Hello NRS 420!
“I am only one; but still I am one.
I cannot do everything; but still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
– E.E. Hale, American writer
One of the things I really love about nursing is that every so often patients have a way of reminding me why I do it…
This week had been dragging by, bringing one technical difficulty after another along with it. By the time I slunk into work yesterday, behind my extra large cup of coffee, I just wanted to get through the shift without anything else going wrong. And then the inevitable… a patient suddenly dissolves into frustration and tears, and more than anything just needed to be heard…
Behind my calm exterior I struggled to re-prioritize while she talked… So many tasks to do, so many other patients, and what answers do I have to really solve her problems anyway?… So I took a deep breath to still my thoughts and looked deep into her eyes (my way of stripping away clinical roles to reestablish a human connection with someone). This technique tends to work pretty well to keep a situation in the present, but then she really looked back at me. It felt a little like watching an icicle melt in a ray of sunshine… calm, gentle, refreshing. I stayed with her for a total of about 15 minutes, but the moment touched both of us profoundly.
As I dive into the wild and wooly world of Care of the Complex Client, it is moments like these that remind me what it is all for. To do what I can, to make the difference that I can, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.
