A Nurse’s Holiday Wish List

Here’s this week’s reflection. I hope it resonates with you and ask that, if you enjoyed, please comment and share on your social media. Heartfelt thanks for all your support!

Keeping the light on for you,

Carol

Every December prompts reflection on a year drawing to a close. A few days from the winter solstice, I watch an even earlier waning sunset upon a cold horizon and ponder my personal and professional past chapters. These two years have been a doozy. And while many consider life somewhat back to normal, those of us inside hospital walls may disagree just a tad.

By the time you read this, yuletide will be in full swing. Should you have healthcare providers either on your gifting list or socializing somewhere in your midst, I offer two suggestions that go a long way toward showing them you care. One will likely make you chuckle and the other will hopefully make you pause. Both are suitable for gifting in tandem. 

To those of us working in hospitals, the prolonged holiday season from late October through December shows up like a wave that has been gaining momentum all year long. Not only are insurance deductibles met, but Mother Nature unleashes her icy fury on roads and sidewalks in our northern climes. Complicating the glut of elective procedures and accidents is The ‘Vid, scampering about like a precocious, nasty child, generating a vindictive crest on the tsunami of incoming rapidly filling rooms in Healthcare Hiltons. 

Thirty-five years in a hospital have taught me a thing or two about varicose veins and the importance of support hosiery. Think of The Wizard of Oz. Picture the Wicked Witch of the West’s demise. I can say with certainty that  the absence of therapeutic compression will likely have one’s legs melting into a gelatinous puddle at the end of a long day. If you love your caregiver kith and kin, I suggest purchasing their lower limbs the gift of knee-high steel. Preferably in an outrageous color or boasting a sassy sentiment. No one sees it under scrubs, and they may offer just enough “Game ON!” juju to endure the never-ending sea of calamities that are washing ashore. At the very least, they may conjure a smug smile for the warrior wearing them. 

Of note: In contrast to support pantyhose, knee-high options offer far less anxiety from not having to wear a loaded slingshot ready to disengage at inopportune moments. (Ask me how I know this.)

Physical support and levity aside, THE most important gift you can offer this year is emotional support for anyone in healthcare. A regular check-in with your medical pals can go a long way in assuaging the insidious, exponentially rising compassion fatigue causing notable staffing attrition when high-acuity care is needed most. 

This benevolence transcends politics, faith preference, and vaccination status. It is a request to stand in solidarity with those of us called to be the greatest empathizers, who will be sensitive to your needs should you have an unfortunate hospitalization. All we ask is to be heard, bolstered, and not vilified as we willingly provide science-based care that many others cannot or will not perform. 

For the general public, our world will hardly cause a blip on your otherwise healthy radar until you need a bed at the inn – hopefully one that can boast a “vacancy” sign –  especially for critical care. COVID has been an excruciating game-changer, filling ICUs and non-critical care beds. I urge you to consider vaccination if you have not already. It’s up to ALL of us to deal with a public health issue, just like we did with polio, smallpox, and a variety of other maladies that have been eradicated thanks to a collective effort. 

My wish is that the New Year brings you health, happiness, and a broader vision that appreciates a few more facets of the complex scientific gem called healthcare as we know it in this affluent country. A gift that, hopefully, is not taken for granted.

May you all have a peaceful and healthy holiday season!