The Toughest Break

My hot job is apparently being phased out. In some respects, it did look too good to be true, but I did the best that I could while I was there. I think some thought mavens have deduced, that there are some limitations to my position (I'm not supposed to take a patient assignment; just do breaks). Anyway, once I heard about it, I had to jump on the bandwagon and find something else. The tough part, is leaving the crew I have been working with, for the past 14 months. I enjoyed being a part of the team (and can only hope they will muse about the "good old days" when they had a dedicated Break-Relief Nurse).

Here is my farewell:

I enjoyed every minute
Except, just one,
It was back at the beginning
But all the rest was fun,
And do understand
I'm not leaving for that reason,
Nor was it excommunication
Or treacherous treason.

Whether rumor or fact
The position is phasing out,
I couldn't wait
Till I heard the last shout,
Nor could I accept
A return to the bedside,
In ICU; just one step
From the dead-side.

Don't take it personal
It's not about you,
But rather, the clients
The drug-addled few,
The revolving door return
Of non-fixable folks,
I think I might go postal
Attending to those blokes.

My injury risk
As a bedside punching bag,
Dead in the sights
Of some murderous nag,
Who is on the steep downslope
Of Delirium Tremens,
Like gargling with razor blades
With a chaser of lemons.

Proning and flipping
On a whim for mankind,
CRRT and ECMO
You must be outta your mind,
Level-1 transfusions
And fourteen vasopressors,
On a DNR Grandma
'Twould be better just to bless her.

Sure, it's not all that
No, sometimes it's more,
ICU nursing these days
Is a death defying chore,
In for a penny
And ten diseases for a pound,
A lot of dubious solutions
And endless problems all around.

What I will miss?
All of that stuff,
Imagining 12 hours of it
I'm not tough enough,
To maintain my poise
And my youthful good looks,
Thus, I return to the Mother ship
To drink coffee and read books.

The saving grace?
One's comrades at arms,
You are a powerful group
Defying numerous harms,
With synergy and camaraderie
Good fellowship and fun,
Working together
Like a well oiled gun.

And so on, henceforth and furthermore
Gotta go, slipping out the back door,
Fourteen months, didn’t seem like a chore
And God forbid, hope I didn’t catch a spore!