Nursing July 4th Freedom

Nursing July 4th is either completely "q" word or extreme chaos. More problems, more new admits from the Emergency Dept. More relatives coming to visit. Or totally boring with less visitors because they are all away and doing fireworks and BBQ fun or everyone was so busy having fun they didn't remember to not feel well.

Less surgeries scheduled if they can be because, well it's holiday weekend. 

But other than that, it's business as usual for a Nurse on Fourth of July. Patients to care for that would rather be well, be somewhere else. Medications on time. IV's to attend. Catheters and wound care. Time flies by until your shift is over. 

For you July 4th may have been just another day to be an awesome, compassionate, dedicated nurse. But for your patients, you made another day more bearable. Less scary. You were there for them. They were free to deal with their problems, because they had you to help them.