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- May 11, 2013
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Yes, when one of my brothers was dying of lung cancer last year, the hospice nurse would come in and help him and listen to his lungs and then he would go lie down and she would chat with me when I was there, about her kids her life, I thought being a nurse in this profession must be really hard, to be up and chipper, when inside one may feel bummed. always being strong is often really hard.AGBF|1469929963|4060991 said:This is a little off-topic, I guess. I was feeling a little self-congratulatory today, thinking I must be a sensitive and wonderful person (I'll tell you why in a moment.) (Perhaps it your fault. You all praised me so much that you set me up in my own conceit.!) Then another explanation (a more plausible one) occurred to me.
Here is the back story.
People have been crying to me yesterday and today. Strangers. And none of them knew I was a social worker/therapist in the past, either. They were all people whom I was hiring as health care workers.
The people had nothing in common in terms of sex, age, income level, religion, or race. Two were men; one was a woman. One owned a business; one was a high level health care professional; one was a low-level health care worker. One was born outside of the United States and two were born inside the United States. One was African-American; two were white. The cause of the crying-not the cause, the occasion of the crying-was different in each case. In one case the person recounted the recent the loss of a dog. In one case the person recounted the loss (not to death, but to someone else) of a patient to whom he was sincerely attached. In one case the person told of a patient's stories of World War II.
As I said, at first I just handed out tissues and listened and reassure the men (for the first two to cry were men) that there was nothing wrong in their crying. And I started to think I must be a great listener. Then after the third person broke down at my kitchen table today, I started to realize that it is not me, it is them.
It is the profession.
Even though one of them is "only" an owner of a business, not a healthcare worker, I think that he is also affected by the nature of the profession. It is the care giving.
We have a thread on it here. Some of us go through stages of our life when we are "stuck" with it. But these people, all with visiting nurse services, do it all the time. And they do not do it in a group setting like a hospital where they can enjoy camaraderie and support from others. They work alone. They are isolated with their patients, feeling the pain of their patients (if they are feeling people as these three people clearly were).
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Anyone?
Deb
peace