Come to think of it, after working as a full-time nurse in a critical care setting for more than four years now, I have had the chance of taking care of virtually all kinds of people. I’m a “people person” if that term such exist. There’s something in caring that makes me feel as if I’m a good person or something. That the goodness I show to my patients vindicates the evilness that I have accumulated in the past.
Choosing which patients I will handle is not a matter of choice. They are written in the stars. If the great force named “charge nurse” deem it’s essential to ruin the rest of my workday, he, she, or it will assign the worst patient to me. However, if the “charge nurse” is a good friend, I’ll definitely have the happiest duty day.
One of the things that I have discovered in my work is that the worst persons to piss off are the nurses. Treat us badly and you’ll definitely get what you deserve. Nurses can deliberately kill you without you knowing it and we can make it appear as if it’s death from natural causes. Of course no nurse would do that. Or would they?
My life as a nurse is not like everyone else. Of course there are times when I still feel as if I’m giving too much for this work that gives back a little. Four years and I still could not afford a new car (as if I need one, I don’t know how to drive), pay a personal driver/butler, buy a house in New Manila (my ultimate dream address), buy new bags (okay, I’m that superficial), and get a one-way ticket to India. For god’s sakes, I could work as a prostitute and earn more than what I earn in a monthly basis, and imagine all the fun (minus the diseases) I could be getting.
But the bare fact still remains. There are sick people everywhere. There are sick people who will ultimately need a skillful, competent and capable hand of a caring nurse. There will be mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers, sisters, relatives, sons and daughters who will get sick, and will be admitted in my workplace, and will demand my care. I could have chosen an easier life, but then again, who’s saying that life is always easy anyways. This may not be the easiest job there is, but for me, true satisfaction is attainable only but here.
So why am I telling you all of these? I actually don’t know. It’s probably because the “charge nurse” gave me a comatose patient and I’m here in the area doing nothing but to write this post. After all you owe your life to us. It’s time to give us something back.
