Ok, Im sorry for long post, but I have to get this out : I love taking care of people... being off work the past few months has really given me a chance to reflect on my past 4 years in the health care industry. I literally put my blood, sweat, and tears into caring for the elderly and disabled... my fellow nursing staff knows exactly what Im talking about... You take care of these people day in and day out, putting their needs before your own, because their needs are very great, and you want to do everything in your power to perhaps better their quality of life. Even the difficult ones that make you want to tear your hair out... they sometimes require the most patience, because they have become so jaded by the entire system in which they have found themselves caught in... or they have a mind altering disease to which they cant control behavior... or they are doped up on so many meds that they have no idea whats going on... this could very easily happen to any one of us... In fact at some point in your life, you will very likely not be able to take care of yourself any longer and will be dependent upon random individuals for your well-being... My point is this: The system that has been designed for us to care for each other is unacceptable. There comes a point when we have to stand up and demand better for ourselves. I do not want to see our generation and our children endure the hardships that our parents and grandparents have seen. Isnt each generation supposed to be better than the last? My husband came home from his lunch break earlier and filled me in on another typical day at the nursing home... doctors giving orders that arent even relevant to the patients condition because they didnt take the time to check and see what meds that patient was or was not on, other doctors handing off work where a patients life is at risk to student doctors because they were done for the day, nurses giving patients ultimatums on their care because they werent patient enough to create a decent care plan for a difficult patient... thats just an evening on one day. I admire him so much for still going every day and trying to make a difference. It definitely can be stressful at times to say the least... because we know we deserve better, we know that some people in charge of their care simply do not care. In the past 4 years I have seen a lot of pain, suffering, neglect, and death. The people I took care of werent always elderly... one of my favorite patients I took care of was only a year younger than me... She had been in a car accident and had to have a trachea put in... in addition she was paralyzed from the waist down... I watched as she slipped through the cracks of our system and died at such a young age... some people will say that she was difficult to care for or that she didnt want to get better... I say that she was so full of spunk and life and she was put into an impossible position without the proper tools or support to get better. In her case also, the family should have been more involved in my opinion... These people need advocates to ensure their needs are being met, and we as the nursing staff are supposed to be those advocates, even when it seems grim... A lot of times all those people have to look forward all day is the conversation you will have with them, or the smiles you share with them, or the music you play to cheer them up... Thats what I miss about my work, is making those people feel like they matter. They DO matter. I have also seen a lot of good, I have seen people get better and go back home, I have seen people be so appreciative of everything we are trying to do for them, even when its not enough. I have shared a lot of laughs, I have seen communities come together to help and honor our people. We have a lot of people out there with their hearts in the right place, but lack the tools to do the best job possible because of the way we have been conditioned... I have always felt at home in this field of work as I have always felt it calling to me... After all, I practically grew up in a hospital, with my mom working there and then ending up a patient there, I know it all too well. I love the good people that want to do good for others, but I cant stand the ignorance that usually stands at the top of the ladder... as a medical technician I absolutely HATED feeding people cups full of pills with horrific side effects that 9 times out of 10 worsen their condition and create symptoms that werent even present before... I HATE that our solution for calming down a patient was to feed them sedatives... I HATE that our solution for people in pain was to feed them disgusting amounts of pain pills that only mask the pain for a short while and not actually fixing the problem at all... I hate the fact that our solution to get work done was to do it as quickly as possible, very often times leaving the patient feeling unimportant... I hate so many of the solutions we have come up with to treat people... It is time for us all to demand solutions that actually improve or sustain our quality of life instead of worsening it... therefore I am going to take this opportunity to further my education and climb to the top of the ladder. I have always known that I am far from done climbing, but the pace at which you climb is not always in your control. I think the fact that you keep climbing is more important than the pace. Not everyone has the benefit of receiving a free education right after high school either... My grandfather likes to always tell me I did things backwards by having a family first and then paying more attention to a career later...I tend to disagree. I dont think there is a right or wrong way to do it, but when I do something I put my whole heart into it and I selfishly do not want to split my attention between my childrens younger years and a career that requires a lot of my time and attention. Some people dont have a choice and thats what they have to do to get by, but as long as I have a choice, I will choose my children every time. I grew up being shuffled between nannies and day cares instead of spending my moms last years with her. Everyone does what they think is best at the time, and it is what it is. But I do not believe in working just so I can send my kids to day care... thats why I have always scheduled my work around my kids and made sure I am the one raising them and not random strangers... I also dont want to be 60 when my kids graduate, so agree or disagree, I had my family first and now a time in my life has presented itself for me to further my career, not because I want the title or the prestige or more money, but because I was put here to become a part of the solution and I want to see our future generations excel instead of deteriorate. Of course there are so many issues in this world that need attention, but you have to watch what you are being shown... listen to what you are hearing... and then you will begin to see what you can and cant control... what differences you can and cant make... I want a better world for us and our children... dont you? I already see a lot of people waking up to the fact that things need to change... become a part of the change... dont just stand by and let it be if you can do something about it.... I want to tell the people that I had the privilege of working with that I have learned so much from all of you and loved every minute of it... good times and bad... I admire you for continuing to care for the residents and trying to make their life better in any way you can... Andrew Lehmkuhl, Laura Millican, Ashley Nicole Rae Spears, Roxanne Coffelt, Sarajo Fuqua, Pamela Elmore-Ferguson, Star Hart, Brittany Case, Judi Drummond Cornwell, Ruby Parks, Huey N Jacqueline Mitchell, Barbara Irwi, Emily Raeann Finn, Melody Nicholson Coon, Michaela Fast, Elizabeth Sampson, Carol Gerke, Trina Decker, Will Da Bur Brock, Shelly Rankin, Shellie Durham, Heather Hale, Loretta Jestis and many of the other people that I worked with... If I tagged you here, its because I got to know you and I know you know what Im talking about and you are the people that I KNOW will make a difference
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:55:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015