Confessions of a Hospital Nurse

We’ve all been under the care of a nurse before - whether it’s in a hospital or as a small child receiving an injection. They’re trustworthy and caring, always seeking out what’s best for you and looking to make the doctor’s job as easy as possible... or at least that’s what we thought!

It turns out that, like any profession, nurses can find themselves fed up after a long shift, hoping for a “good trauma to roll through the doors”. Yes, you read that right. Here are our favourite nurse confessions, anonymously posted by those who have simply reached their limit - and gone over it.

 

“On slow nights, when I want the shift to go by quickly, I hope for a good trauma to roll through the doors”

We understand the feeling of restlessness that comes with a slow day, but to hope someone experiences a traumatic event just to give you something to do during a shift, that’s a little too much...  

“Today at work, I accidentally overmedicated a patient. She’s okay but I’m not sure I want to be a nurse anymore”

We’re not sure if it’s comforting or scary that nurses are human and make mistakes too. Considering our lives are in their hands, we’ll go with scary.

“A genuine smile from a 'difficult' patient is enough to make the entire shift feel worthwhile”

This is a slightly nicer sentiment of humanity than the one above. If you know you’re one to be difficult, throw a smile at your nurse next time!

“I hate doing hourly rounds at night because I'm afraid I'll find a patient dead”

We’re not sure if the nurse is worried for her patients’ lives or doesn’t want to deal with the proceedings following a patient’s death…

“One of the main reasons I want to go into trauma or paediatrics is because I have no patience for old people”

So this nurse would rather deal with overactive children or people going through devastating life-changing events than a friendly old lady or man? Strange, but it’s their decision. 

“Working as a doctor makes you realise how stupid most people are”

It’s not just working as a doctor that does that, trust us... 

“I have severe PTSD from being a paramedic. I worry that I will never find a woman who would want to be with me now because of it”

This one made us rather sad, and is another gentle reminder of the fact that nurses are mere mortals like the rest of us. No fear, paramedic, you’ll find your love! 

“I'm a doctor; when I extract or see blood, I have to lick my lips because it looks too delicious”

We don’t want to know what happens to the extra blood left on the operating room floor… 

“I only trust about 10% of my co-workers”

That’s fair, but not sure how good of a thing that is in an industry where you’re responsible for human lives. 

“The biggest lie a nurse in any area of healthcare tells is… ‘The doctor will be right with you’”

That’s no confession, the majority of the world is aware of this already. What are those doctors doing? 

“After 10 years as a nurse and two degrees, I feel like a novice”

Great, that’s really comforting coming from a nurse. 

“It cracks me up when patients hear their SCD pumps and think it’s windy outside”

This one is sweet, it’s nice to see nurses get a laugh out of their patient’s confusion. 

“I’ve learned way more from my fellow Pinterest student nurses than from any instructor at my school”

Again, not sure if we ever want to step inside a hospital again… Should we just go to Pinterest for our health issues? 

“I have found out in my years in the ICU that death is truly NOT the saddest thing”

A profound statement, take a moment to think and reflect on this, people.

“My worst fear is becoming jaded. I do not want to be that nurse”

We don’t want you to be the nurse who hopes for traumas and overmedicates patients, either!

 

So there you have it, confessions right out of the nurse’s mouth. How confident will you feel next time you’re around a nurse? Perhaps it’s a good idea to smile if you’re a difficult patient, clean up any spilt blood to avoid bloodlust, and just plain avoid nurses if you’re old. These nurse confessions were grabbed from Tumblr, Facebook, NurseTogether, and another Tumblr.