It’s nurses’ week and let’s just be clear: coffee and PTO don’t solve all your problems. This position is often thankless at times. Plus, you work long hours and know way too much about charts (in all their wonderful permutations). Sometimes you need a mental break from it all.
Can we interest you in a laugh?
Funny Nurse Anecdotes
One nurse chose to work nights and weekends because it is clearly easier.
“Saturday nights are my favorite,” she said. “Almost all of the patients have gone home. And the ones that are here are completely healthy. They need a good, uninterrupted night’s sleep and I’ll be sitting over there playing sudoku to allow that to happen.”
Another nurse questions her uninterrupted lunch.
“I just don’t understand why I haven’t been interrupted during lunch,” one nurse lamented with tears in her eyes. “I have all of this quiet to think, decompress, and collect myself. It isn’t right.”
Source: Nurse.com
Did a nurse do the unthinkable?
“At one job, we used to leave blood and urine specimens on the counter to be picked up by the laboratory in the morning. So at the early end of a 12-hour night shift, I put diluted apple juice into a urine specimen cup — and left it on the counter. In the morning, I asked if anyone knew who the urine belonged to and when everyone shrugged their shoulders, I opened the lid and sniffed it. I said it doesn’t smell too bad and immediately downed it. The looks of shock and disgust on my peers’ faces were amazing and priceless!”
— Jerome S., RN, Colorado
Being a nurse is hard work? What do you meme?
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve had a laugh, here are some great resources to help you with any accumulated stress like our nurse burnout piece or our strategies for developing a work-life balance during COVID-19.
Expert advice from nurses like you
Join the free Incredible Health Nurse Community to get career advice, support, and tips from experienced fellow nurses.
