Journal of Nursing
No, Ms. Ray, I'm Not Thankful to Have a Job
Pat Miller, RN [email protected]
No, Ms Ray, I am Not Lucky to Have a Job!
No, Ms. Ray, I am not lucky to have a job. I have dedicated my career to the care of others in need. I have been a nurse for almost 30 years, a critical care nurse for greater than 28 years, 12 of which were spent serving as a flight nurse. I have held the tiniest of hearts and the most aged of hands both with the utmost of care. No Ms. Ray I am not lucky to have a job.
I have cared for the sickest patients imaginable and my heart overflows with the care and comfort that I have given them and their families. I flew the one of the youngest heart recipients ever into Tucson to receive his heart and one year later I flew him back when he was dying. I have cared for trauma children with their brain matter on the outside of their heads and adults with missing limbs. I have cared for patients that will “never survive” and yet somehow they did. I have an endless barrage of stories of patients and families, some sad, some funny, and some too horrible to repeat. No, Ms. Ray, I am not lucky to have a job.
I have spent more nights without dinner or even a bathroom break than I can even remember. I have left my own child to care for the children of others. I have spent more holidays with fellow nurses than my own family. No Ms. Ray I am not lucky to have a job.
Oh and just for the record, should we both find ourselves unemployed tomorrow, I have an endless supply of jobs waiting; however you on the other hand would be lucky to find a job.
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