​WILL YOU BE A NURSE?​​

-THIS IS ONE OF THE STEP BY STEP TO HAPPINESS, ENJOY THE PROCESS-

Not long ago I was at work and I managed to get some time to sit down and talk to one of our nursing student in the ward. She is in her first year of study, It's her first experience ever in a hospital. I am student mentor but I didn't have the chance to work with her as I am not her mentor. Most of the time in my role as charge nurse I get sucked into the vortex of the ward without really having the time to spend much time with the students. Fortunately I had 20 minutes free, I decided to approach her and ask her if she needed anything. She said if we could go through some of the assessment for the patients. We sat down, we spend 3 minutes talking about the assessments and then I asked her ‘How is it going?', 'very well' she said, I then challenged her with 'What is the most difficult part you had to face until now?’.  She started speaking and her speech was inspiring, it was so full of life, so full of humanity, filled with values. From what she was expressing I could get straight away she was going to be a good nurse. She mentioned me getting closer to one of the patient. She went away for 2 weeks of holiday and this patient, unfortunately, passed away.

She was hesitating, in the beginning, telling me this story, probably scared I could judge her for what she was feeling. I promptly took the word and I made her comfortable in what she was telling me.

I told her to never forget we are human beings and therefore we have feelings, to never, ever repressed feelings but to stay with them. Staying with your feelings, accepting what is going on and being emphatic towards the patient in front of us. I told her empathy is everything, trying to exchange ourselves just for a second in the patient’s shoes would change the perspective. I advised her not only to be emphatic but to act on it, to make sure the patient would get the response you would like to receive. In case no response would come, just listening would do.

She was speaking with a fire in her eyes. She knew nursing was her future. She mentioned she was a caring person from when she was a little girl and her mum encouraged her to take this road. I found it beautiful and powerful at the same time. My pieces of advice to her were:

• Be emphatic and act on it.

• Do not repress your feelings.

• Stay with your feelings.

• If you don't know what to say, listen.

• YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Will you be a nurse?

There are few considerations I want to make.The first is that this girl will be a good nurse. Why? Because, no matter what, the people that are aware of their feelings, they accept them and they are able to have healthy response to that, have an advantage.

The strongest person is the one that can stay with their feelings (especially the ‘bad ones’), not the ones they escape from them. Showing what you feel is not a weakness, it is a strength.

She knew exactly what she was feeling, she knew exactly what the patient was feeling and what to say, it was her fabulous nature. I saw a strong individual with values.

The second consideration is that not everybody can be a nurse and that sometimes the students I meet are not suitable to become a nurse. Not their fault. They begin university, they happened to study for six months and then they arrive in any hospital ward and they are just not made to look after people. NURSES LOOK AFTER PEOPLE, people that are sick, full stop. You cannot, in any circumstances think you can get away with it. Not everybody can be a nurse.

The third consideration is that I know plenty of amazing nurses that I would like to see making the difference but they don’t. When I say making the difference I mean that they are thinking they can change the world with their actions. I am sure they still have an impact in even the smallest ward in the smallest town in the world, but I believe more can be done.

I believe nurses can change the society. I believe that nurses have all the qualities to change the world and be as successful as they deserve.

WE ARE THE FACE OF THE SOCIETY, WE CAN MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.

Like this student I met, there are millions of nurses they are the same, full of passion towards the profession. When I meet nurses they believe they are not making a difference, it’s a shame! As I said not anybody can be a nurse but the one they can, are extraordinary.

Would you not believe that a compassionate, caring, kind person cannot change the world? I BELIEVE SO.The process to create a better society begins also from the education of nurses, even before, helping them to choose if nursing is their way. I will commit to that as I believe that even one single nurse can change the world.

I will commit to helping undecided students to start nursing or not. The ones they will be ready for nursing, I could help them to grow in the profession, make them believe they can make a real difference for their own careers an for the humanity.

-THIS IS ONE OF THE STEP BY STEP TO HAPPINESS, ENJOY THE PROCESS-