Parent Stresses From A Nurses Prospective

Happy Monday my Friends! Hope everyone had a great weekend. I have been out of the hospital working as an ICU Nurse for just over a year. But, I was thinking about this time of year in the hospital recently and remembered how this is the craziest and busiest time for nurses. Post holiday stress settling, those that weren’t great with their heart healthy diets, and of course prime Flu season.

I can still remember how freaking busy it would be this time of year with those issue. But, I was also recently reminded of how many young people that are sick. And I’m not talking about the typical flu, pneumonia or even this huge cancer epidemic we have going on. It’s all the alcoholism and addiction to pills and drugs killing these young people’s bodies. It’s young kids who are acting crazy, hanging out of cars while going 80 miles an hour down the highway, or stopping traffic on busy freeways to go car surfing. There’s so many preventable things happening right now and it’s crazy what kids are doing these days.

As a parent I think to myself, what is going on here? Where are the parents in these situations? Or are they present and these kids are doing these crazy things anyway? Being a parent is stressful enough, but seeing these things as a nurse while working in the hospital even more stressful. I think to myself, how do I prevent this from happening in my own life? All I can think is being present with my girls. Teach them what’s right verse wrong. Be a good example myself.

I was just talking with another mom yesterday about this fine line we ride as a parent. There’s this feeling of needing to be nice and lenient enough so your kids feel like they can always come to you with anything, but you also have to be strict enough so they know you’re the authority. You don’t want to be a pushover, but you don’t want to be overly tough forcing them to be sneaky or hide things from you.

When I was younger I can remember my mom saying “You just wait Kallie, you will worry about your kids. And you will never stop worrying about them, day in and day out.” I’m learning how true this really is, especially when you’re exposed to the things nurses see. Patients are younger and younger. I am not seeing the pediatric population, but to see those that are or near my age is frightening. There is a huuuge epidemic going on here. How do we stop it? Where do we begin?

The level of stress and worry is just one of those things that is inevitable. How we face and manage those makes the difference. I see parents deal with these behaviors in a variety of ways. Those that caudal and enable these behaviors, and some I can definitely tell have NO IDEA they’re doing it. But, what can I do about it? It’s not my place to tell someone how to parent. Then, you see the complete opposite, those that have had enough, have kicked them out and only call for updates. Those calls are always so hard. You can hear and sense that tone in their voice. You know, that tone you get when you’re scared. There is a shakiness because they fear their child has reached the end of the rope.

Unfortunately, as an ICU nurse you have to have those tough conversations with families. When patients are older it’s much easier, but how do tell a mother her 27 year old child has completely drank their liver to death? That they are dependent upon a machine to act as their kidney’s. Or how does a child make the decision to end their course of treatment because they just can’t take it anymore.

Nursing is hard. But, nurses can do hard things. That’s what makes them special. It’s what keeps them going back to work every day to care for your loved ones when they need it. This is Nurses Appreciation Week, so take a moment and recognize the nurses you know. It’s a job that is rarely acknowledge during the daily tasks we do. Sometimes we can see it in your eyes you appreciate what we do, but like anybody we like to hear it too!

Hearing about how great nurses are just warms my heart. Please comment below to recognize the nurses you know, or tell a story about your favorite nurse experience.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Get Out There and have a Gorgeous week!