Nursing: My experience

I have a week left before my apprentice job as a nurse ends. I almost worked 10 Weeks as a nurse, so you kinda get the experience. I know its a bit different from what I talk about usually but I feel like I need to talk about some things, that have been in my head for a while. 

1. Nursing in general 

It is what it is, exhausting. Its one of the lowest paid jobs in germany, yet the one, that needs more workers urgently. Politics in germany is weird, they say theyre ready for more social workers but not ready to pay them more money or organizing a better working place and habit. Nursing has been seen as a shitty job over the years, which I can understand on some sides. Sometimes its funny to work with old people but sometimes it gets on the thought of „I am risking this persons life!“. You walk over 10 000 steps in one shift and be open for communication. You also have to realise that you sometimes dont have the time to talk to the patients or elders (unfortunately). You also have to learn by watching. Because I am not doing an official apprenticeship job as a nurse, and just a 10 week one as a Student, I had to learn different things by watching how my colleagues are doing certain things. You also need patience or else you will eventually lose your mind. For me personally: I wouldnt do it my whole life, but I am glad I made the working as a nurse experience. Even tho I dont earn money from these 10 weeks, I always think about the fact that as a muslim I get rewarded attending such things like nursing. 

2. An „empowering womens job“ 

80% of nurses in germany are women, and dont ask me why. Many of them are nurses from other countries/continents like south amerika, hungary, russia, serbia, bosnia etc., most of these kind of workers make a diploma in their country, so they can work in germany to earn more money. This work is seen as empowering, because people tell nurses, how much respect they have for nurses but „I would never do that“. Now that kinda sounded like I am offended, but now that I learned the „job“, I kinda understand why people were saying it. I am no judger, I need to see and hear the whole situation, thats why I took this job in the first place. Many men dont tend to this job, because its seen as a job for women, and that only women can take care of the patients or elders only. Thats an awfully wrong consumption due to the fact that no matter if youre a woman or not, the job as a nurse is needed! 

3. Co-workers

I have heard a lot of nurses talking about having bad co workers, bad as in “mean”. If youre a mean nurse, the world is basically yours. I sometimes asume that these kind of nurses have problems at home and take them with to work by being mean to their co workers, schoolars and even patients. An eldery women was laying on her bed and we knew that she was about to die. The last days before her death, she screamed all the time, because of the pain she had. She couldnt move well, also because she was overweight. My colleauge called her “a dying cow”. The terryfing thing about it is, that the day she said it, was the day, when this eldery women died. Like, the disrespect? She also laughed after this but me and my other colleauge were a bit terrified and had serious eye contact for a few seconds, because we couldnt realise the stupid shit we said.  I didnt work with this colleauge a lot tho luckily. Overall I had luck with most of my colleagues, they always helped me when I couldnt move on with some things and were really nice. I got many compliments from them like I am brave and that they see that I am working really hard and finish everything I do (very proud, yes I am!). They also taught me how to work with patients that are sick with dementia, which is very important. This goes to nurses with mean co workers: ignore it! They have problems, which they cannot get away with and if theyre pissed its (mostly) never your fault! And if it gets worse, please do me the favor and change your working place. You can never finish your work well in a toxic working place. 

4. Harassment 

Unfortunately, many nurses, regardless if women or not, many nurses get harassed. It goes from saying mean harmless stuff like „why do you nurses take so long??“ to „come sleep with me“. Now that sounds scary but let me tell you about this old man in our living quarters. This man would touch himself, all the time. He even got medicine, so he would stop (not stop, but it should make him feel less sexually active/h*rny). Our team had a young male schoolar, and this old man asked him, if this student could touch his genitals. This young man was so brave for immediately telling his colleagues. And this same man asked me to go to sleep with him, because he thought I was young and naive. I am young, but when its about sexual harassment, never naive. I told him to stop and left. Please be brave when it goes to a case like this one. Tell your colleagues and boss, and be honest. And dont feel sorry for a patient like him, because it was his fault and it would be always his, hers or their fault. We nurses are stronger than this !!!

5. The end? Periodt! 

This job showed me what not to do. It definitely taught me, how to take care of elders. My parents are fit and still in their 40s, yet, when it comes to the point, where my mom or babi needs help for taking care of themselves, me and my sister will be sure that they get the help they need and would be aware of what to do. But: I wouldnt consider doing the job as a nurse, for now. Its very exhausting and makes my back hurt. And studying all the diagnosis and practicing on how to do certain things with medicine and stuff, I dont know if I am made for studying this but its not in my current interest. So this goes out to all the nurses: thank you! Thank you for being here! Thank you for doing work that nobody can imagine on how hard it is. I have so much respect for you and you deserve the best! 

I have not much more to say but that I am glad that I have these 4 days of work left and that I will leave with relief. I wish yall a good night or day 💟

Ajola//12.02.2023