We never know when we make a difference for someone. Back when I was only a freelancer and community correspondent I wrote this piece after a personal experience. Imagine my surprise when we went to visit a friend in Battlefords Union Hospital and he showed us this piece framed at the nursing station. The nurse at the station asked why we were interested in the piece and when we told her I was the writer, she responded by telling us that a grateful patient they once had got the article printed and framed as a thank you for them, hence the tribute hanging at their nursing station. It was a profound moment knowing that the words I wrote in heartfelt appreciation more than 10 years ago, were an inspiration to someone else and then subsequently used as a thank-you gift to nurses.
I am in awe of and am amazed by many professions, but I am choosing a profession I have had all too much experience with since May 28, 2012.
Nurses come to work at either 7 in the morning or 7 at night. They better have eaten a good breakfast because who knows when they are going to eat again. There's a chance their shift might be a slow one but from what I've seen, that is a rare occurrence. The shift could start out mild and flip to chaos in a matter of minutes.
They must always be alert, upbeat and positive even if they know the patient has enormous obstacles to overcome. They lift continuously, they are beckoned continuously and they are forced to work in conditions they don't necessarily always agree with or like, but they choose to give their best each time they enter the hospital halls.
Patients and families rely on them as they are truly the lifeline between the patient, the patient's recovery and communications with doctors, pharmacy, housekeeping, family and any other inquiring minds.
They don't pick their patients and they don't get to choose their co-workers, but not once can you see anxiety or frustration in any part of their day as they tend to their duties.
A simple reassuring smile from them comforts a patient nearly as much as the medication or the warm blanket they bring in.
In addition to a 12-hour shift that is full of things on a “to-do” list, they are in charge of patient and visitor safety when an unexpected “code” comes across the intercom. The patient or visitor may not know what the code means, but in my experience with a family member in palliative care, I experienced these nurses calmly reassuring all patients and visitors without these people realizing the code called out was for an incoming tornado. All the while, these nurses had to be terrified for their own safety and that of their families. But not once did they show anything but concern and safety for those in their care.
I have seen nurses have to improvise with malfunctioning or missing equipment. I have seen them clean up nasty messes that are nowhere near in their job description because they know the importance of reducing infections in their environment.
I have seen them comforting family who are distraught at their circumstances even though, after a lengthy hospital stay of the patient in their care, they have to swallow that lump in their throats and pour out their comfort to the patient and family they have become all too familiar with.
I have seen them experience the wrath of frustration of exhausted family members or patients and in none of these cases have I seen them lash back.
What I also noticed on our many visits is they celebrate small victories right along with the patients and their families. You can see a teary eye when a patient experiences an extraordinary improvement since they saw them last. You can see a mile-wide grin when they are in charge of releasing a patient who has experienced an extended stay. You can see a high five when they’ve finally brought down a patient’s fever that has lasted some time, or when they can tell a patient they are finally removing that cumbersome IV.
“Nurses dispense doses of comfort, caring and compassion with no prescription necessary” – Val Saintsbury
