When it was time to say goodbye to my job in Indianapolis, I felt like an immense weight was being lifted off my shoulders. While working with the patients was extremely rewarding in some ways, a career in mental health requires you to give more than you get (and not just in monetary terms). For the first time since I graduated, I am not pursuing or engaged in a job outside the home.
AAAhhhh.
Now most careers don't involve people who are actively seeking to end their life and/or injure you, but with my chosen career path, it did. I chose to work with people who were a danger to themselves or to other people. I found that some of my gifts listening, redirecting, responding slowly...helped to de-escalate even the psychotic or enraged. I was calm and good at calming others in crisis. However, that constant vigilance, monitoring, and confrontation created such anxiety. And to leave that behind was not a hard decision.
I was however, sad to say goodbye to the nurses I worked with. Many were believers, and all had been working in the field for over 20 years. I learned a lot from them, not only clinically, but from watching their lives. So I made them this card on my last shift to say thanks. It is probably one of my favorite cards I have made in a while, so I thought I would share it here:
to some truly super nurses who have touched so many lives, mine included.
AAAhhhh.
Now most careers don't involve people who are actively seeking to end their life and/or injure you, but with my chosen career path, it did. I chose to work with people who were a danger to themselves or to other people. I found that some of my gifts listening, redirecting, responding slowly...helped to de-escalate even the psychotic or enraged. I was calm and good at calming others in crisis. However, that constant vigilance, monitoring, and confrontation created such anxiety. And to leave that behind was not a hard decision.
I was however, sad to say goodbye to the nurses I worked with. Many were believers, and all had been working in the field for over 20 years. I learned a lot from them, not only clinically, but from watching their lives. So I made them this card on my last shift to say thanks. It is probably one of my favorite cards I have made in a while, so I thought I would share it here:
to some truly super nurses who have touched so many lives, mine included.
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