Scale of 1-10

One of my most common questions on my unit is "On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst pain you've ever been in, how would you rate your pain?" - In those exact words. It's like my tongue has a memory. I could recite this phrase even if I had stage 6 Alzheimers.

Therefore, in the spirit of having this phrase ingrained into my being, I'm going to ask some similar questions.

Caroline, on a scale of 1-10, ten being the worst pain you've ever been in, how would you rate your pain?
-Well, considering that I played soccer again yesterday and the fact that I picked a scab on my knee, I'd say about a 2. Mostly in my calves. No medication please though...

On a scale of 1-10, ten being the best food you've ever tasted, how would you rate the food that you usually prepare for yourself?
-I'd say about a 5 usually- not because it tastes so good, but because I eat whatever my stomach asks for.

On a scale of 1-10, ten being absolutely ridiculous, where would you rate the TV show 'The Bachelorette' that you watch on Monday evenings with your roommates 'for girl bonding time'?
-10. I am ashamed.

On a scale of 1-10, ten being the point where you'd call even your very straight hair curly, how humid is it in Rochester this summer?
-Probably an 8. There are days when I feel like a geyser.

On a scale of 1-10, with ten being passed out on the floor, how grossed out are you by really disgusting smells and sights in the hospital?
- I don't mind the gross sights at all, I'd rate that at a 2. However, I have to say that I'm very thankful for my poor sense of smell. It serves you well in the hospital. Nevertheless, I can be pretty grossed out by certain smells. This is a PG rated blog, so I won't delve into that, but I'd say a 5.

On a scale of 1-10, with ten being the job of your dreams, how great is the atmosphere on Fr4C?
-9 and 3/4. I got so amazingly lucky with my placement. It has been fantastic. The nurses and doctors have all been extremely patient with me. I'm in a really good place to learn both basic things about nursing, but I also have the cardiac side which is fantastic. Mayo Clinic takes care of its nurses. I am very fortunate.

On a scale of 1-10, with ten being equal to Superman, how much of a hero were you tonight?
-Not quite Superman, but it was a cool story! Tonight I rode with 3 other students from my program. While we were waiting for the fourth one to arrive, someone walked up to us and asked us the way out. We told them, but then realized that they were wearing no shoes and had a patient bracelet on. The alarms in our heads started going off, so we started to walk after them. We found a nurse and asked her what we should do, but she wasn't much of a help. We decided to call security and just let them know what we saw. It ended up that it was a patient who had left the hospital without permission and we had saved the day! They were able to find the patient and bring them back. Well done Summer IIIs, well done.

On a scale of 1-10, with ten being completely, perfectly, and incandescently happy, (catch that reference?) how happy are you?
-After tonight's shift, I'd have to say I'm pretty close to a perfect 10. I am in the right place. I LOVE nursing. I'm going to go ahead and toot my own horn a little bit. I took care of a patient on Thursday and Friday last week. This evening, she wasn't my patient anymore, but I went in to visit her anyway. She saw me, got this big smile on her face, and said "I'm so glad you came to see me! I missed you!" When I was leaving, I went in to say goodbye (she's being discharged tomorrow), and she got up to give me a big hug goodbye. She told me that I was going to be an amazing nurse (little does she know of my incompetence with pharmacology). I also visited another previous patient of mine who was leaving. The reaction wasn't quite as big, but he took my hand, looked me in the eye, and said 'Thank you'. I overheard another one of my patients telling his wife that his nurses were 'pretty great'. I've got to say, this put me in a pretty good mood. :)

It's all worth it. All of the poop, the smells, the grouchy patients, the heavy lifting, the boring charting, the frustrating doctors, the crazy families.... it's all worth it. I'm so blessed.