THESE PEOPLE IN WHITE

I was 11 years old when I was first hospitalized because of acute gastroenteritis. Hopefully, that will also be the last. Anyway, I still remember clearly my stay in the hospital. The doctors, particularly the nurses, made an impression in my young mind aside of course from that dreadful chemical smell I always associate with hospitals (in which I later learned that it's called Cidex), the gruesome comfort rooms which made me tiptoe every time I entered to void, the uncomfortable bed sheets that smelled like they were soaked with chlorine for a very long time, and the intravenous fluid attached to my wrist's vein which made me feel like I was a some sort of an experimental creature I watched on TV. I both revered and feared the doctors during that time and I really don't know why until now. Maybe because they are often times serious and have this air of "dignified beings". But the nurses were different. I find them congenial, caring, soft and with a smile ready to flash when approaching their anxious clients. Quite the opposite of the nurses that we have right now. But then again, I can say that, not all at least. And that, there's a reason behind that.

So from that time onward, I had this dream of becoming a doctor, because I wanted to be dignified (who doesn't want to anyway?), or becoming a nurse because I want to be like an angel. Why angel? Because  every time I saw nurses in their white uniform, my young mind couldn't help but adore their neatness and "immaculateness", thinking that these people look so clean and so smart at the same time! It seems like watching them can heal both the heart and the mind!

Now that I am nurse, I could say that behind the white uniform that makes us look spankingly neat, behind the smile that seems to know no prejudice, and behind the adroit movements when doing interventions, is a job and a responsibility that is often times demanding, taxing and crucial. Our society have this notion that nursing is always equated with dollar and that when you are a nurse, you are either rich or will soon be rich. Little did they know that we often get small amount of sleep and that our schedules doesn't jive with the circadian rhythm; that we often skip meals and snacks just to finish our documentations; that we spend most of our 8-hour shift standing beside our patient in critical condition, monitoring every changes in vital signs; that idling is never been our business because every second counts especially when you are handling 20 clients alone; that we always become the shock and anxiety absorber --- clients plea on us for help, folks blame us when something goes wrong, doctors and co-workers ventilate their weariness, frustrations and anger at us when the day gets toxic;  and that we are always anxious about the safety and wellness of our clients to the point of never minding our own. When a nurse is on duty, he/she must be ready physically for the hustle and bustle in the work area, intellectually for safe clinical judgment and interventions, emotionally for all the feelings that might be projected toward him/her, and spiritually for the circumstances that might challenge his or her personal beliefs. With this aspects working simultaneously, a nurse might burn out sooner. With the health care industry presently growing more demanding, I am not surprised why there many grumpy and moody nurses today. They have no regrets about their profession, simply they are just overworked and under compensated. Exploited to be exact by this country who doesn't know how to value these people in white uniform who are always in the front line of the health care industry. Nurses care, but who will care for them? I wonder.