Nurse Memoir #6

Working in the hospital for only a few short weeks,I,  as a new graduate,  got to do many of the things to prepare me for the big, wide, wonderful career ahead. The mundane tasks were not quite mundane for me since everything I learned needed to be applied to real, living people and all of them strangers. Up until now my patients were mostly friends, fellow class mates and sometimes instructors.

New nurses need to follow manuals so the foundations are correct for the life of the nurse's career. Instructors asked that we read the guidelines on  each of the floors that were placed for the "newbies", if there was ever a question. Protocol had to be followed since we never knew when one of the instructors would show up that had taught us in the classroom,  just to see how we were getting along. Since state boards were looming over me, I wanted to do the correct things so I would have the right answers on my nursing test in 3 months.

My day started off with some treatments for some  pre-surgical patients going to the OR on my shift,  Those patients got presidence over making beds, bed baths for the bed ridden patients and almost everything except an emergency.  I completed my assignments and looked at my nursing plan that was scheduled at the start of my shift when report was given. Looked like I had a discharge in room # 222, so I collected the usual good bye forms and made my way to the room.  In those days, women and men were on the same floor, so I did not know until I read the name that Lynden was the discharge person.

When I knocked on the door, a male voice asked if I would please come into the room.  All dressed and sitting on the bed, I asked if he was ready to go. I asked if he would please allow me to follow hospital policy for his discharge by using a wheel chair.  He said yes and we proceeded to the elevator and down to the Lobby. I asked how he was leaving the hospital grounds and he said he was driving and pointed to a car in the parking lot. I offered to wheel him to that car. He said "No, my wife is the patient, she was in the bathroom when he was taken  in the wheel chair."