Nursing is an amazing career to have. I have endless possibilities stretching out in front of me. I can change jobs every 3-4 years and have that work in my favour.  I make a difference in people’s lives, and inspire people to take care of themselves.  I am in a career where the education opportunities are endless, and learning will be life long.  My job however, sucks balls on a regular basis. We are in a huge bed crunch on a daily basis, and I feel like my voice is lost in a sea of everyone else. Someone else’s area is always the focus of the day, and making sure they have beds is always more important. We’ve had our overflow beds (our overflow beds are 8 beds, btw. Other wards are 1-2 beds) open for a year solid. Nobody seems to notice anymore.  But every day I see;  I see my staff struggle with the weight they are carrying, the strain of these eight extra patients.  I see my nurses burnt out because we are constantly asking them to work extra shifts, stay a few more hours. I see my PT, OT, Dietitian, SW, CML and rehab assistant working tirelessly, thanklessly to make sure that the patients are taken care of.
I do not work in a flashy critical care area. I do not work with young people. We do not get donations from private organizations. We are an afterthought, generally speaking.  Everyone assumes will get by, because we always do.  

Yet every day I go to work and smile and laugh and try and make sure the team I work with know I see them, that I see the difference they make. 




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