The Benefits of being an ER Nurse

11/6/06 | 60Gunner

[cherry]

not an ER nurse but a hospital nurse with tons of years behind me......

I know we're not in the "cool" fields, we're not the elite, we're not the big money makers or the big movers or shakers....

but all in all, I feel great satisfaction over what I do, even if some of it is mundane.....

because there is no replacing the gratitude you feel when you help people, or their families, or usher patients thru the death process, or hug families who are torn up, or hold a very lonely and confused man's hand when he doesn't know where the heck he is.....

working with the very great people in the health field is the ultimate....the great doctors, the fellow nurses, the RT's and the social workers......we all have this unwritten language.......we feel the pulse of life every day.....you just can not beat that.....

[60Gunner]

Cherry, I still remember my MedSurg clinicals. That's some seriously hard work. I will never- never put down a floor nurse. You have my respect.

[L.N. Smithee]

Just curious; is there a pop culture depiction of medical professionals that inspired you to go into the field?

I ask this because I wonder if there are teens who want to go into health care because they watch Grey's Anatomy or Scrubs and think it's the path to free and unlimited tail.

[3catsanadog]

My sister was an ER nurse in the 70's. One night the parents of a teenager pulled up. Brought him in and they were obviously embarrassed. Their son had a vibrator stuck up his rectum, couldn't get it out and on top of it all, couldn't reach the on/off button to shut it off.

[3catsanadog]

Sounds like what happened to my sister which I just posted - did you work at Suburban General in Pittsburgh? (now Allegheny Suburban).

[3catsanadog]

I'm not a nurse, but I work in a hospital as a critical care tech in the ICU. I have nothing but respect for nurses. Looks like to me that doctors decide what to order mainly based on what the nurses observe. Why they don't get paid more is beyond me.

The work I do is mainly to help the nurses. The nurses are the ones who get the complaints about the bad food, lousy bed. The nurses get the insults from families. The nurses get things thrown at them, get hit, punched, spit on, cursed at. The nurses have to explain that they can't do something until the doctor orders it and then get called over and over again to the patient's room to hear the patient ask over and over again "has the doctor ordered it yet? Can't you call him again?"

I can't stand to watch the sniveling talk shows where some movie star comes on and makes a big deal out of how much work they do and things like that. After spending 5 years, 2 in a nursing home and 2 1/2 in a hospital and seeing the suffering of the patients and the miracles we call nurses, I can't stand to hear alot of the whining elsewhere.

[CottShop]

I was a bit down last night & I guess my posts reflect that- didn't mean to sound harsh- IO have nothing but repesct for nurses & docs & all those who work in hospitals- you folks have to do some of the worst things sometimes & don't get credit- usually people are feeling so rotton after surgeries that we just don't have a good attitude sometimes & the drugs can make us kinda grumpy too- I really do try to keep from being grumpy-- but again, from a patients perspecitve, the drugs can over-ride good manners sometimes.

Christian news and commentary at: sacredscoop.com ...

[MoochPooch]

Please ping me. (Am I already pinged?)

Your writing is sublime. You really should get published.

[TASMANIANRED]

Sorry I missed your ping to me..

I love your nurse stories.

[60Gunner]

Mooch Pooch, consider yourself pinged. Thank you for your encouraging words.

60

[ThomasThomas]

Why should I listen to an ER or any nurse telling me to get plenty of speed eat regularly and don't stay up all night.

[ThomasThomas]

This was a Ferdinand typo because I always walk fast for exercise, good exercise makes for good sleep.

[60Gunner]

Hi, ThomasThomas. I have to say, your first comment raised an eyebrow!

As far as your question is concerned, my answer is simply, "You don't." You have the right to choose or reject a healthy lifestyle, of which I am sure that you already know.