As you may have gathered from the title of this blog post, this post is going to be about my love of stethoscopes......

No 2 stethoscopes are created equal.

If you are a nurse or in the health field, you know this all too well. I have had my trusty Littman 2E stethoscope since I started nursing school, circa 2004. It is not one of those crappy, flimsy,disposable yellow/ black, you can't hear crap with stethoscopes.  It is perfect. I can hear everything with it. The earplug thingys fit just right. It loops around neck perfectly. It has been with me through thick and thin.  It is the most wonderful shade of teal and is everything I have ever wanted in a stethoscope.

That just got weird. Onto nursing...

No two nurses are created equal.

This blog post is actually about Nursing.

As before, if you are a nurse or in the healthcare field, you also know this all too well. Some of us are nurses because we like the money, some for the blood and guts, or like me, because we love to help people.

A little background for you....I wanted to be a nurse in the second grade. In high school, I wanted to be a marine biologist (because there is sooooo much marine life in Nebraska) or a respiratory therapist. I went with the later when I was in my first few years of college. Plus, I smoked...not a good thing for a Respiratory Therapist. Then,  life happened and I didn't decide to become a nurse until I was in my early 20s. I figured this is the perfect career for me. I love the blood and guts, I (generally) like people, love medicine, and  have an amazing amount of compassion that I sometimes even surprise myself at what I put up with. What I think I love the most about nursing; it challenges me everyday.

I need to let you in on a couple secrets......

I am a perfectionist and a wee bit OCD. I like things to be in certain places or in a certain order. (I am little bit Irish, as you should be able to tell from my fondness for the word "wee" lately). I hold myself up to a very high standard of integrity, work ethic, and dedication. As a result, I also hold others up to that high standard. I am easily disappointed and am often angry about something or another. If you work with me, have worked with me, or just generally know me, you should know the above things. They often get me into trouble and stress me the heck out! With that being said, I love that I chose to be a nurse. Well, most days.

Imagine those cutesy little Love is.....cartoon thingys in the Sunday paper. I need one for nursing.

Nursing is.... Working weekends, holidays, birthdays, the dreaded night shift, 4 hr shifts to 16 hr shifts, and basically, anytime that you are needed. I could go on and on. If you are a nurse, married to a nurse, or know anyone that is a nurse, you know or have heard the best and the worst things about nursing. We don't get snow days, the day off just because, or get to stay home when we are actually sick. We work our butts off and take care of the sickest people. We are there to comfort pateints and their loved ones. We are there to get yelled at for something or another (not intentionally). And, we are there to provide the care that we would want shown to us.