ain't no flo

I got to thinking: Why do I do the blog?

I have been doing the blog for 8 years now. I'm one of the few that are still around when I started. I miss those other guys. (Tex, Nurse K, hood nurse, scalpel, etc.)

This blog started as a place to let off steam.  I have been a writer all of my life.  So it was a natural thing to do.

At the core of this blog is the idea of presenting a realistic picture of what it is like to be a nurse, particularly an ER nurse.  To tell you how bizarre it really is to work in the ER. To tell my fellow nurse, hey you are not alone. I go through the same things you do on a daily basis. And lastly, to give my opinion on stuff related.

Perception and reality in nursing are at the opposite ends of the scale. What the public perceives about who nurses are and what they do is way out of whack.  I think they still perceive us as florence nightengale types who fluff pillows, hold hands, soothe fevered brows and are always smiling and caring while they do it.  When in actuality, nurses are highly educated, tech savvy multi taskers who hold the medical system together. We keep you alive. End of story.

Even nursing students have no idea what they are getting into.  They learn an idealized version of nursing in nursing school and are often shocked by the reality. Healthcare corporation executives, doctors, mangers, etc. hold expectations of nurses that are impossible to meet.

People who become nurses care. We probably care more about people than your average person. Otherwise we couldn't do the job.  So we have a gooey center. As the reality of how damn hard this job is sets in, we develop a shell around the goo.  We have to if we are going to survive. We are in one of the most demanding jobs you can have.  Changes happen daily and many times they are not small changes. Technology becomes more complex. Demands on what we have to do increase daily. Every single day of being a nurse is stressful and challenging. Lives depend on us. A mistake could kill someone.

And then there is the taking care of  people part. Oh yeah that. Most people are nice. Then there are those are shitheads.  There are more in the world than you think. They are just plain mean, manipulative. We have to deal with them whether we like it or not.

So this is the reality of nursing. Its what I try to communicate here. A lot of people, including a lot of my fellow nurses, would rather pretend that nurses are florence nightengales  I just can't do
that. I ain't no Flo.