Gail - Caring for One Another: That's What it's All About

Gail -







I worked for thirty years in obstetrics in different capacities, including charge nurse and supervisor. I saw many changes through the years in OB. I remember delivering pre-term triplets one night, wrapping them in blankets and running down the hall to the nursery with three babies in my arms. How things change! In those days no family members could be in the labor rooms with the mothers. Husbands could visit, but only briefly. Nowadays, anyone the mother wants can be in the labor room. Once we had both the husband and the boyfriend in there, and they got in a fist fight by the nurses' station. We had to call security.

After being a regular staff nurse, then supervisor, I worked as director of the unit for a year. I found that pushing papers didn't suit me. I worked 12-hour days, and even at home I would be answering questions on the phone and doing paper work. I was on a whole bunch of committees where people were playing games. I had to do a lot of smiling when I didn't mean it. I felt like a puppet on a string.

Taking care of patients is what makes nursing satisfying for me. I like making a difference in people's lives, by helping them to be courageous and by helping them get well. I like to work with a good team--the surgeons and anesthesiologists, and the nursing staff.

When I was a child, I spent many weeks in the hospital with long episodes of pneumonia, so I was all-too-familiar with oxygen tents, penicillin shots, and bedpans. Some of my care was good, and some was questionable. I haven't forgotten the lessons I learned from the good and bad nursing I received. And, it has become my mission to provide a good hospital experience to the people I see.

As nurses, we see people die sometimes. That's difficult. I remember when I was a student, I took care of a middle-aged woman. She had been carrying groceries across the street when she got hit by a car.
"We will all need the help of nurses someday, in one form or another. As a nurse, I try to care for each person as I would want to be cared for." I was in the ICU trying to help her, but she ended up passing away. I had to go out and talk to the daughter and tell her that her mother had passed away. We sat on the bench and both of us cried. That was very hard, and sad. But if I couldn't feel sad, I don't think I could be good nurse. You've got to have an open heart and you have to be compassionate. You have feelings as a human being. You empathize with the family members left behind, and you cry. And then you move on, but it's an experience you don't forget.

Actually, I suppose not all nurses are compassionate, or they don't react the way I did. I've had nurses take care of me who weren't very sympathetic.

The job is always different. I like being on my feet, moving around, though I do get tired at times because I work three night shifts a week, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. When I'm feeling exhausted, I remind myself that I'm making good money, and I can go home in a few hours. When I come home, my husband has the bed all made for me, with my electric blanket turned on, and the window curtains pulled. He makes sure it's quiet, since I sleep during the day. I really don't have any reason to complain.

For the last six years, I've worked in the operating room. I've seen quite a few changes in the years I've been a nurse. Advances in technology mean nurses have to keep learning. Nurses are pressured to learn and need more technical skills, as well as nursing skills. Good judgment has always been important, but now everything is more complex.

I see quite a few problems in the nursing profession these days. The shortage of nurses is a problem. Nurses are overworked on the job, and the quality of care for patients is lowered. Nurses are being replaced with nurse technicians, who have entirely different training. The ratio of patients to nurses has increased. We have some nurses from other countries who have difficulty with the English language, which makes it hard for them to understand the patients' needs, and to communicate with doctors.

Nursing schools are harder to get into these days, and yet more nurses are needed. Especially in geriatrics, in nursing homes. Most of them are run by one or two RNs and the rest are aides. The aides work hard, but they just can't provide total nursing care--physical, psycho-social, and spiritual care while the RNs are busy doing the paperwork.

The honest truth is that we will all need the help of nurses someday, in one form or another. As a nurse, I try to care for each person as I would want to be cared for. Caring for one another: that's what it's all about.

Power Strategies: Care, Empathy, Commitment
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