One of the earliest memories I have of dreaming to become a nurse happened when I was on the 6th grade of elementary school. It happened when I had my 6th grade class retreat. There was an icebreaker game of drawing an animal that represents you and your hero. I drew a carabao (water buffalo), which is the national animal of the Philippines. I told everybody in that game that I wanted to become a nurse because my mom is a nurse too, she worked hard to provide a good life for the family, and she was my superhero.
Fast forward to 2010, I began working as a nurse at a medical-surgical/telemetry floor. I was so scared when I started working as a nurse, and looking back, I feel that a few things could have been better if I had the following advice:
Nursing is filled with people who will make your life a living hell at times – unfortunately, being a nurse places you in a position where you become the receiving end of everything from nasty doctors, crazy co-workers, patients with too many requests.
Protect your nurse license at all costs – that also includes documenting that you have delayed medication administration because pharmacy did not deliver your medications on time despite putting in several calls until you had to physically go to pharmacy to pick up your medication. You worked hard putting in all the hard work and studying to get your license. Do not let anybody, including your employer and co-workers, get you and your license in trouble.
There are nurses who eat their young – I had the unfortunate experience of having nursing preceptors who threw me to the wolves. Here’s an example. During my first nursing clinical rotation, the nurse I was assigned to gave me a patient who was on a wheelchair and loved to wheel around the unit despite his contagious illness. Even working on your own, there will be people who will try to harrass you at work. Don’t let them step all over you.
Nurses wear many hats – Being a nurse does not only mean care provider. A nurse’s job description also includes you as the nutritionist, barista, food warmer, IT techie, wifi password keeper, housekeeping, ward clerk, secretary, telemetry tech, babysitter, friend, etc.
Coffee is love, but if you don’t like it, it’s fine too. But, prepare to break your no caffeine streak – Coffee is water to nurses. In a typical shift, at least 2-3 pots of coffee are made guaranteed. So, it’s in your best interest to learn how to use your work’s coffee maker because eventually you will get the task to make your entire department’s coffee. If you are like me and have refused to drink coffee for so long, eventually a time will come when you will drink coffee out of necessity to stay awake at work.
Nurses and food go together like cookies and cream ice cream – have you heard of the saying that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Nursing is the same. Having free food at work is always a celebrated moment during a nursing shift.
Your body will hurt, especially from waist to toe – being up and about all day from 8 to 12 hour shifts can be tough on you so don’t be surprised if you feel that your body is about to collapse on you and you knock out at your couch and never make it to your bed for the night.
Compression stockings will be your best friend – I don’t care if you are male or female. If you want to avoid spider veins on your legs and preserve it for a long time, wear compression stockings. It also helps with relieving leg pain and helps in preventing or minimizing leg swelling as a result from being on your feet all day.
One of the best feelings in nursing is when you clock out after a long work shift – It is perfectly okay to feel that you are so happy and energized that you are clocking out of work and maybe cursing it out in the process because of the horrible day you had. Trust me, all nurses do this from head positions to bedside. Hey, that’s okay. Because you know what? We’re human. We get tired too just like our patients do. We are always up on our feet hours at a time without time to pee or even eat. I admit, I am guilty of blasting EDM (Electronic Dance Music) music whenever I leave my job for the day to celebrate making it through another shift by dancing and singing my heart out to let out all the stress I experienced that day at work.
When I started working as a nurse, I was not comfortable with my nursing skills, but overtime, I learned more and grew more confidence in what I do. Nursing made me cry. Nursing made me want to give up at times. Overall, Nursing is not an easy career to undertake, but with this field’s unique ability to be close to a person’s vulnerabilities, a nurse has the power to truly make a difference in a person’s life whether they are getting better and about to be discharged from the hospital or they are being kept comfortable until their final moments in life. Despite all the craziness, nursing can be a very rewarding career path.
With these tidbits of advice in mind, go forth and experience nursing!
