What I’d like for Nurses Week next year, part 1

2. Enough time, just for one day, to eat lunch. Or if that’s too much, enough time to pee twice during a shift or maybe grab a glass of water. This isn’t a problem in all places, but in those places where it is a problem, the problem’s well-nigh intractable. If you work in the emergency department of a big-city hospital on a weekend night, you’ve likely developed the ability to ignore basic physical signals for hours, and the chance to visit the bathroom sounds like heaven. (We call it a “fluid rotation” on my floor.)

Next: An acknowledgement of something I’ve done right or done well lately. →