WRITING PROMPT

Christmas in Hospital

Do you have a story to share?

Not everyone has the luxury of enjoying Christmas Day with their loved ones. Nurses are just one of the essential services who still must show up and provide the necessary care for residents or patients; they don’t miraculously get better or can suddenly fend for themselves.

As horrid as it sounds, people also still get sick on special occasions which makes it terribly hard for them and their loved ones. Essential services still have to operate 24/7, 365 days a year.

I’ve done my share of Christmas Day or New Years' Eve shifts. Fortunately, they were all either pre-kids or when they were old enough not to care.

It was actually really fun working on these festive occasions. We would all bring in food to have a pot luck lunch together and bounce around trying to make the day special for patients who were unable to be home with their family — or had no family at all.

It was rewarding to be able to help make strangers feel loved. The reality check is that there are a lot of less fortunate people than myself. It’s tough any day seeing patients alone or suffering but it seems to really pull on the heartstrings on special days.

When I worked in the postpartum unit, I loved working on New Year's Eve. It was exciting to see whether the first baby born in Québec would be at our hospital — and it was on two occasions. Again we would make our own fun with food and non-alcoholic fizzy drinks and try to always be gathered together to see the clock strike midnight.

Here’s a goofy — and blurry — pic of me wearing my New York purchased 2013 new year glasses…

This brings me to my first writing prompt for my little publication. I’m inviting both nurses and non-nurses to share your stories.

If you have ever worked over the holidays, what did you do to make it fun? How did you juggle your family commitments with work? Do you have any memorable stories you would like to share?

Maybe you had a loved one in the hospital or a care facility. How did you navigate the holidays to make them feel special? Was there a caregiver who went above and beyond for your loved one?

Perhaps you were a patient in hospital during the holidays. How did you feel? Was there anything or anyone who you remember making you feel special despite being unwell?

If you are already a writer for Nursing Notes you can submit in the usual manner. If you have a story you would like to share, please leave a comment to be added as a writer. My only stipulation is that one of your tags be ‘Writing prompts’. It helps me post the stories in the right place!

You can read all the submission details here:

Looking forward to reading about your festive memories as a nurse, a loved one or a patient.

Barb