Well I have successfully finished my rotation at the hospital. This one for me was the scary bit, I ll talk about that in one second. I just want to talk about a couple of other things before that.
One of the major things I have realized from all my experience working and so on in the last few weeks are
a) how lucky and blessed I am to have the parents I had, who gave up their own dreams and wishes to give me the best education that money could buy. My parents sent me to one of the best English medium private institutes in the country, back in Pakistan and at the time my mom tells me my grand father had asked her how she ll manage to pay the high tuition fees to which my dad had replied I ll figure it out uncle cause my daughter deserves the best. Having a good education gives us such a big advantage on so many fronts, having parents who were willing to put us through university and hence giving us a boost up in life. I came to this realization while I was working with different students in my rotation groups who unfortunately do not have this support right now. They don't have the luxury of not working. They have to work to make bill payments and to put them selves through school, which is very difficult.
b) I also realized that we have a great opportunity at our disposal. I believe in destiny and I believe that Allah has put me here for a reason, I am currently residing in one of the biggest economies of the world, enjoying the benefits and lifestyle which only about 10% of the US population enjoys. I have a great opportunity here I can use this time and my energies to learn new skills either through volunteerism, or work. If I work I have an even better opportunity now cause with my income, I can do so much charitable work for Pakistan in particular but other places as well, I can take it upon my self to educate just one person who may not have access to education, or support a family for their livelihood in Pakistan. We keep talking about bringing change for Pakistan. I know its very hard for a lot of us to be away from families but we need to realize the opportunity that we have at our disposal here and not using it would indeed be very sad. I think when Allah gives us money, and privileges he gives us an even bigger responsibility to be care takers for those who may not have access to the benefits we have. If we volunteer we will still be learning new skills which we can teach others, use at some stage in our lives, start small grass root organizations to start a change. Use your imagination but please use this opportunity. I think if we were in Pakistan right now, we may not be able to create as much of a change as we envision here because we will be too busy making a living and ensuring a better future and security for our children. So i know it sounds shallow but money has a lot of power and it has a lot of power to buy many different types of things. It is our choice how we use the money and the power associated with it.
Now a little bit about my hospital experience, I had a great time because I got to see so many cool procedures and see many medical devices which I was not aware of. Medical science has progressed so much that we have manages to prolong the average life span of some one living in this society by almost 30 years. But on the other side of the coin it does bring up many ethical questions and predicaments about end of life and what to do when some one is on artificial life support. Working at the hospital was an eye opener on so many fronts. I realized that the old slogan health is wealth holds so true because if you loose your health nothing in the world can replace that. There were patients there who were on ventilators and some who were receiving tube feedings, things I take for granted every day breathing and eating. Imagine not having the luxury to taste your food. Of-course taking care of patients in the hospital is more work and it does require a lot more skill cause of the level of acute care and the amount of i.vs and things attached to each person can make things like turning some one in bed and taking them to the toilet a big challenge. I have to say Nursing is a very challenging profession both emotionally and physically and the Nurses both male and female do a great job of keeping a calm, pleasant exterior while managing so much paper work, answering call lights and taking care of patients needs. I did not see nurses sitting for one second while on their 8 hour or 12 hour rotations and I only had 8 hours to do I can tell you being on your feet for that long and ensuring you are not Mrs grouchy pants by the end of that, plus making sure you are following all the rules and protocols is no small feat. Nursing is so much about communication and being a team player, being positive to your co workers and enthusiastic about your work. There is certainly a lot more than book knowledge and skill involved. I just have so much more appreciation for people in the health care field and all that they have to put up with and deliver care.
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