Posted by Kathleen Pooler/@kathypooler
“The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm”.
In August of 2011, I retired from a forty-four-year nursing career that took me from the bedside, to the classroom to the boardroom then back to the bedside. Throughout it all, I never lost sight of the reason I went into nursing in the first place—to make a positive difference in the lives of the patients I had the privilege of serving.
There have been surprises, challenges and rewards around every bend.
National Nurse’s Week runs from May 6-May 12. May 6 was the birthday of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale who made her mark in history by instituting basic hygiene, nutrition and tender loving care to the soldiers in the Crimean War. She and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds. She became known as “The Lady with the Lamp” when she made her night rounds.
Being a nurse is an honor and a privilege. I pay tribute to Florence and to all nurses who work every day to make a positive difference to their patients.
In my upcoming memoir, Ever Faithful To His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse, I explore the key role my nursing career played in my life.
Nursing has been my best friend through life’s trials; steady and true. It enabled me to walk away from two abusive marriages and create an independent life for myself and my children. It provided me with a sense of accomplishment and purpose. It taught me about life and kept me in touch with my many blessings of family and health.
Here is a memoir excerpt:
“Where is my baby?” Her mournful sobs echoed throughout the emergency room as we attempted to assess her injuries and stabilize her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she continued to search my face for an answer I didn’t have.
As I took her vital signs and attempted to remove her clothes to assess her injuries, a wave of helplessness and grief swept over my body. I caught a glimpse of a paramedic rushing, carrying the tiny, lifeless body in his arms, shaking his head.
The attending physician pulled me aside. “Whatever you do, don’t tell her the baby has died,” he commanded.
“She needs to know,” I said. “In fact, she already knows.”
“Nope,” he said. “Now is not the time to tell her.”
I stood by the stretcher, absorbing her grief as her pleading look drew me in. When she repeated her question, “Where is my baby?” I rubbed her arm. I thought of my own baby girl who was eleven months old at the time.
“She’s dead, isn’t she?”
I stared into her eyes and nodded slightly, continuing to rub her arm.
“Oh my God, my baby is dead. No!” she screamed in loud lamentations that permeated the surrounding chaos.
We, the nursing staff, were too stunned to cry until we left for our own homes. The next day, we shared our collective grief at that unthinkable loss. I was not the only one who could not sleep that night.”
***
Alexandra Scheinfeld summarizes it best in this Thought Catalog post: “5 Things Nurses Want You to Know But Can’t Tell You:
“We cry for you at home.
We are happy to be your shoulder to cry on,but not your punching bag.
Nobody wants to get the IV right on the first try more than us.
We sacrifice for you.
We love you.”
***
My nursing license is up for renewal in June of this year. Recently, I went on the website to change my status. As I hovered over the area to check “inactive,”I felt the full impact of what that meant. I no longer would actively take care of patients. With that, I put my head in my hands and cried for what this represented– a life’s mission was over. Then I shut down my computer and decided to revisit it on another day when I would feel strong enough to check “inactive.”
And then I realized —I will never stop being a nurse at heart. Writing is a new twist in my nursing career. I can still be active in my mission to make a positive difference through my writing.
I hope you’ll thank a nurse this week!
How has a nurse made a positive difference in your life?
I’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below~
Next Week:
Monday, 5/12/14: “Introducing Ever Faithful to His Lead: The Pubslush Campaign for My Memoir Launches”
Wednesday: 5/14/14: ” Google+ Hangout Interview with Memoir Author Cindi McVey: To Live in Paradise:Dreams Found and Lost in Africa”
Oh, Kathy, what a beautiful tribute to nurses. I know that it feels you have closed the door on that chapter, but I hope you realize that you continue to nurture and heal others through your writing and friendship. During my weakest moments, I have felt you at my bedside soothing my weary soul and cheering me on.
Oh, Pat, your comments warm my heart.It helps me to know my writing can be an extension of my nursing career.Thank you for your comforting thoughts.Happy Mother’s Day!
Very touching!! I agree you are still a nurse because you nurse people’s spirits and souls through your writing, like this post!!!
Thanks, Louise. Your words are “music to my ears”. So happy you stopped by!
Kathy,
Thank you for posting this beautiful piece. I have also been a nurse, for a long time, 42 years, and have some very amazing stories about my many experiences. Hence why I wrote my memoir.
Hi Jane, thanks so much for stopping by.I appreciate your comments.Nurses do have amazing stories to share. In fact,you’ve been on my list to contact about your 911 memoir. I’m interested in reading it and featuring you as my guest. I’ll be in touch via email. Happy Nurses’ Week to you!
