They say that Patience is a Virtue. Well I suppose it is. My husband often tells me I am not a very patient person. I tell him I beg to differ. I tell him spend one day walking in my shoes and then tell me I am not a patient person.
In nursing school they taught us about compassion, caring, empathy, and therapeutic communication just to name a few. Yet I don't recall them teaching us about having patience. Which one would think they would as that is a number one skill you use every day in your nursing career.
Maybe it's one of those skills you innately have. I don't know. What I do know is that you won't survive very long in the nursing profession if you don't have it.
There's the times when your unit is running short staffed. You have a heavy patient assignment and you are trying to juggle getting patients fed, bathed, medications dispensed, orders reviewed and processed, assisting with other health care professionals who are working with your patient, changing dressings, answering questions of family members and if you are lucky holding the hand and spending some time with your dementia patient.
You have to have patience in order to and achieve any of the above with a certain amount of empathy, caring and compassion. It's not easy some days.
In the recovery room you have to have patience. You have to patiently wait and assess patients for the effects of the anesthetic to wear off. Assessing pain levels and medicating frequently and evaluating outcomes, being on the alter to change the course of action when the desired outcome is not achieved. Then throw in the juggling of Operating Rooms and sometimes having to put them on hold, lack of beds to move post operative patients to, and of course the unexpected cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Yes you MUST have patience in order to survive your day.
So I started to think about what my husband has said to me, and I think, maybe he's right. Maybe I don't demonstrate a lot of patience when I am at home. Maybe that's because I have used it all up at work!
I remember reading on another nursing blog, where the nurse said that before she goes home she almost has to desensitize herself from the work environment and put on her mom/wife hat. Some days it's easier said than done. Some days your family have no idea what your eyes have seen and what you have experienced, nor in some cases do you really want to share that with them. I think what I need to remember is that I am only human, I can not be everything to all people at all times. I have to start to use some of that therapeutic communication on myself and be a little kinder and gentler to myself and then I think the patience my husband says I lack demonstrating at home just might come out.
I was on Facebook today and I noticed one of my colleagues had posted a video from YouTube titled Being a Nurse. In this video they say being a nurse is 90% and 10% job, I think I would agree with that. I went and checked out other YouTube videos about nursing and what it is like to be a nurse and the one I linked to below title To Be A Nurse really kinda of spoke to me.
To Be A Nurse
5 comments:
I know I have a lot of patience in some situations and none at all in others. I can see how needing so much patience in work as a nurse that it would be hard to also be patient at home.
I can totally relate from being a teacher and pulled every which way by students, parents, colleagues, and administration. Then I used to come home to try to be a mother. *sigh* Yes, can totally relate.
It doesn't matter what hat you may be wearing every one will see it differently.
Coffee is on.
My own description of patience, with reference to myself is this: "Patience is a virtue but I am not a very virtuous person!"
I frequently used that line while working as a waitress in a truckstop near here. At least, I gave some of the customers fair warning not to give me too much of a hassle. Most of them, however, took that as a clue to see how many more practical jokes they could pull over on me though.
I know -not quite the same as your nurse requirements but sometimes, you do have to wear one hat at work and other ones for other areas of your life, just to survive with some degree of sanity.
I don't think there are "patient people" versus "impatient people." I think we are all patient in some situations, not so much in others. Then, on any given day we may have more patience for just about everything and everyone, and who knows why. I've never been a nurse but I have been a patient many times, and I can tell you there's nothing much more scary, intimidating, and sad than a nurse who does not demonstrate patience and understanding with a sick person. When you're sick, you're scared. I have encountered many nurses in my life and while the overwhelming majority were absolutely wonderful, the few who were not stick out in my mind. I could not do your job and so I salute you. I know it's difficult at times when people maybe won't do as they're told or seem to only want attention. But hospitals are scary places to be and I don't even like doctors' offices. The last time I went to the doctor I was telling his nurse something about my health and she screwed up her face like I was stupid and wrong and just plain not worth listening to. I didn't appreciate it and I doubt I'll go back to that practice. So I think if everyone treats everyone else with respect and listens courteously, everything will go much more smoothly between patients and medical personnel. My pastor's wife is a nurse and I do believe she is an angel from heaven. If I ever got sick I'd be so thrilled to have her care for me. I'm sure your patients feel the same.
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