The Craziest Thing About Being an ER Nurse
I love being a nurse. But as proud as I am of my occupation, the question “so, what do you do for a living?” always comes with a bit of apprehension.
“I’m a nurse.”
“Oh that’s cool! What kind of nurse are you?”
“I’m an ER nurse.”
“Wow! You must see lots of crazy things!”
You see, the thing is, I feel like I’ve lost a bit of my filter for “lay person” conversion since becoming a nurse. I recently had an Uber driver ask me if working in the ER was anything like what it’s like on TV. My response? Similar, but much less sex. It’s funny hearing people’s perception of what nursing is like. One thing is for sure, we are definitely a fun group of people! There is not a more entertaining group to hang out with than my nursing friends. It usually starts with a feeble attempt to have “appropriate”, public conversation and progresses to us talking about our latest “code brown” situations (if you get what I mean).
That’s the thing about the “I bet you see a lot of crazy things” conversation. I really have to think and reflect to realize how much I have actually encountered since starting my career in healthcare and how less-than-ordinary those experiences are to most people.
I have only been a nurse for just shy of 4 years now, but I kind of grew up in healthcare. At 16 years old, I got my first job working as a nursing assistant in a long-term memory care and rehab facility near my hometown. That same year, I saw someone die for the first time. Death is always something that I have had a good relationship with because of my faith, but you never forget the first time you experience witnessing someone take their final breath. At that time, I was just a sheltered kid that felt deeply for people and was only beginning to realize the privilege it is seeing humanity in those moments of complete vulnerability.
Now I understand that a nurse’s role is to respect each patient’s individual situation. And just to clarify, that doesn’t mean I think the stupid stunt that got you into the ER was a smart decision. In fact, I will more than likely tell you that and encourage you not to do it again. People come into the ER most times at their very worst or most embarrassing moment looking for help. My job is to make them feel more comfortably and normal. Usually that means using one of my favorite phrases, “don’t worry, we see this all the time!” even if their story is the most bizarre and hilarious thing I have ever heard.
The next question I usually hear after telling someone I am an ER nurse is “what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen?”.
I have to laugh at this one and remind people how often nurses see things. Shit stories? No problem, let’s talk about them over dinner. Things that most people might find crazy are probably one of the things a nurse sees on a regular Tuesday. In short, nurses are for the most part desensitized by the things they see on a regular basis - but don’t worry, we still do care!
Being a nurse is one of the most rewarding occupations, but it comes with more sacrifice than I ever expected. It changes who you are as a person, your relationships, and how you walk through life. Shout out to my fellow nurses (and their significant others) who know what that’s like. Being a nurse has made me a stronger person than I ever thought I could be. It has taught me to laugh more, to not to sweat the small stuff and to always say “I love you” when saying goodbye.
The craziest thing about being an ER nurse isn’t what we have seen, it’s how we see it.
We are just doing our job.