good for you...I could never deal with all the vomit and poop and blood!" and time and time again my response is always the same, "Eh! You get used to it!" I say this because you do. Do you think the first time I saw a large open gash on someone's leg full of blood and pus that I just walked right up to it and dug my hands in? Of course not! I stood in the corner of the room focusing more on myself and how I would keep myself from passing out while I watched thet actual nurse effortlessly complete the dressing change. It took me a few times to get my bearings and jump into the magic, but once you see nursing from a larger perspective, the dressing changes become nothing. I guess my point is, nursing isn't just about the blood, guts, and downright dirty jobs that we get thrown into everyday, being a nurse is about so much more. Dealing with the dirty things everyday becomes such a routine, such a small part of the day, when you compare it to the caring and the life-changing work that is being done everyday.
When I was younger, my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and I watched as the diagnosis and treatments not only took a physical toll on her, but also damaged her emotionally. Towards the beginning of her diagnosis, I found myself worrying about her emotional state. But then, the nurses started coming to our house. I watched as her mood transformed and her hope blossomed. I watched as with each visit from a nurse the smile on her face got bigger and her faith in recovery was restored. I watched them change her life for the better and at that very moment, I decided that I wanted to do the same for other sick people one day.
Most nurses are driven by this idea. By the idea that their field of work holds the potential to brighten someone's life, to change their outlook on their diagnosis, and to better them physically and mentally. It's all about caring.
I have learned through my extensive clinical work throughout nursing school, as well as through my externship at the hospital, that all of the daily routine work that a nurse completes is important in that it keeps the patient physically alive, but what really makes or breaks a patient's day is the amount of time a nurse spends talking and listening to them. When no one else is around to listen, when the doctors just peek their heads in for ten minutes a day to see that the patient is still alive and that the treatment is helping in some way, the nurses are there. We are there listening, explaining in a way that the patient can better understand, and we are there consoling. We are the shoulder to cry on, the teller of all jokes to brighten such a dark and plain hospital room, and we are the stones that build the stairs for the patient to walk up throughout their recovery.
I am becoming a nurse because I love walking into a patient's room everyday and seeing their face light up at the sight of you. I am becoming a nurse because I believe that I have the potential to help patients beat their illness emotionally. I am becoming a nurse because I care deeply for each of the patients I have the opportunity to come in contact with. Because I want to educate, I want to listen, I want to help, and I want to change things for the better. Being a nurse is about so much more than the guts and gore that people think it is about, being a nurse is having a kind, patient, and compassionate heart and putting it to work everyday for a living. I wouldn't change my career decision for the world.
