5 Reasons I will never be a nurse

Nursing never really crossed my mind as I thought about different career paths back in high school and early college. Blood isn't a huge issue for me (no problem pulling out my own loose teeth as a kid), but I still never thought about nursing, even when I volunteered in a hospital one year. But since Blake's injury, whether I liked it or not, I am getting the smallest taste of what a career in nursing would look like. It inspired me to write a post on 5 reasons I will never be a nurse.

1- I don't like seeing people in pain.

  Part of my "nursing duties" involve helping him take off his old bandages, which hurts him, and cleaning his cuts, which hurts him, and then putting on new bandages, which again, hurts. I do it, because I know it needs to be done, and he can't do it himself, but I hate it the whole time.

2- Due to reason one, I am not a very effective nurse.

  We (ahem, mainly I) had to clean off the tried blood that they couldn't tackle yesterday, but I didn't want to hurt him, so I was trying to be really gentle, which wasn't getting much off. Blake repeatedly had to tell me that I could go harder, and remind me that most of the dried blood areas didn't hurt. Also, as we wrapped the cloth bandage back over his hand and wrist, he had to tell me to wrap it tighter or it wouldn't do its job, which I was reluctant to do because again, I didn't want to hurt him.

3- I want to help too much.

  If it were up to me, I would try to have him just resting, and completely not using his hands at all for risk of hurting him. If I was a nurse, I would have to be encouraging my patients to do what they could as long as it didn't hurt or open up wounds, but I want so much for him to heal and feel good, that I try to do everything.

4- It is weird for me to dress an adult.

  Blake, as number 3 mentions, does as much as he can, but he is still pretty limited due to one wrist being injured and the other hand and wrist are injured. So, clothes are pretty tough for him, and I have had to help him in and out of his clothes since he got injured. It is a very interesting feeling trying to help dress an adult, and I don't think I am a fan. Kids, sure no problem, but adults... hrm.

5- Its too hard.

People comment that teaching would be hard, and it is, but nursing, wow. Just a little over 24 hours in, and I am overwhelmed, tired, and want to be done and it isn't even that bad. I have new found respect for those who do this all day every day with fresh blood and worse injuries than his.

So... Thank you to all those nurses out there or those with loved ones who need you to be their nurse, my hat goes off to you. Here's hoping my home career as a nurse is short lived.