Sunday, May 17, 2009

So You Want to Be a Nurse?

With the harsh economic climate, and many people losing their jobs, some are turning to that one vocation that seems to withstand the test of time...Nursing. While most people would love to have the income and prestige of a doctor, they don't want to spend half their adult lives going through the training to become one. Not to mention the $300K debt you amass by the time you make your first premium payment for malpractice insurance. So, what's an unemployed MBA to do?

Nursing school. It's shorter, cheaper, and apparently any pinhead can do it, right? I mean, how hard can it be???

Hehehe...

I've decided to start a new series, one that reflects upon my past experiences on my journey to become a member in one of the oldest professions. Not that one, the other one. No, not that one either...the other one. Sheesh!

And if I run out of experiences, or that mental block won't let me remember them, I have oodles of resources I can go to. Each nurse has a story to tell from their wide-eyed, idealistic, student nurse days. Some are funny. Some are mortifying (and yet still funny). And some are just downright sad.

And if these experiences can touch just one aspiring nurse, helping them see the light and run screaming into the lucrative field of dental hygiene, then my work is done here.

But mostly, I figured that if you could read about the hell that we go through to become that shining beacon. That angel of mercy that empties your bedpan and sticks his/her fingers into places that normal people dare not tread...

...then maybe you'll quit being assholes to us and stop treating us like your own personal bitch.

Coming soon...

4 comments:

JustCara said...

After my dad's recent hospitalization (for terminal cancer) and now being one of his two family caregivers since he's a hospice patient, I can attest that NURSES ARE SAINTS. Seriously - for every 1 "bad" (overworked, overtired, just plain over it) nurse he's had, he's had 20 great ones. How you guys do what you do every day just amazes me. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

bobbie said...

This is gonna be great ~ I can't wait!!! BTW ~ have you read "The House of God"? Or any of Echo Heron's books? Just curious...

Candice said...

I think I love you.

If you need run out of material or need someone to contribute in any way, I've got plenty of stories to tell. I run into total assholes every shift.

Donna. W said...

Oh, this is going to be good! There's no way I could be a nurse, but nurses are my heroes (or heroines).

When Cliff had his heart bypass surgery, we loved all his nurses except one. And he had a bunch of them.

I'd rather see the nurse/practitioner than my doctor.

You nurses deserve every penny you earn.

I eagerly await your next entries.