Oh Sh*t, I Almost Killed You! A Little Book of Big Things Nursing School Forgot to Teach You

by Sonja Schwartzbach

“Being a Nurse Means” You will never be bored. You will always be frustrated. You will be surrounded by challenges. So much to do and so little time. You will carry immense responsibility and very little authority. You will step into people’s lives and you will make a difference. Some will bless you. Some will curse you. You will see people at their worst – and at their best. You will never cease to be amazed at people’s capacity for love, courage, and endurance. You will see life begin – and end. You will experience resounding triumphs and devastating failures. You will cry a lot. You will laugh a lot. You will know what it is to be human and to be humane. Melodie Chenevert, RN

Nursing is sink or swim. Nursing is a whirlwind. Nursing will make you feel like the stupidest and most incompetent professional on the planet, and it’s going to ask that you show up the next day and do it all over again.

An eager learner who can take initiative and exude passion is far more likely to learn and grow than someone who is overly confident bordering on arrogance.

Just as soon as you accomplish some major feat in the nursing world, there’s another challenge that immediately presents itself.

You can't always see it coming. You can't always be the hero. And that's okay.

you’re going to need a serious support system in order to survive the average days, and an outlet for the even harder ones.

Nurses are the silent benefactors that enrich the lives of patients and physicians alike. Nurses keep you happy. Nurses keep you comfortable. Most importantly – while they rarely take the credit – nurses keep you alive.

Remember that the person in that bed is a human being who deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.

Instead, when death and destruction are running rampant across a unit, sometimes the only saving grace is a wayward stare and a well-timed dick joke.

Whether they should fight to live or die with dignity, it is the nurses caring for them that carry the brunt of the burden. Of course families suffer. Certainly physicians are concerned. Yet it is the nurse, whether tough as nails or still timid and learning, that bears witness to a patient’s final breath. Sometimes, it’s a peaceful transition; others, a tumultuous battle, but every time, meaningful in some way.

I carry you with me, as a trophy or a scar, because that experience forces me to power through the days when all I want to do is throw in my stethoscope and walk away. For scars often fade while trophies are proudly displayed; but sometimes the quietest moments and simplest interactions are the most often replayed.

Once you become a nurse, you can never not be one: I wholeheartedly believe this. However, maintaining passion for the profession and keeping yourself excited about going to work every day depends on your ability to distance yourself from the work you do during the appropriate moments.