#(and my management and other coworkers love my work strategies sooo—)

[agitatedwarmachine]

honestly, itll be a miracle i don't walk out today

[craicchapel]

omg thank you sooo much! you don't know how much I appreciate this! 1. How long have you been a nurse?2. What nursing unit are you in and what are some of your everyday tasks? 3. When did you realize that nursing was for you?4. What would you say are positive highlights in your career?5. What do you find most rewarding about being a nurse?6. What are some challenges you face as a nurse?7. How do you face difficult challenges you have come across?8. What are some tasks you had to complete

1. 4 and a half years.

2. I work at a small community hospital and the unit I work on is called Family Care Center. We are all trained to work antepartum, labor and delivery, postpartum, post-op gynecological patients, pediatrics, and newborns who require level II nursery care. My everyday tasks vary shift to shift based on the type of patients I have that day since we cover a few different areas on one floor. For labor and delivery, we first triage patients to assess whether or not they are in labor. If they are not in labor we work to correct whatever problem they came in for. A lot of times this consists of giving fluids and medications to stop preterm labor. If they are in labor we then work with the doctor to figure out a labor plan that adheres to our hospital’s standards and the wishes of our patients. We monitor and chart on the baby’s heart tones, check cervical dilation, and monitor the mother’s overall health during labor. We administer medications to induce and augment labor, as well as medication for pain. Us nurses also prep the patients and assist the anesthesiologist for those who want epidurals. If there is anyone who requires a c-section they also get prepped for surgery by us. We push with the patients until the baby is close to delivery when we then call the doctor for assistance. Once that baby is out we do our assessments, medications, general care for the infant, as well as continuing to monitor the mother for any postpartum complications. There is a lot of charting that goes into the whole process of labor and delivery for mom and baby, so keeping up on that is a big task as well. Once the patient is post partum we closely monitor mother’s vital signs and bleeding. A lot of education goes into working with postpartum patients, especially if this is their first child. We work with them on proper care for their newborn, normal vs. abnormal findings, as well as the changes to expect the mother’s body to go through after delivery and how to manage and care for themselves. Breastfeeding is another huge aspect of education that we cover. Even if mothers have breastfed previous babies, many still need a lot of help and teaching. If I have a post-operative patient we work to have them up and walking within 12 hours after surgery. We monitor intake and output, vital signs, assess their incision, and make sure their pain is under control. If I am working with a baby who requires being in the nursery, we work with the pediatricians and follow their plan of care. A lot of them require things like respiratory interventions and I.V. antibiotics. We also care for neonatal abstinence syndrome cases and help care for infants withdrawing from drugs. 

3. I realized at a young age, probably in elementary school, that I wanted to do something in the medical field. Science always drew me in and held my interest. When I was in high school deciding which route I’d want to take in college, I was unable to see myself in any other field but nursing. It drew me in because it had the science aspect of it, but also because it was a way to help and care for people on a very personal level. 

4. A positive highlight in my career for me that stands out is when I got off orientation and I took care of my first labor patient on my own. I had spent months training feeling overwhelmed and unsure if I’d ever feel confident in this field. There was so much to learn and so many responsibilities that I was terrified to be off on my own and no longer working under another nurse. My first shift off orientation was nervewracking, but I took on a labor patient and things went smoothly. The labor was fine, the mom was fine, that baby was fine, and I was fine. I felt a bit of relief knowing that I’m capable and saw that light at the end of the tunnel a little more clearly. Hearing good feedback from the other nurses I work with and hearing that the doctors felt confident working with me also helped gain confidence in myself. That was a point in my career when I finally felt like I was capable of being a good nurse. 

5. The most rewarding part of being a nurse is the relationship you get to form with your patients. I love finishing up a shift and having a patient say ‘See you tomorrow!’ with a smile on their face. Even if you’ve had a rough day it’s nice to know you’re helping them have a positive experience in a time that can be scary for them. For the most part, labor and delivery is a happy and exciting place for patients so you can end up having a blast with them. We laugh and joke around quite a bit and try to have a good time throughout it overall. You get to know their support system, and if they don’t have one, you get to be their support system that day. They can go through an immense amount of pain, but it’s nice being that person they can lean on. They’ll scream at you, claw at you, leave bruises from gripping your arms so hard, but you always get to look back at it with them afterwards and have a laugh about it. For most people, this is one of the happiest times of their lives and it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to go through that with them. Other times you get patient’s who lose their babies and this happy moment turns into one of the worst times for them. Even though it’s heartbreaking, knowing that you get to be there for someone and help them through that time is also very rewarding. You get to care for them, you’ll cry with them, and you get to be a shoulder to lean on. It’s a humbling experience that puts the important things in life into perspective. 

6 & 7. Some challenges I face are when we are understaffed. It’s inevitable and happens at almost every workplace, but when it happens it’s very challenging. It gets frustrating knowing you can’t put all your focus on patients that you want to. I’ve found that some coworkers get angry about it and don’t handle the chaos well. Instead of sucking it up and doing their best, they get angry and do the bare minimum for patients. I always try to keep in mind that even though you’re drowning in your work and are tired (physically and mentally), the patients still deserve to have a good experience. Even if you can’t go above and beyond that shift, at least have a good attitude with them and try your hardest to do the best for them. Another challenge that comes up is conflicts with coworkers. Luckily, I work on a shift with a great group of people who get along pretty good and work well with each other. The other shift of nurses on my unit are the opposite. They gossip, fight with each other, and have poor teamwork. They end up making work more difficult for themselves because they can’t rely on each other when things go crazy and teamwork is needed. I’ve found that if you just keep quiet/don’t talk bad about others, and always help others out (with a good attitude about it, not begrudgingly), people will return that favor for you. If you have that attitude people will enjoy working with you and you’ll enjoy working with people who do the same. It makes your shifts less stressful when you know you have people who will be there for you. 

8. Besides the general care of patients that’s required each shift, we also have to keep up on other tasks like our certifications. In our unit, we’re required to be certified in CPR, NRP, and PALS. Every two years you have to take a class and a test to keep your certification valid. We also are required to take in-services at our work to keep up with training. It’s not required, but our hospital also likes us to be involved in committees or to obtain other credentials that pertain to our area work. I ended up taking a class to become a certified lactation consultant to help breastfeeding mothers. Others take courses on bereavement training for mothers who lose their babies, or communities that work on plans and strategies to better our unit, stuff like that!