My mission as one of the Contributing Editors for the all-encompassing topic of 'Life' is to seek narratives from everyday living as captured in the wealth of women's blogs. I am particularly intrigued with stories from the kaleidoscope of our working lives. Most compelling are the "war stories" of vocations I admire greatly but, because of a myriad of inabilities, character flaws and a lack of courage, I could never perform the work. And, at the top of that list of those occupations is the noble profession of nursing.

I was supposed to have become a Registered Nurse. As the daughter of Filipino immigrants, I was expected to obtain a college degree in a major that would guarantee a well paying job. Nursing is what my mother and father - and many other Filipino American parents - wished for their daughters. Or, accounting. Or, in the case of my brothers, engineering. All respectable and sure pathways to success.

Thankfully, my siblings fulfilled our parents' desires. One sister did an accounting program and ended up prospering in real estate. My brothers went into engineering and live in Silicon Valley.

On the other hand, I majored in English Literature, a degree destined to land me a job in the restaurant industry. Accounting was not at all appealing for this left brainer. Nursing was definitely not for me, being a squeamish sort and something of a klutz. I am better suited for poetry and prose, not numbers and needles. Thus, I was a literary waitress and bartender until I returned to school to train for work in the corporate realm.

Our eldest sister became an RN. Her career has spanned over 30 years at a distinguished university medical center. We used to ask her a lot of questions like - what's the worst case you've ever seen? Or - what's it like to stick an IV into somebody's arm? Though she will discuss some aspects of the ward and clinic, there is a considerable amount of information she won't disclose, certainly because of our layfolk ignorance of terminology, acronyms and inside jokes, but also because she's learned to put her demanding work behind her after each shift.

But, now, my sister's off the hook from my unrelenting curiosity because I read blogs by nurses, many of whom are exceptional writers offering intimate and enlightening access to their patients' bedsides as well as their own lives. The following are three wonderful storytellers along with samples of their craft:

Terry is a nurse anesthetist and blogger of the aptly named Counting Sheep. Her recent post, While you were sleeping... reveals what goes on while we're knocked out in the surgical suite as well as a portrait of two types of surgeons:

What really goes on in the Operating Room while you are asleep?

I get asked this question by friends and family all of the time. “Are they talking about me?” “Laughing at me?” “Commenting about my thighs?”

None of the above, really.

Conversations in the OR can range from sports to politics to gossip, or, no conversation at all.

Take the room I worked in today. We did 2 spine cases, with a different surgeon for each case.

Surgeon #1 insists upon total silence in the room, no phone conversations; in fact, all cell phones must be turned off. NO MUSIC. All energy and activity during the case must pass THROUGH the surgeon. “Independent thinking hurts the team” he has been known to say. He wants to know what’s going on at all times in all spheres. Control freak, yes, but in the very best sense of the words.

Surgeon #2 brings into the OR his iPOD and Bose speakers; in fact, they’re the first things he sets up. The music is always LOUD, and the mood is upbeat. The atmosphere is what I’d call “loose,” and laughter frequently flies.

So, who’s harder to work with, and who’s easier? Tough question, surprisingly! With Dr. Laidback, you actually must pay closer attention to your work; between the music and the conversations, these can be major distractions. With Dr. Serious, the mood is so somber (and spine cases can be so long) that it can be easy to get a little bleary-eyed and zoned out by mid-way through the case.

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about a nurse is the blog of May, a nurse on a telemetry unit. Her powerful post, the last thanksgiving, is published here in its entirety:

i worked thanksgiving night.

i dragged my heavy ass to work determined to have a grateful spirit.

well, the freeway was almost empty. also, i parked closest to the building. the hospital gave us free food. i have my loved ones. i have my friends. and i left the house showered with wet kisses from the little ones. it is always an overwhelming feeling, to drive away with three men (one grown up, and two, trying to look grown up) standing at the garage, waving endlessly nonverbally saying, “come back soon, okay?”

also, whether others acknowledge it or not, i know for sure that there is Someone faithful who always gives me free air to breathe, and lets the sun shine. i have everything i need, and as if i am really nice, i have a lot of the things i want. i am grateful. beyond words.

i clocked in with a real smile on my face.

then, i looked behind me, and i saw the “blue leather covered thing”. i have no idea who designed this corpse cart; but i hate it. well, maybe not really because of its design, but the fact that it is telling me somebody’s son, or daughter, or mom, or dad, or spouse, or friend, just left.

i found out very little about the dead guy. in his early 40s. married. he just came from the cardiac ICU. he was terminally ill. it was expected. they’ve been “prepared”.

still. it sucks that people die on a holiday. it sucks because everytime you remember that holiday, you remember something sad. you spent your life celebrating thanksgiving with all the joy and noise of having your family. then, all of a sudden, your memory never goes back to those lovely years. all you remember is that chilly thanksgiving night when you have to sign the death certificate. and the sight of that ugly, cold, blue leather thing that wheeled the body away.

i tried to think of that guy being grateful. i mean, if he could have raised his voice in thanks before he passed, he probably whispered to his wife that he was happy to have her there. he probably thought of how he finally can have that needed “rest”. no more needles, no more tests, no more pain. no more uncertainties, no more frustrations, no more sadness.

it lightened my mood a little bit.

but still. it sucks that people die on a holiday.

not that it doesn’t suck when people die on a regular day.

it’s just that some turkeys can be pretty big and heavy, it is difficult to prepare it alone.

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Kim, a nurse for 28 years, blogs at Emergiblog, the life and times of an ER Nurse. She sums up the emergency nursing experience in this excerpt of her post, Emergency Nursing: It Is What It is:

Emergency nursing is:

… your fourth septic work-up on an elderly nursing home resident with automatic admit and 58% more paperwork.

… your fourth six-month-old-with-fever who smiles while you talk, at least until you go for the rectal temperature.

… the frantic parents of a newborn who aren’t sure about the difference between spitting-up and vomiting.

… telling a woman who is 14 weeks pregnant that there is no fetal heartbeat.

***
… knowing drug-seeking behavior when you see it.

… wanting to give the patient the benefit of the doubt.

… getting chewed out for the wait time by the patient with a stubbed baby toe.

… not being able to move fast enough to keep up with a GI bleeder.

… explaining for the bazillionth time why a fever is not dangerous.

… explaining to the parents why their child needs transferring to a pediatric facility.

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… wishing your co-workers would move a little faster…

… and then pulling an extra shift so they are off for THE concert of the year.

… hating your job with a passion today and

… realizing you wouldn’t want to be doing anything else tomorrow.

… ending your shift with the feeling that maybe, just maybe, you made a difference to someone.

Emergency nursing.

It is what it is.

Many more links to nurse bloggers can be found on the blogroll at the bottom of Emergiblog's home page.

Grace Davis, Contributing Editor - Life
Personal Blog, State of Grace