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Thread: The More You Give, Inspirational Poems, Touching Stories

  1. #21
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    When I was 19, my mother decided to quit her job as a CNA, and open a boarding home where she would provide 24-hour care for up to four live-in residents. Before long, my extended family included an old man who had memory loss issues, an old lady with MS, and a 26-year-old guy who had suffered TBI in a car accident when he was a teenager. And, (to my surprise), I really enjoyed having those strangers around!

    A year later, I was accepted into the Nursing program at the local community college, but by the time I graduated and became an LPN, my mother had closed up shop and returned to working at a local nursing home. So I moved from our small town to a nearby city and went to work as a live-in caregiver for a small agency that paid twice as much as I could get back home. After a year of that, I started working at an extended care facility, where I met a pretty, young CNA that I would soon marry.

    A few months later, I convinced my new wife that we could make a better living and have a better life by renting a place big enough to take care of a couple of patients in our own home. She had serious doubts about it but trusted me enough to give it a shot.

    Within two months, we had rented a place with two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs, borrowed enough money to get two used hospital beds and all the supplies we’d need, and ran advertising in the local paper that brought us our first clients— two elderly ladies who had previously been wasting away in a nursing home.

    We promptly quit our jobs and really enjoyed being able to spend all day, every day, together with our new clients and our newborn baby boy. Before long, we took out a big loan and rented a huge seven-bedroom home that quickly filled up with four more clients, and our business became our way of life.

    My wife and I have now been married for almost 20 years, and we STILL provide 24/7 care in our own home! Our marriage is stronger than ever, our son has grown up and moved out, and our humble little business now provides us with a gross income of more than $140,000 a year.

    So trust me when I tell you that you don’t have to work for a hospital, nursing home, or agency if you would prefer to be your own boss. Bet on yourself, and there’s a good chance you’ll eventually strike it rich. Plus you can share in, and add tremendously to the lives of some really nice people in the process. Yes, there will be many challenges and sacrifices along the way, but the security and satisfaction will make them all worthwhile.

  2. #22
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    About a month ago, I had this little Spanish speaking girl as one of my patients. She had just gotten admitted before my shift started, she was scared, crying, her mother was a mess. She had been attacked by two rottweilers and by the grace of God a neighbor shot a gun in the air and they released. She had bite marks all over her legs, scraps and bruises everywhere and five penrose drains in her leg.

    I had to put her in the tub once on my shift per orders and soak her legs. She did okay for me, but subsequent baths didn't go so well. I made sure her pain was well controlled, her Mom got a chance to get in the shower, and I stroked her hair every chance I got. She cried a lot during my shift, sometimes she spoke small words to me and sometimes not. I went home that night, hoping she would learn not to cringe at the sight of a dog.

    The next shift I worked, I stopped by her room to check on her. As I pulled back the curtain and approached her bed, she had the biggest smile on her face and she put her arms out to me for me to give her a hug. I was floored and tears immediately came to my eyes. THAT is the reason I am a pediatric nurse.

  3. #23
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    I started out even wondering if I should get a RN degree. I came from being mostly a stay at home mom, and also had a degree in a non health-related field. Nursing school was VERY strange to me, as were clinicals, my preceptorship and the actual preceptorship on the floor. It was just all so new to me — the culture of nursing and the hospital.

    Through so much of it I was nervous, SEVERELY anxious, would go home crying, etc, etc. — wondered if I’d made a mistake, HATED the job, HATED the coworkers, the patients, their nutty families, etc. I SO doubted myself so much of the time and had so much fear about things and my abilities.

    And then, something just seemed to turn around. I can’t even pinpoint it. I’m about five months off orientation now and a lot of it I’ve done before now, a lot of it I CAN handle, a lot of it I keep in my head now. I seem to be gaining my confidence now and don’t really get riled about things as much. I mean — doctors don’t even bother me anymore — even if they ARE mean — I just realized they also are under a lot of stress and patients are making incredible demands on them as well.

    I don’t know if I’ve trained my brain, or what — but for some reason, not much scares me anymore. Things just all seem to work out and I’ve come to realize that the entire WORLD does not rest on my shoulders. Nursing is a team effort and I am just a part of it.

    I can’t say I absolutely LOVE my unit — there are crazy things about it. I will probably move on when the commitment is done, but I can now see myself surviving it for the next year and am excited to move on to the next specialty. I mean — I am STOKED about wherever it is I will go next!!

    And I have even taken another nurse or two under my wing now, which was REALLY a confidence booster for me.

    And I have had my challenges — a special needs son while in nursing school, a non-existent spouse, family demands, budget demands, NO HELP, fighting fatigue, etc.

    I don’t know. All I can say is stick with it, wade through the pain, the suffering, the hurt, and the fear — and you CAN come through it and start to gain confidence. And believe me, I am the most self-doubting, unconfident, shy, anxious self-beater-upper you’ve ever seen!!

    I had an acute patient the other day — albeit a very sick one. He was lethargic during most of the time I was caring for him. But after a couple days of taking care of him, I confidently asked if he would give me a smile — and he did. A toothy grin, right at me — he KNEW I enjoyed taking care of him — and his smile was the most heartwarming thing I’ve seen in a long time.

