Back from the wild

I just returned from a week long vacation to Lake Tahoe, California where we stayed in a condo for two nights, and from there camped in Yosemite National Park, California for three nights. It was amazing. Everything was beautiful, and it was wonderful to get away. While there I discovered something about myself: I think a lot. Sounds weird, right? I found myself starring off into space or at the awesome scenery more than I was having conversations with the four other people I was with.

I do this because I feel peaceful. I am happy with my life, where I am, who I'm with, and where I hope to go. I am blessed with more love in my life than I thought any person could be, and I realized that even more this week. Something being a nurse has taught me is it is far better to listen than to speak. Just by being silent, watching, laying a hand on your patient, you learn so much more than my speaking. Daily I apply what I learned at the hospital to my life at home, and it goes both ways. By listening to what is not being said, by reading a person's expressions, by looking in their eyes to see if the light is present, you learn much more than by having a casual conversation.

When people come to the hospital they become so vulnerable. They are in a new surrounding with people and machines they are unfamiliar with. We bust into their rooms, expect them to undress in front of us, and forget they have insecurities and deserve privacy. I use the term "we" loosely because I try my best to offer as much privacy as possible. I knock and wait before I enter a room, peak around the corner and ask "Are you decent?". As nurses we forget that we are familiar with the surroundings of the hospital, it becomes like a second home to us where we know the location of important items, and we know what each piece of machinery and what each beep and light means. Remember to speak softly, explain each step of each procedure or medication, make sure all questions are addressed and answered, and listen ten times more than you speak.