Nurses and Nursing Assistants are being scorned for being late with medicines, yet they are holding their bladders because they don't have time to use the bathroom, starving because they missed lunch, being peed on, puked on, bled on, beat on, YELLED AT & are missing their family while taking care of yours.... They may even be crying for you. In the minute you read this, nurses and nursing assistants all over the world are saving lives. Re-post if you love a nurse, are a nurse, or appreciate a nurse/nursing assistant, or any health care worker ♥
Now I am a nurse. I am a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) working for the local health authority here in Victoria BC. I have been a nurse for 2 years. Before that I was a Residential Care Aide (RCA) for 20 years. The above statement lists some of the things I have gone through in a typical day at work for those many years I have worked in Health Care. This is a great statement in the sense that it shows tremendous support for those of us that work in health care. In its straight forward manner it paints a picture to help everyone else to understand us better. After all those of you that don't work in health care, or have a loved one that is a patient in a care facility, may not be fully aware of what it is like for us as the staff. Without this type of commentary many of you would not have any understanding of it either.
To better help you to understand what this is saying between the lines I will break it down piece by piece.
Nurses and Nursing Assistants are being scorned for being late with medicines
Quite often because the care aides are referred to as the "nursing assistants" they get lumped into this part about medications. In reality they do not give out the "medicines" that are referred to here. That is besides the point. The true point here is that we work in facilities that house as many as 70 patients on one unit. We have usually two nurses (three if we are lucky) that are administering medications. That means you have approximately 35 patients per nurse. Some of these patients will receive up to a dozen different pills at the scheduled medication administration times. There is often up to 4 scheduled times for medications. On a regular basis there are so many medications to give out that by the time we have finished administering the ones scheduled for 0800hrs it is time to start getting ready to hand out the ones scheduled for 1100hrs or 12noon. Which leads to the following section:
they are holding their bladders because they don't have time to use the bathroom, starving because they missed lunch
The operative word or phrase here is they don't have time. When you are stuck giving meds to 35 patients in a small time frame you don't have the TIME to take a pee break or lunch break. As I mentioned above, you often finish one medication time frame and promptly are starting the next. It is an ongoing situation day after day.
And as part of the ongoing day to day stuff you end up with this:
being peed on, puked on, bled on, beat on, YELLED AT & are missing their family while taking care of yours.... They may even be crying for you.
In many of the facilities out there we have an aging population that has a variety of problems that include mental & physical disabilities, age related illnesses and mental health. We deal with Dementia & Alzheimers, Bipolar & Schizophrenia, Depression & Delerium, and so much more. We have an aging population that have for various reasons lost the ability to take care of themselves. They are then placed in homes where we work to provide the care that they cannot manage any more. Our patients have lost a portion of their independence and sometimes the accompanying sense of self worth. They feel a great deal of frustration at times and we are the ones they lash out at. We experience physical and verbal outbursts and abuse on a regular basis.
It isn't an easy job yet we do it. We do it for many reasons and we do it well. We are there for our patients in ways that families are not and some times cannot be.
By being there for them in the ways we are makes this part very true.
nurses and nursing assistants all over the world are saving lives.
Because of us our patients live happier lives and sometimes longer ones. There are those we take care of that would be dead if they had stayed in their own homes. They often are diagnosed with "lacking the will to live" or "lacking the ability to take care of themselves". Some stop eating properly or lose interest in life. There are many reason why this happens. When they come to us we do what we can to improve their physical health and their psychological health as well. We work to spark their interests. We provide better nutrition than what they had. We give them reasons to live life in a fuller manner. We provide an environment that allows each to socialize with friends, family and peers. For a few, we become their only family.
I and my coworkers have been told many times by the families of the patients that we work with that all of us are doing a great job. They have made comments along the lines of "Thank you so much for being there" and "It takes a special person to do what you do." There have been other wonderful comments but those are the most common ones I have heard and quite often it is said in such a heart felt way that it makes me feel absolutely wonderful inside. It makes me glad that I chose to work in Health Care.
As I earlier alluded to, the paragraph is a true statement. It shows in its limited way what we go through. We are ridiculed & laughed at, sneered & jeered at, taunted & insulted, assaulted & abused and treated in a contemptuous manner. We are told we make too much money and get too many perks. If you call being treated as we are a perk then you have a twisted sense of reality.
We don't get paid enough for what we do yet we still do it.
It takes college education to be a LPN, RN or certified RCA. Between 1-4 years worth and sometimes more. We don't do it for the money. We work short staffed on a weekly basis causing all of us to work long hours; up to 16 hours a day. If our employer could legally do it they would get us to work longer hours still. If I did this just for the money they would have to pay me at least 3x what they pay me now and I would still think twice. Its not about that for us. We do it for the heart and soul of the people we support.
Next time you meet someone that works in health care, take the time to ask them why they do what they do. You will discover something amazing. You will find someone that actually loves their job.
Can you say that about your job?
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