My Motivation

This was a really tough week at work. I was covering for a lady whose sister had surgery and I essentially did her job plus my job all week.


About a year ago I wrote a personal statement as part of an application for Nursing School. It is not very long, but I keep a copy of it in my email for when I have a really bad day. It helps me remember why I do what I do.
I am short on creativity this week, so here it is... my motivation.

I get my hands dirty and I love it. I got a hug from a 92 year old lady this morning. I helped two family members to chairs at the nurse station while my nurse did CPR on their father. I changed a diaper of a grown man that held my hand and told me a joke 2 hours before he passed. I helped a lady feed herself for the first time in two years because I had the time and patience that her nursing home did not. I make time to chat with the lonely isolation patients atleast once a day, because I would hate being alone in a room for days where people were afraid to touch me. I bring the TB patient water because her assigned Nurse Aide is afraid to breathe too colse to her. I make jokes with the newly quadrapelegic patient because I think it is important she still laughs. I feel proud when I work in home care and happy when the single, lonely, old lady clips things out of the paper for me. I am glad that she smiles again because there is someone there to see her do it. At the end of the day, I don't need my name tag because my patient population knows my name.