A Breed Apart...

I am an ER nurse. And I work the night shift. We are a special breed. We work hard, we see the worst in people, we are not weak. We do not back down, no matter how much we are cussed at, or swung at, We are in control, We all have type "A" personalities and todays blog is dedicated to my colleagues.. we are A BREED APART.

I have always believed that the ER chooses its own. Not all nurses can make it in the emergency room, even though many may have the desire and the drive. The ER is cruel and demanding, it is an entity all its own. it can be calm as a lamb one moment and wild and chaotic the next. We hold peoples lives in our hands. We see people at their worst, we see destruction at its cruelist and we see life slip away... sometimes in the blink of an eye.

We can hold the hand of an elderly man who was once strong and brave, but who is now weak, frail and fearful, as he knows he is leaving this world. And then we have to turn around and use the same hand to hold pressure on a wound of a child who might possibly face the same fate.

We do not think.... we react. We know what needs to be done before the doctor gives the order to do it. We close our hearts and our minds off to the devastation that we encounter on a regular basis, to preserve our own sanity.

We do not sleep. We over indulge in caffeine and junk food, and 3 times a week, for 12-15 hours per day, we come back to the trenches... the "pit", and we start over again. I cannot explain the reason why.

I have worked for over 11 yrs in the ER, and it seems like only yesterday that I walked into the emergency room for my first shift. Scared to death, yet curious, with eyes wide open. And I felt the pull, as the ER clutched me in its talons. And I have never left.

I ran across another persons blog about emergency nursing, and I have copied an excerpt. my thanks to the author-ERNursey:

"ER nurses are a special breed, we deal with a lot and so we are tough, tenacious and assertive. Some read that as bitchy but it isn't true. A day in the ER can range from the incredibly boring to the truly terrifying and it can change in an instant. We have no control over the type or number of patients that come through our doors. Our patients and their family members are under a great deal of stress and that sometimes causes them to act unpredictably. ER nurses suffer more assaults and related injuries than any other group of nurses. We also suffer a higher rate of burnout than any other specialty. It's not for everyone but for some it is the only thing."

I have realized that to me, it IS the only thing. And it is the same for many of my coworkers. We have crossed the abyss, never to return to normal nursing.

So, as "Nurses week" closes, I would like to salute all of the Emergency room nurses across this country, who go to the trenches every day, and walk away exhausted, sometimes frustrated, sometimes tearful, but always proud. You, my colleagues are AWESOME!!!