“I Don’t Know How You Do It”

A patient’s observation of the nurse’s station from her hospital room has gone viral. A Facebook post about Mercy Hospital was written by a patient that had a front row seat to a day-in-the-life of hospital nurses. Her words are thoughtful and true as she sees and acknowledges nurses for the incredible work they do. Thank you, Nurses! You make a difference!

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Just a quick observation overview.

My room is right in-front of the nurses station. I’ll be the first to say although I have always valued and respected nurses, I have never had a grasp of what their days or nights entailed.

This bed has given me a front row view of how hard their days really are. It is insane.

Did you know they carry one, sometimes two phones in their pocket— those phones never stop ringing. Also did you know I haven’t seen anyone “sitting” at that desk once, they stop at the desk but more often than not I see them bending over and logging, not sitting down. I haven’t seen their masks come off at all—for hours. I haven’t heard anyone negatively react to being talked down to by what I assume is another patient on the floor. I asked my nurse today if she tracks her steps, she said yes. Guess how many miles she walked today—6. She still has 40 minutes left in her 12 hour shift. Last night my day nurses came in to say bye to me at 8:20pm their shift ended at 7pm. I know that like police officers, teachers, hairstylist, doctors, lawyers and every other professions under the sun— there are good ones and bad ones. Nurses are no different.

I’ve had 7 different nurses since I checked into Mercy inn and suites, lol. Some better than others. What I’m finding is the most common category they fit into collectively as a whole— isn’t good or bad. Although I’ve experienced both, what I see more clearly are the categories of unappreciated and overloaded.

I strongly encourage you to buy a coffee for the next nurse you see. Tell them to have a good day. Encourage them. Somethingggggg. Because I can assure you until you lay here and listen and watch for days on end you have no idea how hard these people work and what they go through.

My appreciation for the medical field has always been there but has been deepened and rooted over these last few days. Without a doubt.

Find a nurse and just say

“Hey thanks for what you do. I don’t know how you do it.”

Because trust me, you don’t.♥️🤟🏼

Facebook/Shelbie Marie is at Mercy Hospital Jefferson

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