MINNESOTA — I was in the patient’s room when her dad called. The phone was on speaker mode so I heard every word he said.
Dad: “Hello, dear. How are you? Are the nurses taking good care of you? Or are they just sitting their butts off at the nurses’ station talking about their dogs?”
Patient: “Dad, my nurse is in my room.”
Dad: “Oh, is that so?”
And they changed topic.
The embarrassment I sensed in my patient was enough comfort. One was a false statement.
It is sad to hear of statements like these about nurses. If there is a profession that spells servanthood, the nursing profession would be on top.
Over and on top of what we learned in nursing school about our roles and responsibilities, we do a lot more.
At times, we find ourselves on our hands and knees on the floor troubleshooting malfunctioning beds or pumps, and cleaning up leaking drainage bags before we call engineering or housekeeping.
We clean up body secretions, excretions, and body discharges.
We are exposed to all kinds of microorganisms.
We are prone to all types of injuries.
We delay meals and bathroom breaks.
We run instead of walk, stand instead of sit, and do a lot of thinking that we cannot anymore see anything beyond our patient.
Some nurses I know got injured trying to catch patients who were about to fall.
Some got kicked, punched, hit on the face, spat on, grabbed, and scratched by patients who did not know what they were doing.
All these are part of a nurse’s day in a health care setting. Our job is “unglamorous and unromantic and laden with sweat and toil.”
But still, I am thankful of my job and my profession. Because what we do is close to what Jesus exemplified when He washed his disciples’ feet during the Last Supper. Jesus did the task of the lowliest servants to teach us true servanthood.
Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive your inheritance as your reward, you serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24
Patrice Grace L. Lim
Minnesota, USA
