The one day of nurse’s life
The work days started. I woke up at 5am, go to take shower, breakfast, morning yoga in order to get mood for this day…
In order to understand and feel the all charm of nurse work, I will write all day according to hours.
Morning
At 6am I run to the bus because my workplace locates at another part of the city. I need to catch not full bus. And it is not easy. In fifteen minutes, despite of all grandmothers protests, because they need to go to hospital in time, I push my body in the bus and I try to not being crashed by crowd.
At 6:50 my lungs fill up by air — freedom! I come out bus and I try to not catch a ground with my nose. The exact time — 7:00. All bad things are behind. And I run to the hospital like a wild cat — to my lovely register office. I wear surgery suit, medical hat quickly, and I run to get necessary items, blanks and keys.
That’s my workplace. I turn on computer, organize paper and open door by door procedure cabinets and the emergency room. While I am doing that, I check the light, staff and medical items. It must be well.
I have a few minutes before first patient comes in. I check all rooms and prepare it for work, make an order for medicine for the procedure room with added medicine for next shift.
“Let’s go”, I think. “Today we have ‘a day’, it means all ambulance cars will come here”.
It was not five minutes and I see the first car in my view. All the time cars come here, one by one. The rare minutes of silence here is like gold.
Till 12 o’clock here is rush hour: cars come here like infinite stream, in the corridor you can hear screams and swearing. Everyone needs help quick, and they no need a line, because they have emergency situation.
In this time the nurse turns into a target: she needs answer to relatives, write an anamnesis, give some orders to an orderly and explain to patient that he should to do. But I work at the procedure office, and I need to talk with a physician. So, I don’t have much time. Moreover, while I am doing it, I need to wear lovely smile. Because if they don’t like something, they can write a complaint, and then you can lose a work. So, you must forget the tiredness, “you chose this profession”.
Day
At 12 o’clock the first wave passed, and it almost took away granny’s life. We helped her with a physician to regain consciousness, while her relatives cried out. We took them at register room. So now we have some minutes to take a breath. So, — take a deep breath, let’s go.
Evening
In this time people come to the emergency room with injuries, bruises, fractures. And we don’t have enough place. While I focus on the work, I forget about everything. Every late minute can take a life away. And almost every duty when I have two or three cases that give me the precious experience and memories.
But work is going on. It gets dark, our room is getting empty and I would like to make a gulp of a tea. It’s 10pm.
At 11pm I am and my colleague decided to take turns on duty, if emergency situation will not happen. She goes to sleep and I stay at the emergency room with an orderly and physician — we need to check patients.
Night and morning of next day
Around 3am we changed and my mind just switches off, when I feel a pillow under my ear. At 6am the way of surprises come again: accidents with crushed limbs, drunken fights with knife injuries, infarcts. And we forget about rest and run to help people.
My inside ‘cuckoo’ cries out 8am. I take my shift to another nurse and end my ‘day’. I dream about sleep and relax and I go to the bus stopping. I don’t mind about full bus but about how can I not to miss my bus stop.
In two days everything will come back. Again I will run with hurdles, hear scream of relatives and patients, fast walk between cabinets, making hundred little things in the same times. And life is passing by that.
But, you know, I would never change that time. Because this profession — is a calling, but not that place where you get money to survive.
text Veronika Olievskaya
edition in english by Reshma Durai
