Like a lot of people I used to think the doctors are the real heroes, well they are surely but so are all the Nurses and therapists and every one else who is working in the whole healthcare system here. I was especially impressed with the nurses and their tireless work in ensuring my comfort and the comfort of my baby. I had dili dalied with the idea of being a Nurse for a long time, so after my experience I started to put it into practice. I was not sure how I ll react to sickness and all kind of bodily fluids and grumpy tired patients, so I started slow by volunteering at a hospital and contrary to what I expected, I loved it.
I mean I absolutely love working at both the hospitals I am working at right now. University of Washington Medical Center and Evergreen. I am inspired by the dedication of the health care staff and how seriously they take their jobs. I am impressed by how well hospitals and nursing homes are regulated here. There is always human error, of course that cannot be completely eliminated but boy these folks work very hard to make it as minimum as possible.
I feel satisfied and happier than I have ever been in a long time regarding my career progress. So I took the next step and enrolled in a Nursing Assistant program and well the program is pretty intense to say the least. Lots of information and studying involved but it is also quite an eye opener. I was thinking about how sick my grand parents were at the time they passed away and as in Pakistan the old folks always live at home they were at home. I know my uncles and aunts and my mom did the best they could to take care of them but when one does not know how to deal with a specific situation it can get very hard. Things like proper hand washing can eliminate a lot of infections right off the bat but we don't know how to properly wash our hands.
There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding anti-bacterial agents and that causes people to make bad choices, so does misinformation regarding immunization. I ll say a little bit about immunization and than on to my story, the only way and I mean the only way immunization can work is if every one gets it, if half the population is immunized and the other half opts out, it puts every one at risk. The study that came out regarding immunizing kids and children getting autism due to this was fraudulent. The British doctor who did it is behind bars now cause his study prompted quite a few parents to forgo immunization for their children and these kids ended up getting those very diseases the immunizations were suppose to counteract and they died.
So any ways I just recently started going back to school and it kind of feels like when I was at university when life became all about sleeping, eating and studying. I hope I can be good at what I have decided to do, I still have apprehensions sometimes because it is sinking in how much of an influence I can have on someone's life. I can be responsible for someone's death and one false move on my part can make the difference in someone's quality of life. However, a good job by me can also make some one's life a lot more comfortable and easy. I feel very happy when I work in hospitals. When I started this course one of the first things we learnt was about Florence Nightingale. This lady changed the face of health care. She standardized practices for Nurses and actually gave a face to this profession. Things we take for granted like infection control and cleanliness were started by her. She comforted the sick and nurtured them. These are the main things our instructors keep stressing too, empathy, non-judgmental attitude, cleanliness. Get to know your patient, know what they like and how you can make them more comfortable and happy. I don't know, people tell me I am a nurturer by nature so I hope I do a decent job. Lets see its going to be an interesting ride...
