These past few days has been sort of exciting and new for me. I have been picking up night shifts, something that I would never ever would have done because I value my sleep a little bit too much.
Anyway, something interesting happened. I had a sudden realization that I love what I am doing. I remembered the Lady with the Lamp, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. I'm no lady (that's for sure) but like her, I was dressed in white and I walked along the corridors of my hospital checking on my patients. Well it was more off doing a sleep monitoring sheet, but still... I was emulating a nursing characteristic of being observant.
On a personal note, night shifts on my unit could be very boring and repetitive since every one is asleep but I still find it enjoyable. The camaraderie that I have with the nurses and the other psychiatric aide is amazing.
I just wish they give me more than an hour before they call me to work an 11 PM to 7 AM shift but I guess it can't be helped. Night shifts do make me loopy at times, making it more important that I know my limits since I do not want to work unable to think incoherently. I could pose as a danger to myself and my patients, this is why honesty and integrity is needed in nursing as well.
I am looking forward to more night shifts.
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