Halloween at the hospital

Halloween is coming up, and I am spending my first holiday working. Okay, so Halloween isn’t a full blown holiday, but I have a big family that I like to celebrate with, cousins I like to take trick-or-treating, and this time I’m going to be working the day away instead. Getting a taste for what it’s like to work the holidays, and hoping it tastes as sweet as Halloween candy!

Knowing the floor I work on, it will taste like candy – and lots of it. While I am a bit bummed that I’m missing our church’s Halloween waffle brunch, I’m actually looking forward to working. It’s not only that I really enjoy my co-workers and my job, but you know, these KIDS are in the hospital on Halloween. I get to go home at 7:30, but they’re stuck. At least when I am at work, I can make their Halloween a bit more silly, and a lot more fun than ‘just another day’ at the hospital. While it’s not the best of circumstances for our patients, I love my job (and nursing) because on days like Halloween (and every other day of the year) we can do what we can to make them smile just a bit more, and hope that we can bring some fun into their not-so-fun circumstances.

Plus I get to dress up! How exciting is that? I think there’s even a costume contest throughout the hospital too! So, I am trying to decide what I want to be. It’s got to be something that I can still move around in comfortably, that’s appropriate for work (OBVIOUSLY!), and …something new to consider… it has to be something I can cover easily when going in and out of isolation rooms. I don’t want a trailing skirt to carry around pneumonia particles! So the thinking cap is on – any ideas? I have a feeling it’s going to be a Halloween unlike any other – and I can’t wait!