Nursing may not be the most physical job, although there are some mornings I come home with my back aching from caring for bariatric patients. Its the emotional exhaustion thats wears me out. 2014 has had its ups & downs. One of my patients family members helped me end my year on a very emotional high. I was assigned to this patient and family. I say both patient and family because sometimes its the family you care for more than the patient themselves. This family had just received their dads terminal diagnosis. Being the holiday season, I offered them our quite room and told them they could come and go as they pleased. I had multiple end of life conversations with them. One being, Is it harder to lose someone without warning or to watch them suffer and die a slow death? As yall know, I lost dad 17 years ago to a heart attack. I made a deal with them. I told them I would continue to give them open access to the unit, to be with their dad, if they would take advantage of the opportunity to tell their dad goodbye and say whatever they needed to say. The day we transferred him out of our unit, one of his daughters pulled me to the side and said, My dad and I are at ease, thank you for allowing us to do that. In nursing school, my instructors asked each of us why we wanted to become a nurse. My reply was, If I could give one person the opportunity to say what I didnt get to, itll all be worth it..... Its all been worth it. Happy New Years yall.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 21:33:16 +0000
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