Who is a nurse?
A nurse is a professional trained and well vetted to ensure that patients get the best service. By service I mean the patient is well catered for, the patient gets an easy time to heal or recover from the diagnosis given. A nurse is a person who knows how to cater for sick people, old people and anybody who needs professional help in their recovery. People typically think of nurses as someone who takes care of the sick in a hospital setting. That is just one of the many areas where they can be employed.
Nurses in various settings
Nurses can work in many different places including schools, clinics, research labs, office buildings, and assisted living facilities. Not all nurses provide direct patient care: “Some of the most common roles can include caregiver, educator, change agent, advocate, leader, case manager, community advocate, public policy developer, program planner, and researcher” Nurses also help doctors to deal with patients (Riley, 28). How this happens is by injecting patients with drugs prescribed by doctors, in short nurses are also assistants to doctors. Nurses are the heart of a hospital, without nurses a hospital cannot function. That’s why in most developing countries nurses demand for better pay to ensure that things function well and to ensure that the patient’s well-being is their outmost priority. A new born baby cannot survive the first 48 hours without a nurse; this means that a big percentage of human beings would have not survived their first two days without the care of a nurse. A specialized or general doctor cannot perform any key procedures to a patient without the assistance of a nurse, its like a mouth cannot function without a tongue (Nightingale 20). This makes nurses a very sort after profession worldwide. In my view nurses are very important because they ensure well-being of all patients and at some point all healthy people will need a nurse at some point of their lives, be it at birth, an occurring ailment, and frequent health checks or even during their old ages.
Challenges and rewards of nursing
Many people become disillusioned with the nursing profession because roughly 80% of work is not spent providing face-to-face patient care. In fact, most of a nurse’s time is spent on documentation and facility duties negating the nurse’s real desire in becoming a nurse.
Choosing a career in nursing
In choosing a career many people often go after it for the money or the prestige a profession comes with but some also choose a career because of pressure from friends and family and others from a passion deep inside them. Nursing has always been my dream career since my childhood days; this dreaming came to being after I was severely burned. The burn was very serious that it required many days of professional help, and so I had to be hospitalized. I was through a lot of pain especially during soaking of the wound and the experience was very traumatic. The nurse who was taking care of me realized the agony I was going through, she was there for me every step of the way by ensuring that am well catered for and am as comfortable as possible. Her actions made me feel less scared and relaxed. The main reason I wanted to be a nurse was so that I could be able to make other patients feel the way I felt when I was experiencing a painful and traumatic experience.
The impact of nursing
Making a patient or someone in need of your help feel better is a delight like no other. Nurses experience this on a daily basis. They help patients feel better both physically and emotionally, each being of equal significance. At times, all it takes is a listening ear to make someone feel better. There are other times when a nurse will be called upon to do hard things that can potentially cause pain before helping a person feel better. This shows how strong a nurse is. At the end of the day, nothing is more rewarding than a smile, hug or squeeze of the hand from a thankful patient. A sincere show of gratitude can help a nurse succeed in the workplace, as well as at home.
Nurses as valuable resources
A nurse may serve as a valuable resource to family and friends, when it comes to dealing with health care issues(Nightingale 50). Though a nurse is not a practitioner, or able to take the place of a physician, one can provide reliable information on how to care for someone who is ill or injured. Nurses are often asked to accompany loved ones to hospitals and doctor appointments in order to help them better make sense of their conditions. A nurse may be called upon by a loved one to help with medical care such as bandage changes, the removal of sutures or drains, or to give injectable medications at home. People usually find comfort in the wisdom and knowledge of a loved one who can help them in these ways.
Challenges and rewards of nursing
Exhaustion is a common effect associated with nursing which is unavoidable. This is unavoidable because patients are always coming and going and most hospitals in the world give nurses one day off per week while they work for longer hours compared to most careers. This means that most nurses do not have the luxury to have a normal social life, where they get to have frequent interactions with their friends and members of their families. Sometimes, especially when there is an accident and many people get injured and are rushed to the nearest hospitals, all nurses are recalled whether they are off duty.
Nursing as a way of life
A nursing career is not for the faint of heart. The far-reaching effects of the career can take a toll on a nurse’s physical and mental wellbeing. Much more than just a job, nursing is a way of life.
Works Cited
Riley, Julia B. Communication in Nursing - E-Book. City: Mosby, 2015. Print.
Nightingale, Florence. Notes on nursing. Lexington, KY: ReadaClassic.com, 2010. Print.
