Let’s get our first discussion started! Here’s a reminder of our discussion questions for this book:

1. Did any of these stories really resonate with you? What were your thoughts?
2. How do you think you’ve changed since the start of your nursing career? What do you think caused this change?

My Thoughts

Many of these stories were very emotional, but I liked that they focused on the nurse’s feelings. I think this is an important conversation to have because of burnout. Pizza parties and free pens don’t make up for being treated like a robot. My nursing professors told me to leave work at the door and I did. I’m good at compartmentalizing. Med-surg still burned me out, because every time I walked into the hospital I knew I was in for another shift of being overextended, unsupported, and unappreciated.

I knew it was time to quit med-surg when a patient threw a chair at me. Patients had swung at, scratched, grabbed, and spit on me pretty regularly so this wasn’t a shocking occurrence. What bothered me was that supervisors treated this as part of our job description and nothing was done to protect us. I took every nonessential item out of that room myself after another incident only for everything to reappear a few days later. It’s hard to feel like you’ve made a good career choice when you’re treated as expendable.

Question 1: Did any of these stories resonate with you?

A few stories stuck out to me. In Becoming a Nurse the author reflects on how nursing has taught her to be ruthless. That is so true. I went from being afraid to touch patients as a student to “I’m putting this tube in your (insert orifice here).” It no longer bothers me when patients get mad at me when they need tough love.

I also really liked Healing Wang Jie’s Bottom. Nurses can be so creative, resourceful and adaptable. It’s so cool that sugar can be used to heal pressure wounds.

Question 2: How do you think you’ve changed since becoming a nurse?

Nursing school me would be shocked at the future. I felt like a failure all through my 2 year nursing program. Even though I constantly felt lost none of my professors felt the same way. For some reason they all thought I was competent. This continued when I started my first job. I worried they would figure out I was clueless and fire me. But apparently I was doing a great job.

My first weekend off orientation I had 13 patients. I had never taken care of more than 6 or 7, and I had never been without someone to look over my shoulder when needed. I survived. The next few years went by at a similar pace. I did all those things I never thought I could with confidence.

Now I’m comfortable with not knowing. There will always be something I can’t remember, changes in practice, conditions I haven’t seen before. A lot has changed over the past few years. I’ve grown more confident as a person and as a nurse. I stay calm during crises. I’m better at time management. All those nursing qualities we learn about in school clicked into place around the 2 year mark.

I credit these changes to the high-stress environment and having great coworkers. You find ways to still be a person with each other between all the madness. Even though it was crazy and I was miserable for half of it I don’t have any regrets. Though I still hope that hospitals and laws support their nurses more. We missed out on a chance to advocate during this pandemic guys.

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