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Yesterday, I woke up to my roommates blaring music. Creighton was playing Xavier, and my roommates were preparing to participate in festivities starting at 8:00 a.m. After a chaotic week of school and a full day of clinical rotations ahead of me, I had been looking forward to sleeping in. I also happened to wake up to a lovely stye in my eye (totally unrelated, but it adds to the annoyance of the day). Grumpy Grace rarely makes an appearance, but when she does, watch out. The sass is real. My roommates were excited about the basketball game. They had no intention to wake me before my alarm. Honestly, I was jealous that I would cheer for the Jays from the hospital instead of courtside with them.
The frustrations kept building. I did not want to spread negativity to my roommates, so I went for a drive. I stopped for coffee. (I’m always a better version of myself when the caffeine kicks in.) I made myself breakfast and packed my favorite snacks for clinical. I even did all 13 steps of my skincare routine. (High maintenance? Maybe, but it usually makes me feel better.) I called a few of my favorite people. Even then, I still could not shake my case of the grumpies. Then, on my way to clinical, I backed into a bush on the side of my driveway. Currently, part of my mirror may or may not be holding on for dear life with some duct tape. There are also a few new scratches on the passenger side of my car. (God was mocking me at this point.)
When I got to the hospital, I received my patient assignments. I had a critical patient who required multiple medications (which meant extra homework after clinical). I remember thinking, “Ugh, of course, I get a hard patient today.” Then I walked into the patient’s room and introduced myself. I won’t go into details, but an accident caused a life-changing injury that will impact him forever. Multiple complications stem from the injury for both the patient and family. I felt like a loser for being grumpy all morning.
After checking my attitude (something that my parents had me do as a child that still comes in handy at 22), I went back into the room to take the patient’s vital signs. That ‘70s Show was on the T.V. I shared that I am from Wisconsin, just like the characters in the show. I was teased about the devastating Packers loss and told that “Aaron Rodgers is definitely leaving next season.” Every time I went into this patient’s room, I practiced a new skill and gained confidence. It ended up being one of the best learning experiences in nursing school thus far.
Toward the end of the day, my patient and I discussed how he could stay positive in this seemingly devastating time. The patient told me that he has days when the last thing he wants is to be positive. He was gifted a daily prayer book after the accident. The passage from the day of the accident talked about God being more significant than any problem. He explained that his faith, family, and community keep him strong.
My patient needed care, which I helped provide; but the person who needed the most help yesterday was me. As a nursing student, I get to meet patients from various backgrounds and diagnoses. Caring for this patient reminded me that there is more to life than the small things that I let affect my mood earlier in the day. I am so lucky to be given opportunities to grow as a nurse, grow in my faith, and grow as a person each day. I am confident that God is on this journey right beside me, and I trust that He will remind me to “check my attitude” like my parents did when I was growing up.
(Some details have been changed to protect patient privacy.)
