Master & Novice

A historical romp regarding this old master; prompted by the recurring theme: Only a very few, super-bright, new RN's are ready for hospital Specialty Units. We veterans hope those new nurses understand the giant step they are taking..............and that their education is about to begin.

I enjoy being a mentor, but I can get grumpy real easy.

Master & Novice

I had so many writings

Five years ago,

I had reentered the field

After hiatus, you know,

Yet, I was still rockin'

That ICU persona,

Fifty five years old

And still a prima donna.

The old master returned

Just a little bit rusty,

Some engineering issues

To brush off, they were dusty,

But the knowledge-base wooed them

I was a heckuva catch,

An old relic of the eighties

The best of the batch.

Nursing is a difficult

Job to recruit,

You might carry weapons

That you're afraid to shoot,

Or maybe your shooting

Was twenty years before,

But you put it on your resume

Just to get in the door.

I'd been off a few years

But remained educated,

Symposia and journals

I wasn't outdated,

With my previous experience

With teaching and education,

Getting back into the game

Was just another train station.

That year my writings

Were completely off the charts,

Revisiting hemorrhage

And C-difficele farts,

The ICU drama's

And meeting old friends,

'Twas well worth all the angst

The means justified the ends.

Now, I work in a puddle

That's how it seems,

It’s not the kind of job

For a person with dreams,

It's a place for experience

For persons tired of the race,

Where you need to pay attention

And have the knowledge of our place.

No, you just can't wing it

In Cardiac Care;

There's too much at stake

Death is lurking everywhere,

Yet, we make it look easy

To the novice standing by,

They love the awesome schedule

Bankers hours?;  yes, they'll try.

New nurses don't know

And I remember, yes, I do,

A lot of overlooked mistakes

I wanted to slip past your view,

And instead of admitting

That I screwed up again,

When a Doctor called me out

I wanted to swallow my pen.

We veterans worry

About mistakes that might occur,

Allowing new nurses in

While they're still learning to stir,

A minestrone of diseases

With Cardiac at the top,

In the absence of a foundation

This house of cards could flop.

Assessment skills are so important

They are refined by repetitive actions,

One needs to observe a broad milieu of patients

Multiple disease states and a few disimpactions,

So I think that beginning ones career

In a very specialized disease setting,

Is like sleepwalking on the interstate

For the naive' innocent, who enjoys betting.

I was a "top o'the class" Respiratory Therapist

With five years experience; but a new Nurse,

I was inspired by my ICU counterparts

But I knew I didn't know enough, to pick up that purse,

Thus, I chose Cardiac Step-down

Where I learned about every adult disease,

Honed my assessments and critical thinking

After four years, I could go where I please.

I moonlighted a lot

A mercenary nurse, for lack of a better name,

A hired gunslinger

At the top of his game,

I could handle anything

For one night at a time,

And early on I discovered

I could unwind with a rhyme.

It's a brave new world

For any fresh minted nurse,

You need to recognize your lack of knowledge

If you have a big EGO, it's a curse,

Don't say yes, all the time

Do exactly what your Preceptor says,

And if you lie to me, young novice

You'll stand there holding a busted Pez.

Fibril_late;

11/20/13