Nursing Voices

Monday, January 28, 2008

Help Wanted: Nurse with a Broken Heart

Poor Kate Mallory. She’s having man problems. Here’s her story:

Kate wore her nurse’s cap proudly. She was pretty and redheaded, but as old Dr. John said, “there was no nonsense about her.” That is why he chose her as the nurse for the Vincent case.

The Vincents were a powerful family, and Kate knew that caring for a crippled child in their isolated mansion would be demanding, but her job was not made easier by men involved in her life. After all, how long could a beautiful nurse stay in the same house with a handsome, moody young widower? And then, too, her employer’s cousin, a brash young doctor, had begun to show a disturbing interest in her. It would be best to go…and yet, when she held the tiny helpless baby, she knew that to leave world be to fail—as a nurse, and as a woman.


It sounds like Kate is going to have her heart broken before she figure things out. I’ve worked with a lot of nurses who are always suffering from a broken heart, so nurse recruiters, listen up! Here is a new recruiting tool that will lure more nurses into your place of employment. A Japanese marketing company is offering “heartache leave” to the their employees who are going through a bad breakup with their partner, and they are offered more leave days per breakup as they get older. This is a great perk for nurses because we aren’t getting any younger. This firm also offers leave during “shopping season.” I’m passing this along to you because, God knows, you need all the help that you can get to keep nurses from leaving the profession.


I’m still looking for my dream job. Last weekend turned into a pile of pooh from the moment that I stepped foot onto the unit. No staff, violent patients, and crazy family members who screamed at the nursing staff just because they can. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget about the guy who threatened to break my nose because we were out of ice cream. Sorry, I don’t work at a Baskin Robbins. Maybe I’ll dress up in a pink, pinstriped pinafore and put Haldol sprinkles on top of ice cream cones all day in an effort to keep the peace. Or better yet, I’ll find a new job that offers heartache benefits, and I'll start breaking up with a new guy every week. I need the time off.

8 Comments:

Blogger Jean-Luc Picard said...

Dream jobs are hard to come by.

2:49 PM  
Blogger Anne said...

I wish they really made Haldol candy sprinkles...and I'm sorry your weekend was so tough.

3:35 PM  
Blogger lady redundant woman said...

when i worked as an undergrad in a research lab, my grad student gave me the day off after finding out that my boyfriend of 4 years had cheated on me.
however, i think it had more to do with being uncomfortable with all the crying, rather than out of sympathy.

4:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Boy that brings back memories! Love your blog.

7:33 AM  
Blogger Smalltown RN said...

Well I know to will soon be looking for alternate employment....my poor shoulders can't take much more of the patient transfers I have to do over the years...the repositioning in bed..the trying to catch them as the fall...the dodging the swings and the kicks....the arm just being pulling on because the patient thought is was a side rail...yes...nursing has been good to me...but my shoulders are screaming to stop.....oh what to do...

11:13 AM  
Blogger Kaliki said...

In hospice, we actually have Lorazepam hand cream! I also had an idea for atomized Lorazepam that would squirt gently into a room at arranged intervals. Have't sold that one yet.

7:02 PM  
Blogger Shelly said...

I feel your pain. I did 24 hours straight this weekend. Didn't even know it was illegal! Not that the facility cares. We're so far out in the boonies that we're out of legal reach anyway!
I hope you find your dream job soon!!

10:11 PM  
Blogger Doc's Girl said...

Blah. It's upsetting when we don't have ice cream at home...but I don't threaten to break the bf's nose. We just make a mandatory trip to the store to get some. ;-)

6:12 PM  

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