Why I am thankful to be an ER nurse

It's Emergency Nurse's Week.  As I've said before, I became a nurse so that I could work with kids but my ADD brain means the ER is the best place for me to work.  I work in a 56 bed ED that sees like 65,000 patients a year.  It is the BUSIEST, most HIGH STRESS environment I have ever worked in and I LOVE it.  There have been many changes and higher than normal stress situations recently.  I have seen and heard things I don't understand. I keep reminding myself "that there for the grace of God go I."  Bad things can happen to anyone of us as nurses.  We do our best with the information we have and what we perceive and make split second decisions.  99.9% of the time we right are but when it's not, it can be devastating.  All of this has been rolling around in my head and I realized this morning it was time for a "thankful list."  When things seem most pressing my dad used to say "Count your blessings."  It has been a recurring theme in my life this year to be THANKFUL no matter what the circumstances.  So here's my list of:
WHY I AM THANKFUL TO BE AN ER NURSE

1. I never know what is going to be behind door number 1 or 32 or 53 or(wherever my assignment is) when I walk in.  For some people the unknown is a little unnerving.  For the ER nurse it's the challenge of the job.  The "chief complaint" listed on the computer screen is rarely the main issue.
2. As a nurse I sometimes have the opportunity spend a little time with patients and peel back  the layers on the patient's story.  I liken it to an analogy of an onion.  You keep peeling and you will find the real deal and it stinks most of the time and sometimes can make you cry (out of sadness, frustration, tiredness, disbelief, etc).  
3. Even if a patient is AWFUL (Awful means angry for no reason, crazy, screaming, climbing out of bed with a broken hip, on the call light every 30 seconds, demanding pain meds after doses that would put an elephant to sleep) you know you will be rid of them by discharge or admission and they will be SEP (someone else's problem) soon enough. 
4. The shift rarely drags on.  It is the usual to get started and be in perpetual motion until by tummy says "Time for a cookie and a Mt Dew" and the first half of the shift has flown by. 
5. I get to work with the most amazing group of people.  As a "mid-shifter" I get to work with both the day and night crew.  I can honestly say they are different personality types but equally great to work with.  
6. The above mentioned group of people have a crazy sense of humor and I get to laugh at work a lot.  I wish I could tell a non-ER person what's funny but you wouldn't get it. Oh and google "You might be and ER nurse if..."  They are all true. Seriously, they are.  
7. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the people who run the show-from the Director to the charge nurses and everyone in between.  I am blessed to work under stellar leadership (not just sucking up although I think Boss's Day is coming up so this counts as my tribute to them.)  I see just a snap shot of what's going on in the ER and they see and deal with it all.  They handle a crazy amount of pressure ridiculously well.  They continue to try to make the ER great place to work while meeting challenges and resistance from all angles.   Thank you to all of them.   I know you do a lot of work that we don't see.  
8. I get to hear lots of stories.   I love a person's story.  It is a blessing to my heart to ask an elderly couple "How long have you been married?"  And then not just hear "66 years" but the story of how they met.  Gives me goosebumps.
9. I am challenged and convicted in my spirit every day.  It is the easiest way to be jaded with someones' pain and be harsh right back at the patient who is screaming at you.  But I know I am called to show compassion and caring to all of my patients.  I also know that most of the time I fall short.  Really, most people just want to be heard, a warm blanket and a turkey sandwich ( a little known fact of the ER is that the turkey sandwiches are apparently so good that some people ask for one as soon as they enter the exam room!) 
10. Lastly,  I am thankful I have a job.  I am doubly blessed because I have a job I love.  I did not apply anywhere else when we moved down here and I didn't have any idea what the hospitals were like.  The job I got was the exact hours I wanted to work in a place that is great with people who are amazing.  That's another whole story and at the time I didn't know it would work out so well.  God is good.  

So that's it!!! Any others that you think of, feel free to comment -remember this is a family blog :)
Thank you to all the amazing ER nurses, medics, HUCS and CNA's I get to work with everyday.  You are all a blessing to me.  

joy