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After a year in the ICU, I heard of a position available in the Recovery Unit. A few of our nurses worked there from time to time, and really liked it. I applied and soon made the transfer. Wow, was this a big change! Within the first few weeks, I all but “locked horns” with one of the nurses who had been there a very long time. It seemed, my brand of critical care, trouble shouting kind of nursing, just wasn’t going to fit in there. I was the “old dog” who had to learn some new tricks. I needed to learn that recovery room nursing is just that, recover the patient from anesthesia, and move them to, at least for them, a better place. Finally, one day, it hit me and actually penetrated my thick skull; this nurse really did know her stuff and I could probably learn a lot from her. I asked for her opinion one day, and that turned the tide for me. We became friends, and from her, I learned the basics about being a good recovery room nurse. She is some one I think about almost every day. As time went on, I became affectionately known as “the grazer”. Why? Well, the kitchen was conveniently located right next to the unit, so I snacked on yogurt and nuts all day. On my lunch break, I was allowed to punch out, run about two and a half miles, come back, take a two minute shower, and punch back in. Eventually, my time was split between recovery room, and the pre-op unit. By this time I had been a nurse about twenty five years, and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. We loved living in Tennessee, the mountains, the wholesome people, the beauty of “God’s country”. In the summer we went camping every weekend that I wasn’t on call, and in the winter, there was enough snow to have lots of fun with. But some how the whole time we lived there, it seemed a little surreal. I guess we knew that part of our heart never really left Florida, and the thought of being a long distance grandma, was gnawing away at me. So, after just twenty months, we decided it was time to move back to Tampa. With an excited yet a heavy heart, I gave notice. Before we left, the nurses in both units gave me going away parties. They gave me a huge basket packed with nuts, chips, and fruit, for the “grazer”, as well as two beautiful coffee cups. Whenever I use one of these cups for coffee in the morning, I smile and remember Susie and some of the other awesome nurses I will never forget. We headed back to Tampa in late February of 2003, just after the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl. I almost went back to my beloved Cardiac Surgery Unit, but after my experience in Recovery Room at Baptist Hospital, I decided I really liked it. Well, six and a half years latter, I’m still working in our Recovery Room. I believe this is it; I’ll retire here, some day. When I think back over my thirty one years as a nurse, I realize that all my original dreams have become realities in one way or another. My desire to be a perpetual student is fulfilled being on our “clinical ladder” at Tampa General. It seems I’m always taking a class or teaching a class. I may not actually be a Phys-ed teacher, but I am the “wellness ambassador” for our unit. A bunch of us nurses wear pedometers, keep track of our steps and win prizes at the end of each month. I’m still running races, a little slower; actually a lot slower. Fortunately, my advancing age group keeps me wining trophies, plaques, or what ever they’re giving out. What I didn’t consider in the first place, however, was the financial stability that my career would bring me. I mentioned in the beginning of my article about the rising rate of unemployment in our country. My heart aches for those families who are plagued by the uncertainty and fear that unemployment yields. For me as a nurse, I’ve been blessed with a career where I have the certainty of a regular paycheck and a good raise every year. Not to mention the fact that, as nurses, we generally can move just about anywhere in the U.S. and get a job. The “sky is the limit” as far as opportunities for advancement and variety are concerned. I work in a community of people who really care about each other and generally respect each other. I think that in the medical field, there is a special kind of comradery. We’re all there for the good of our patients. This leads me to my ultimate reason for becoming a nurse; to do more good. Over the thirty one years that I’ve been a nurse, there are many times when I know that either my nursing knowledge or just my compassion has made a difference in the lives of my patients and their families. There are faces of former patients and families I will never forget. Every day that I work in Recovery room, I have something no one can ever take from me. I have the smiles on my patients’ faces who take my hand and say “thank you”. I chose well thirty one years ago and for me, this is as good as it gets, it doesn’t get any better!
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