RE: Behind the Bulletproof Glass
I feel you friend. I work in a busy hospital pharmacy. There's only so much two hands can do..safely. There's a limit to helping, because health workers help until it hurts them. Where should you draw a line? Should there be a line?
Your feet hurt, your vision blurs.
Your shift ends in five minutes but there's a sick child crying in the waiting room. There's an angry husband, his wife is in pain. There's a bald woman waiting for chemo, her face masked so we won't kill her, and her eyes are wet and sorrowful.
We help until we can't.
We do it because we are the help. We are the soft places where hurt goes to heal. We are the lights in dark places. We are, because we choose to be.
They don't understand, waiting for their turn.
They need you to fix it. To make it go away.
Not knowing you die a little every time you have to make a choice
Whether to go
Or to stay.
Jhagi.
The other thing to consider is that the more you work to help, the less effective you become as you become more exhausted. It's truly a razor-thin edge.
beautiful reply.
Thanks Spaingaroo. Smiling. I appreciate the time taken to read. Working stiffs like us in medical have our share of burdens. Not many know them if they're not in the field. It's hard to prevent becoming jaded. To avoid emotional burnout; and yet that's what's needed. A warm heart in a clinician's body. A feeling machine if you will.
Happy you liked the post.
Best hugs.
Jhagi.
The hospital pharmacy is also a very stressful area. So many hospitals don't have pharmacy services available during night shift. In the ER we often have to do drug calculations and mix drugs in Emergency Situations which can be super stressful. The process always consists of multiple checks by RNs. I appreciate your response. Sound like you definitely understand chaos of things.