Goodbyes

Today I said goodbye to some good people. They were nurses who taught me what I now know about Oncology. It is a specialty area, and it takes just as much of you as patients on the heart transplant list. When I say that, I mean that any area or most areas in nursing come with a diverse population of patients. Sometimes you love them, sometimes you don’t like them, sometimes you don’t want to take care of a certain one or work with particular others. When it’s all said and done as a travel nurse, I get the best of both worlds. I get to meet an assortment of people, whether patients or staff, but I’m not held to the same standards or have the same politics that come with staff nursing. I feel sad when I leave assignments because, in fact, at every job God has blessed me with, I’ve been asked to stay on permanently. Part of me would love to stay, but the other part loves that I have the freedom to come and go every 8-13 weeks, depending upon the assignment’s needs. I love what I do! I mean, I love being a nurse. My manager wasn’t there to sign my timesheet today, so I had to go to the Director’s office and sign for me. She began sharing with me what a joy it has been to have me there and that I have left my mark on them. That is some kind of nice to hear. That my ability to love, inspire, give out positivity and empathize with everyone from the Director to the housekeeping staff reinforces what God has placed me in this industry to be and do. Givers can become depleted. When you have mental health issues like depression, PTSD, anxiety, and panic attacks to list a few, it can make it that harder to stay afloat emotionally.

Nurses are human. I know it’s hard to believe because we’re seen as Earth Angels, and that may be true, but we feel, have worries, have abuse, neglect, and varying degrees of lack in our lives. So, the next time you go to yell at, curse out, or act in a belligerent manner, just remember that that nurse is there despite how you respond to take care of you and/or your family. For the most part, nurses become nurses because they’re exceptional at giving and taking care of others. But who takes care of us? Ask yourself, “when was the last time I showed appreciation to a nurse when was the last time I told him/her that they’re doing a great job?” We do have feelings, and most of the time, we operate on autopilot because we diminish our needs to meet yours. I’ve seen this in every nurse I’ve met, including myself. So, to the ones I’ve left behind whether in travel or as staff, stop, do some mindful meditation and remember yourselves. Nurses are amazing, awesome, loving, kind, giving, nurturing, moms/dads, sisters/brothers, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, and I appreciate you to the moon and back. It’s hard to say goodbye, so I’ll say see you again soon ladies. Thanks for having me and taking great care of me while I was there. Have a great weekend.

Check out my online store at https://www.shesthatrn.org/; my podcast on Apple, Spotify, Anchor, Google, Breaker.audio, and radiopublic, and Shesthatrn on IG and FB.

Until Next Time,

ShesThatRN