Moments

Thought of the day: I am going to take care of thousands of patients over the course of my career. I'm going to forget their names. It would be unrealistic for me to remember all of them. They might have a dozen or more nurses assigned to them in one hospital stay. The time that I spend with them is short. I might not remember it. And they might not remember it.

This could mean one of two things.
1. I'm a nurse so I need to do my job well, but there's no sense in trying to make a lasting impact on every single person.
2. I could be assigned to this person specifically for a purpose, and I have only a few moments to allow that purpose to emerge. I don't know what God is doing in that person's life, and I'm not always sure what He's doing in mine either. What I do know is that allowing the Spirit to work in you can change everything.

People are so different. I've had patients who were terrified of their upcoming procedures. There are others who have had so many procedures done, they couldn't care less about what's next. There are people who have never heard of metoprolol or coumadin and others who know my drug book 10x better than I do. There are patients who have family there supporting them every step of the way. There are others who are all alone and are thrilled to be in the hospital because there are people looking out for them. Some patients have a ridiculously high pain tolerance. Others are wimps. Some feel like they are entitled to every free thing in the hospital whether it's ice cream, a bedpan, or the shampoo. Others are extremely grateful when you bring them a warm blanket. Some patients can't wait to get out of their beds. Some won't leave their beds. Some people give themselves a shot every single day, but others are terrified of needles.

Point is, when I walk into the room for the first time, I don't know what I'm going to get. I have just a few moments to be with them. Just a few moments to love them. Most likely, they'll forget my name and my face. But maybe they'll remember how I made them feel. And I guess it's up to me what that feeling will be.