Flobow Speaks Out Loud about Doing it all Over Again

R.N. Flobow talks out loud tonight about being tired and hurting. Now, I am injured and can't actively nurse the ill. My back has been injured since 2005. You know, it begins in nursing school....one wears themselves from giant macaroni shell size to a vermicelli. I remember seeing a sign that asked, "Is there life after nursing school?" Always tired....and it continues.....and continues.....and continues. We drive ourselves 'cause we know if we don't do it it will fall on someone elses shoulders who is also exhausted. When I was a new nurse, every time I had a night scheduled off the phone would ring and I was asked if I would work. I thought my duty was to say "Yes" so I did.....It didn't take me real long to learn that saying "No" was ok too. After learning to say No my manager later told me that she knew in the beginning if she called I would say "Yes" and she was going to "go" with that as long as she could. I think I worked 30 nights straight as my longest stretch. I couldn't sleep in the daytime.....exhausted was I.....I'm still exhausted though I am at home.....Why is it with looking back at the exhaustion I KNOW that if I could do it all over again....a blink of the eye.....I would do it in a heartbeat.....Maybe, a little smarter this time.....really taking time to soak in my time off and only occasionally saying, "Yes". Oh I probably would still say "Yes" as often as I could....In the whole wide world, there is nothing more rewarding then caring for others. Once a nurse always a nurse. Even now, I look for ways to be of service......Just something in us nurses that doesn't stop.....like the energizer bunny but in need of new batteries.....we keep going and going and going......and soak every minute of it up through zombie, exhausted batteries. When they can fix me, next time I will use electricity!

R.N. Flobow talks out loud

When I was in nursing school, I use to talk myself through procedures. I had learned the "right" way in nursing school and believe me my instructors made sure I could apply these new ways. Ok, so here I am, completely under my instructors thumb and talking out loud. I shuddered thinking maybe I would flunk out of nursing school and never make it. My instructor saved the day saying, "You will NEVER find a nurse that doesn't talk out loud at some point. It's how we all learned. The best of nurses talk out loud." So if your nurse talks out loud, your chances of being in good hands are a whole lot better.
Here I am.....still talking out loud...only my computer does a lot of the verbalization for me. Talking out loud can bring on some quizzical looks from your patients. "Hmmmm....." they seem to say "and they think we have problems! Who is this nut taking care of me?" Quackers alert!
One patient I remember was a retired nurse. Bless her heart, she had Alzheimer's. Of course YOU know I can't speak her name out loud....Ya know, we learn what is confidential and what can land us in "hot soup" through repetitive drilling of teachers talking out loud and very loud on this subject. Anyway, back to my retired nurse.....We had to watch her constantly...She would go into patients rooms. She was just sure she was helping the patient.....For some reason, she had an fixation on IVs.....if you watched her, you could see her talking out loud...and next thing you knew, wham the IV would be out of our other patient's arm.....Oh yeah.....So we had not ONE but TWO patients that needed attention STAT. You learned to watch this retired nurse with eyes like hawks. I am retired now due to disability....I don't think I'll be pulling IVs out....but you know, they gave me this cane.....and well....I just know this cane is going to be my best friend when I get old......"Ya so and so....." bonk.....with the cane. No one will want to be around me while I swing my mean old cane around and around my head dreaming I am on a carousel. I just hope I talk out loud enough to give others warning!