Hi Kathy. I volunteer as an RN at our local free clinic. The last few times I received my nursing renewal, I’ve also wondered if I should check the inactive box. I know I’m never going to work as a nurse again for pay.
After being a nurse for over 35 years, I still can’t. I still can’t check that box. No matter what. Not yet.
Thanks for offering a different perspective on this”inactive” dilemma, Susan. I still have a few weeks before I make a final decision. I appreciate you stopping by and sharing these thoughts. Happy Nurses’ Week!
This is an appropriate weekend to pay tribute to nurses many of whom are also mothers. Your graduate nurse photograph reminds me of my sister’s: stiff white cap and the back stripe meaning “I’m a full-fledged nurse.”
After 40+ years as a teacher – professor, it was heart-wrenching to leave all that behind, but like you I tap into those some of those same qualities in my new vocation as a writer.
A bumper sticker I once saw says: We’d all be worse without a nurse. I concur.
Yes, Marian, those stiff, white caps were a source of great pride, back then. These life transitions are all very bittersweet and yet we can carry over the same sense of purpose, as we both have in our writing. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.And , of course, I love the slogan. 🙂
And what a cute picture!
Thanks, Lynne!
My primary objective in going to college was to become a nurse. The Lord led me elsewhere after three years and on the brink of achieving my goal. I did work at a hospital but in a clerical capacity. Ten years ago, my son who had been a medic in the Army Reserves, became a nurse. He felt the call and went further in his career to become a nurse practitioner. I felt validated in my son for his accomplishment in the nursing field. I still hold nurses in high regard for the care and compassion they exhibit to others. Your excerpt demonstrated the depth of your love and care for those who suffer. Thank you for ministering to others through words in your blog.
You bring up an important point, Kathy. Nursing is a calling and how nice that you can see your passion for nursing carry over to your son. And it sounds like you have found a way to serve people in other ways. I appreciate you stopping by and giving me such kind and generous feedback. Thank you.
Checking the inactive box on the RN license renewal is like having gone through menopause and/or a hysterectomy and knowing you will never again bear children. After working for thrity two years as an RN not counting my time in high school as a nurses aide and my time as a twelve to fifteen year old caring for a blind seven year old mentally disabled child when I finally checked that box it took something out of me.
But like you, writing has given me another venue of caring and through writing I hope to help as many people as I can reach in giving them joy and knowliedge through my first picture book “Annie’s Special Day’ and I hope to draw attention to animal mistreatment and abuse and bullying with my second picture book “Edmund Pickle Chin” and now finally with my memoir I hope to educate people about bipolar disorder and help those with that disorder feel comaraderie and lessen feelings of isolation.
I feel now I am on a second career of caring for people that is just as fulfilling as nursing ever was.
Thanks for sharing how you found a new purpose through your writing, Clar. Best wishes with your memoir. It certainly sounds like you are closely connected to its purpose and I’m sure it will help many affected by bipolar disorder. I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your thoughts.Happy Nurses’ Week!
I had a series of nurses tend to me the weekend my son was born. The first night when he was only a few hours old and I was being settled in for bed, the nurse that ran the third floor was incredibly rude to me. But, the moment she left, the other nurse who was already at my bedside apologized for her bosses poor manners and asked me what she could do for me to make me feel better. It was like going from sour to sweet. I’ll never forget her. I’ve always admired Florence Nightingale! Great post!!
Thanks for sharing your story, Sarah. I’m happy the other nurse was there to make up for the first nurse’s rudeness. Appreciate your comments.
Always 🙂
Kathy, it must be incredibly hard to give up something you loved as much as nursing, even when you’ve found another something to love in writing. I’m glad you can see the parallels between these two career paths and are focusing on the positives!
Yes, I recall one very special nurse who stayed with me the ENTIRE TIME I was in labor with my son Domer. Even when her shift ended, she never left my side (knowing I was a first-time mom and scared witless!). And yes, I sent her a warm Thank-you note when this all ended so successfully!! Bet you have a lot of those, my friend!
Thanks, Debbie. Yes, it is a bittersweet transition but I feel grateful to have found the same purpose in my writing as I had with my nursing career. I,too, remember, in detail,how much the nurse helped me through the labor and delivery of my first child, Leigh Ann,helped me through the labor and delivery.And the thank you’s I received as a nurse were precious to me. I appreciate you sharing your story.:-)