    Stick with it – the confident YOU will emerge. It takes time — sometimes it takes dealing with that humiliation, or terror, or disappointment — but you CAN turn that corner. If I did, anyone CAN.

  4. #24
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    I became a nurse because of the flawless care my grandmother received in a hospice. She had everything she could ever need, and the support that she and my family had throughout her passing was nothing short of fantastic. Today, as a qualified staff nurse, I try to bring a bit of sunshine to all my patients, even when the government targets and general displeasure at the state of the NHS makes it hard. Its not easy being a staff nurse, but its the person in the bed that matters, not the ridiculous amounts of rules and regulations. I wouldn't change my job for anything.

  5. #25
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    I am celebrating Nurses' Day because as a child, I always wanted to be a nurse. I achieved this in my 30s and from the moment I put on my uniform, my aim for that day is to make differences, however small or big - to patients lives, either by giving a patient a drink who cannot do it for themselves or giving counsel to families who are grief stricken over their loved one who is approaching end of life. Each episode of care I give, I give with my whole being. To bring a smile to a person who cannot communicate because she's had a stroke, or changing a continence pad from a patient who cannot perform personal care, providing dignified and compassionate care is always at the forefront of my mind. The patient with dementia who is bewildered and anxious, I give person centre care, promote independence, offer reassurances and be humble in my approach.

    To me, this is the essence of nursing and I would do nothing else in life except nurse.

    To all my colleagues who also work hard, are dedicated, committed and caring, it's a pleasure to work with you all. May our philosophy always remain strong and know that we place our patients always at the centre of their care.

  6. #26
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    One thing that keeps happening every time I work is that the patients tell me what a good nurse I am, or I’m the best nurse they’ve ever had. Those compliments really keep me charged.

    This convinces me that nursing is not about the medications you give or the procedures you perform. It’s about listening to your patients and making them smile. I never leave a patient room without making them laugh or smile, even when I’m in a hurry. Patients WANT to know and NEED to know that you care about them.

    I’ve been complimented that every time I enter my patients’ room I have a smile on my face and that I made the patient feel at ease. I also engage the family. They’re stressed and worried. I’ve been told by patients’ families that they go home with peace because they know their loved one is well cared for.

    Although I do not enjoy medical surgery — it’s not my dream job — I know it’s the beginning. I leave every shift feeling like I did my best and that I made a difference. It’s been another good day!

  7. #27
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    One thing that keeps happening every time I work is that the patients tell me what a good nurse I am, or I’m the best nurse they’ve ever had. Those compliments really keep me charged.

    This convinces me that nursing is not about the medications you give or the procedures you perform. It’s about listening to your patients and making them smile. I never leave a patient room without making them laugh or smile, even when I’m in a hurry. Patients WANT to know and NEED to know that you care about them.

    I’ve been complimented that every time I enter my patients’ room I have a smile on my face and that I made the patient feel at ease. I also engage the family. They’re stressed and worried. I’ve been told by patients’ families that they go home with peace because they know their loved one is well cared for.

    Although I do not enjoy medical surgery — it’s not my dream job — I know it’s the beginning. I leave every shift feeling like I did my best and that I made a difference. It’s been another good day!

  8. #28
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    Whether you’re an active professional, student, or job-seeker, the health care industry is certainly not for the faint of heart. From pushy patients to HOBET studying stress to looking for a job in the tough economy, it’s easy to get down in the dumps, regardless of what stage you’re in in your career.

    That’s why we’ve put together the 10 most inspiring stories straight from the trenches, just in time for bringing in the New Year. So make the resolution to be positive and hope for the best!

    Get inspired as these real-life health care professionals share their special stories that’ll remind you of why you got into health care in the first place.

  9. #29
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    Years ago, while still in nursing school, I worked the overnight shift at a nursing home. More often than not I was the only Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for the fifty residents in one wing of the facility. Some nights I was the only CNA for all 150 residents. As you can imagine, I spent the entire night going from soiled bed to soiled bed, changing sheets, and changing and re-positioning patients.

    One of the women living there had night terrors. She was never able to name that which she feared, but woke every few hours screaming in panic. Her confusion and fear touched my heart as I tried to imagine experiencing her quality of life. I immediately discovered that she would calm down and return to sleep if I spent 10-15 minutes talking to her.

    Soon thereafter, I discovered that if I came to work 20 minutes before my shift started, held her hand, and talked with her she slept peacefully the entire night through. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week out of the life of a student nurse was a small price to pay for her peace of mind.

  10. #30
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    For The American Nurse Project, filmmaker Carolyn Jones set out to interview and photograph nurses around the country about their work, and ended up having broader conversations about life, death and things that matter to all of us.

    Seventy-five portraits of caregivers are collected in a beautiful coffee-table book The American Nurse (the pages in our copy were quickly wet with tears -- not all of them the sad kind), and Jones continues to add life-affirming stories to the web site, americannurseproject.com. A documentary featuring six of the nurses is forthcoming in the fall of 2014.

    There are over 3 million registered nurses in the U.S., and almost all of us will have an important relationship with a nurse at some point in our lives, whether it be while they're caring for us or a loved one. Through this project, they share the most challenging and inspiring parts of their jobs, as well as the insights they've gained about the human condition.

    By: Corrie

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