What makes caregiving rewarding? What have I learned? I have spent 31 years in the health care field: 26 as an RN, 10 years working in three of the major Texas Medical Center Hospitals, 10 years as a Workers Compensation Case Manager, 2 years as a Hospice Nurse and the remainder as a Home Health Nurse. I am near the end of my career and have been reviewing my experiences. There are so many encounters that have left indelible marks on my life. Some patients have been like family to me.
What I learned from working with cancer and hospice patients is that at the end of life people become very honest. I am in awe of the things they reveal to their nurse, if it is a trusting relationship.
The privilege of getting to know so much about an individual in such a short time makes one very humble. I worked with cancer patients on the night shift when they do no sleep well and want to talk. I learned that when a person is estranged from his family and friends if they come to terms with the problems and either ask for forgiveness or give forgiveness they have a gentler death. It appears there is a level of communication far better than words, and I have witnessed peace of mind come to a person who acknowledges problems and finally deals with them.
Working with children with chronic problems taught me a lot about courage. There is a difference between the way a child with an acute problem and those living with a chronic problem approach illness. The children with chronic problems learn to live with frequent hospitalizations and painful procedures. They become very good at manipulating the situation if controls are not put into place. They recognize a soft heart. One little boy I remember was born with defective kidneys and had a transplant. He came into the frequently to have the levels of the antirejection medications checked over 24 hours. One night he did not get a salad with his dinner. I was not assigned to him on that shift, but he knew I would get what he wanted. I was very busy and he kept following me around asking for a salad.
Finally I went down to the adult end of the hall and stole a salad off a tray for him. He was happy and went on about his business. I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was 6 years old, but did not get into nursing until after I was 40. I brought a lot of life experience with me. Nursing comes from the mind and the heart. Sometimes we forget that patients are terrified when they encounter life threatening situations. Or even natural ones. I have always let a personal experience guide my concern for the patient's fear. When I had my fourth child I was having chills when I got to the hospital and asked for a warmed blanket. I must have appeared needy to the nurse taking care of me because she commented, "How many babies did you say you have had?" My unspoken thought was 'What does that have to do with anything?' The more babies one has had the more she understands what is coming her way. I have never wanted to let a patient feel like his fear was unimportant.
From the impoverished who live outside the system I learned compassion. Many, many times I have said, or thought, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’