Prompt #26

My Job Definitely Nurtured My Soul

I Made A Difference Every Day

Thank you to Nancy Blackman has again given us a new prompt #26. We are to write about a job in our past or present that nurtured our soul.

Working As A New RN

When I was a new RN I went to work in the hospital on a surgical floor. I had made excellent grades in college, but I found out I had much more to learn when actually working in the hospital. The manager assigned me to work with another seasoned nurse whose name was June.

I liked her immediately. I found that she was gentle with the patients, yet effective. She taught me to slow down when I entered a patient’s room, whether it was to get their vital signs or give when some medication,

She taught me to stop and look carefully at the patient, noting their skin color, to watch them breathe and look at their basic demeanor.

Rather than just get their numbers (heart rate, respiration rate and blood pressure), I was looking for any distress as sometimes the patient is not forthcoming in their remarks.

Watching June work with patients helped all my training gel together. She was very efficient, yet empathetic. I loved watching her work. She taught me to be a better nurse. I could tell if a patient was in pain without them telling me sometimes, or if there was some other problem they weren’t revealing.

Patient Refusing Pain Medication

I was in my patient’s room one morning, and I could tell the man was in a significant amount of pain, but he had refused pain medications. He had surgery the day before.

I explained how the pain medication would help him move around better and he would be able to take a deep breath. He still refused the medication. Finally, I jokingly said to him that there was no “Red Badge of Courage” for bravery following surgery.

He laughed and finally agreed to the pain medication. An hour or so later I went back into his room to check on him, and he smiled. He thanked me and said he felt so much better.

Difficult Man in ICU

Some years later I was working in the ICU. I was assigned to take care of two patients one day, and one was being transferred upstairs to a regular hospital room. This man had been difficult for everyone according to the report I was given.

I entered his room, introduced myself, and told him he was being transferred. He was grumbling about everything, but I just smiled as I worked.

About mid-morning I was ready to transfer the patient. I had given him his pain medicine almost an hour earlier as I wanted it to take effect before the transfer.

When we attempted to transfer him to the stretcher he started yelling at everyone. I just stopped moving and I said: “I am doing my best to take care of you. I know you have some pain. I have treated you with respect, and I am asking you to treat me the same way.” After I said that, he was pleasant and did not raise his voice again.

Impressive Gal

I am impressed by people who go the extra mile like Kayla Tackett. She is a mother and working toward her bachelor’s degree. She works full-time and writes on Medium plus other sites. I’m not sure how she can keep that many balls in the air!

She writes a weekly positive affirmation article that is uplifting.

In Conclusion

I learned how to work with patients and make a difference. There were some hard days, but I still loved my job.

Helping people as a nurse did nurture my soul. I knew this was the job for me. I was making a difference.

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