Human Nature (as opposed to the other kind)

What is it that encourages an emergency room nurse to want to share thoughts about the work he does? I suppose the same thing that encourages people to have children: the desire to see our tangible, and sometimes, irrevocable dent on the world.

It is true that most every profession is somewhat of a mystery to those who do not engage in it. Perhaps it is the mystery of emergency nursing--its mysterious language, tools, methods, etc.--that I would like to share. Perhaps it is the unusual situations I find myself in, the unusual patients I encounter during an average work day. Perhaps it is the all too common events--"accidents"--that damage and sometimes destroy peoples lives.

Perhaps it is just an impulse to try to dispel the effects of television. I have to do this in my job a lot. I thought I might do it in this space as well.

I want to make it clear at the outset that these opinions are mine and mine alone (of course, heavily influenced by the people and events around me) and are not to be confused with medical advice or information or official positions of individuals with whom I work or organizations for which I work.

Of course, I am open to suggestions and comments. Nurses are trained to listen well. Although I realize that blogs are not proper dialogues, I encourage you to share your thoughts and questions with me via this space. I will do my best to address them. As I say often in triage, "I am a nurse. What seems to be the problem?"

Oh, one more thing. If you are the sort of person who looks at or writes blog posts daily, you may be disappointed in my effort here. Whereas I usually have an opinion, I don't always have an opinion to share or time to share it. After all, I am an emergency room nurse.