Happy Nurses' Week

    In 1993 I was working at a large hospital.  I was energetic and enjoyed the quick pace.  I was one of a few younger nurses.  We were all recent graduates and our goal seemed to be similar, do our 8 hours and get out of dodge, sometimes for happy hour and sometimes just to be done.  We had our busy days but most days I was done by the end of my shift and ready to walk out the door.  This left some discontent among staff as those of us who were always done on time had to do the counting of narcotics and some of the other maintenance things that should have been shared.  In a staff meeting this was brought up and some of us younger nurses complained that we were always stuck with these duties at the end of the day.    The manager gave a general reprimand and instituted a rotation so everyone had to do these tasks.  At the time I think we were rather pleased with ourselves.  Having stated our complaint, it was listened to and rectified.  A few days later one of the more senior nurses on the unit, Mary, was nowhere to be found at narcotic count time.  I counted for her since no one could go home until this was done.  And I will tell you with honesty but certainly not with any pride that I was quite annoyed.  In truth I really liked Mary.  We are still to this day very good friends but for the life of me I just couldn’t understand why she was never ready to go home on time.  She always seemed to be just sitting down to her paperwork when the rest of us were ready to leave for the day.   As I walked off the unit that day, after counting narcotics I passed a room with loud laughter bouncing into the hall.  I glanced in and saw Mary, sitting on the edge of her patient’s bed.  They were laughing and talking while Mary was scribbling away in the chart.  I watched them for a few moments and then went home.   A few weeks later I was working the evening shift and had a patient who was dying.  We didn’t often have dying patients on our floor but his condition had worsened.  He had made himself a “DNR” which meant if his heart stopped we were to let him pass without any intervention.   He was an elderly man who wasn’t very talkative.  I tried because I enjoyed talking with my patients. At least I thought I did.   I entered his room at the beginning of the shift and set about doing what I needed to do in order to get to the next patient, normally we had about 7 patients and I needed to keep to a schedule in order to get everything done and be ready to go home at 11:30.   I went through my assessment and at one point he remarked quietly,” you in a hurry?”  I was taken aback and tried to slow down and not look so rushed.  I asked him if he had family nearby, if anyone would be coming to see him.  He shook his head no but didn’t say anything further.  I left him and went off on my routine.  Just after dinner I checked in on him and he was quiet and had not touched his food.  He said he didn’t feel quite right.  As I was in his room another patient called for pain medication.  I left him promising to be right back.  Of course as any hospital nurse will tell you saying “I’ll be right back” is almost a lie.  We mean to come right back but once we walk out of the room we are bombarded with so many other tasks that “right back” becomes a half hour or longer.  I don’t remember now how long it took me to get back to him but what I do remember is that when I returned his legs were hanging over the bed and he had passed.  He had died in that short time I had left him alone.  I called for help and the nurse aid came in.  As she came into the room I started crying and felt like I was shrinking.      I have learned a great many things in the 20 years I have been a nurse.  I learned many of them by the most difficult paths.  I realized that night as I finished my shift, on time, that Mary was doing it right all along.  That her love of being with people, something that made her so likeable to me and many other colleagues, was what made her a special nurse.  And that if I hadn’t been watching the clock that night I might have taken a few more minutes and been with that sweet man who had no one else to hold his hand.  I learned that when a patient says they don’t feel quite right it is like a red banner being waved above their head.  We all know our own bodies better than any nurse or doctor can and when something isn’t right we feel it and when we tell a doctor or nurse it should never be taken lightly.   I will always remember that elderly man’s face.  I will also remember Mary sitting on the edge of the bed, laughing with her patient and getting more out of her day than a paycheck.  Because at the end of the day it is not what ends up in your bank account that matters, it is what you have deposited in your spiritual account that speaks volumes. Happy Nurses’ Week to my friend Mary and all the other wonderful nurses I have been so fortunate to learn from and work with.  My life is richer and my spiritual bank account is overflowing.