That thing called “Nursing”
Nursing has been one of the most challenging things I have done! Nursing can affect you physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and spiritually. You experience many different feelings and events on a daily basis and some are extremely traumatizing.
To the persons who want to become a nurse, please ensure that you prepare yourself mentally and physically. Every day is different and you do not know what you will encounter on the job.
Nursing is a very unpredictable, overwhelming, stressful, tiring but rewarding career. My favourite part of the job is seeing a patient recover fully from a life threatening condition and leave the hospital cheerful and thankful when they are discharged to their home.
Witnessing this makes me feel proud of myself. I tell myself “wow, I helped do this. I helped bring someone back to a state of good health and wellbeing!” It feels amazing!
Crazy? Hectic? Morning shift?
Morning change of shift report
The morning report usually occurs from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. The nurses from the night shift give the oncoming nurses a rundown of what transpired from the last morning shift up until the end of the night shift at 7 a.m.
After the morning report, the nurses station is cleaned, the crash trolley assessed and the nurses are assigned to the patients they will care for for the shift.
Receiving your patients is like having a whole new family every day.
Meet the family
You proceed to assess your patients by performing a head to toe physical assessment and rate their independence level and ability to perform activities of daily living.
This is the first physical encounter with the patient so you use your nursing judgement to develop an individualized plan of care centered around the patient’s needs and diagnosis.
This is generally an introductory stage and where you develop a one on one and therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. It is the “breaking the ice” stage for me.
Rundown of the surgical morning shift
Depending on the day of the week then the ward requisition is done. This entails thoroughly assessing inventory on the ward to see what is low in supply and what is necessary to order.
Requisition has to be done accurately to ensure that the ward has supplies so that the nurses and doctors can perform their duties efficiently and effectively.
The morning shift tend to be the busiest and most hectic!
Reasons for the busy mornings
Doctor’s rounds
Various doctors perform doctor’s rounds at varying times. This includes surgical doctors, medical doctors, the orthopaedics team, the neurologists, nephrologists, psychiatrists and dermatologists.
If it is a female unit then the gynaecologist too would make rounds. Sometimes patients are managed by multiple doctors depending on their condition so rounds can become overwhelming for them.
Nurses follow rounds and assist doctors where necessary during rounds. Doctor’s rounds serve as a time to receive the updated management for the patient, discuss the patient’s condition and improvement in the patient’s status.
Doctor’s rounds merely revolve around the patient, serve as an educational tool and ensure that everyone is informed of the treatment plan and are on the same page. The plan of care is re-evaluated and adjustments are made or it continues.
Patients
Most times nurses have to prepare multiple patients for procedures and surgery and then receive these patients from surgery. Nurses handle discharges and admissions, do wound dressings, remove drains, set up intravenous (vein) fluids and parenteral nutrition (nutrition given intravenously).
Vital signs including blood sugar get assessed and medication has to be given at various times.
Patients have to be cleaned multiple times especially when their condition do not permit catheterization.
Depending on the patients status, nurses have to accompany patients to the radiology department for ultrasound, chest Xray, Doppler ultrasound and any other procedure that has to be done.
Patients have to be propped up in bed to eat and to be fed. Plus nurses have to sometimes suction patients, reposition patients and perform pressure area care.
Nurses have to perform the doctor’s orders and any stat orders given (right now, immediately). The stat orders could include catherization, administration of new medication, insertion of nasogastric tubes, administer blood transfusions and giving enemas.
Visitors and relatives
The morning shift is packed with responding to visitors questions and concerns, directing persons who walk in as an elective case and assisting family members trying to locate a relative.
Nurses have to attend to all other visitors who come in for assistance and advice. Plus there is visiting time! Nurses often are asked by relatives to update them on a patient’s current state and educate them on the patient’s needs.
The morning shift is filled with educating patients and relatives, allaying fears and concerns and providing support and reassurance.
Phone
Multiple phone calls are received and made! Calls range from other health care workers seeking information, calling doctors for patient issues and calling various units for resources.
Patients frequently ask nurses to call relatives on their behalf and relatives also call to inquire about patients.
“In betweens”
Nurses assist patients and doctors where necessary and staff from other units coming in for supplies.
Attend to patients who call and need assistance at their bedside to empty commodes including urinals or bed pans.
Nurses have to document, lots of paper work!
This is only the beginning of what we do and we are not even half way!
There is no such thing as a typical day in the life of a nurse. A patient can be laughing with you now and a second later going into cardiac arrest. The shift quickly goes from nonemergency to emergency.
Sometimes I say nurses should be given roller skates because of the quick paste at which they have to work and move on the ward.
By the end of the day, nurses are mostly hungry, thirsty, body sore and aching, feet tired and really just want to get home to their family, bed, television or pet.
Thank you nurses for having lots of patience whilst caring for the patients.
I leave the rest to you…feel free to answer and share your experiences as a nurse.
What do you love about your job? When does it get hectic?
Reems Sonson
Our Tropical Living
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Doing this for my passion for sharing my stories and love for writing. This is not a paid nor sponsored blog post.
Nursing is a wonderful profession but you have to love it in order to do it well. With all our responsibilities it can definitely become overwhelming After a shift it is very important to do reflective nursing to ensure that your plan of care for the day was met and you can evaluate things you and others can improve. Nursing for me has been very rewarding. I view and appreciate life differently by being a nurse. Great post Reems had me thinking.
Thank you for commenting Janice! It is true that reflecting on the plan of care is important. It helps you identify what you did and how it worked to better the patient’s status.
Sighh!!! The life of a nurse is not a bed of roses. And not forgetting our day is not over after we get home. With all our aches and pains we still have a family to care for etc. I really thought I was the only one who thought that we as nurses needed roller skates to get through our shifts. Despite the hustle and daily struggles of the profession I love what I do…nursing in my opinion is a work of heart.
It is definitely not a bed of roses Cindy. Nursing is something persons do from the heart for true.
Stay away people! Leave nursing alone do something else to save your mental health. Nursing in st. Lucia is not worth it, get your year experience and run or do something other than Bedside nursing. YES nursing can be fulfilling but not in st. Lucia… you will be ridden till your last straw, you can never be right, everything will be your fault, you will never feel appreciated , nothing you do here will ever be enough. Being a nurse in st. Lucia is equivalent to being a dog on the street. Reems I so agree with your first 3 paragraphs, you are strong hold on ❤
I feel like nurses can be appreciated more in Saint Lucia. I sense your frustration Frustrated nurse.