The ER

Ever since I decided I wanted to be a nurse, which was about halfway through my senior year of high school, I've been toying with the idea of working in the ER. I like the fast-paced environment and I like helping people. It seems to be a good combination right? The only thing that is a bit of a deterrent is being surrounded by death on a pretty consistent basis. Despite the fact that you do everything in your power to save lives, people still die. I'm a big time Daddy's girl so sometimes when my Dad works at the hospital, I'll go follow him around for few hours and see what there is to see. My Dad's been a respiratory therapist for 20 years now and he's really good at what he does all over the hospital and it's really beneficial for me to watch him. He teaches me a lot about being a good health care provider. The nurses that he works with are also amazingly welcoming and eager to teach me things. Well, the other night just happened to be one of those nights and the ER at AF hospital was totally slammed. Almost every one of the rooms was full. There was everything from a three-year-old that needed stitches (poor guy was screamin' his little lungs out) to a 55-year-old woman with a broken wrist. Right around midnight, the paramedics brought a man in who was in full cardiac arrest. I watched as a million things went on, my Dad in the middle of it all. Everyone fought to bring this guy back to life. Despite their best efforts, he didn't make it. Although I felt sorry for the family standing outside, I myself really wasn't all that sad. I walked away from that night in the hospital, for the first time in a long time, not overwhelmed by being a nurse. I really feel like this is what I should be doing in my life.