Responsibilities

What exactly have I gotten myself into here? Working in the depths of despair where the sickest children of Montreal come to be under my care. Is it really a blessing to love children in this profession when doing painful and uncomfortable procedures on their body is a daily activity? Those very activities that precipitate screaming and protesting in children as if they were in a torture chamber. Of course now, just one week before beginning my work, I start to wonder if in fact I have chosen the right profession.

Although I consider my memory to be weak at times, and because I have cared for many "sick" people throughout my nursing education, I remember very clearly certain patients I have had in the past and wonder about them on a regular basis. There is something unique about being a nurse in that you are constantly at your patients bedside in a 12 hour shift. You may not even spend 12 hours with your best friend in one day, three times a week. But this becomes our relationship with the sick and their family. 12 hours a day. Three days a week. With a stranger. Whose baby is sick, and whose health is dependent on the quality of your care. Big responsibilities.