Coming back to peels

I believe every nurse I do know has a story about stepping in to assist with an emergency outside of the workplace. I actually have had several over time, the last one being last summer after I was with my kids. It was a night within the park, near dinner, so it wasn’t too crowded. Suddenly, a young boy ran out of the swings, holding his head. His mother (or one other caregiver – I’m undecided what the connection was) was sitting on the subsequent bench, not removed from me. She began screaming and crying.

I saw blood flowing down the little boy’s neck, so I quickly ran over to assist. Luckily I had a towel in my bag as we had just returned from the pool. As I approached, the mother/caregiver walked away crying and fell into the arms of one other woman who was there. I quickly assessed his head (it was quite a big cut) and held the towel as I lowered him to the bottom where we sat and waited for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to reach.

All the while, my very own children watched in fear. After the emergency medical team arrived and took care of the boy, which included a visit to the local emergency room, we gathered our things and headed to the automotive. I assured them the boy was positive and might need stitches. The conversation that ensued with my only son went something like this:

The conversation lasted a bit longer, but I need to admit that something hit me then. I recently considered returning to patient care, but had not even begun to contemplate job opportunities or continuing education courses in the world. This brings me to the explanation I shared this story…

I actually have been out of bedside nursing for over 10 years and have a number of questions for anyone who has had an analogous “break” after which returned to patient care.

1. What steps have you ever taken to arrange on your return to bedside nursing?
2. Did you come back to your previous job or similar facility, or did you begin over in a brand new area or with a special patient population?
3. How easy or difficult was it to make the transition?

Share your story! I look ahead to hearing any advice you’ll have for me!

Thank you 🙂