"How long have you been a nurse?"

6/14/17 was my last day doing home visits

Whew! I was very sad and grumpy the last few days.  I would be excited that the farthest I'd have to drive was Belfast but then I would be scheduled in a criss cross back and forth across Belfast north/south/east /west then back to north of Belfast. I would become truly upset at the inefficiency of it.  I would leave early to start early but if I called one client who either didn't pick up the phone or who couldn't see me early, I'd sit for 1-2 hours in my car playing Words with Friends. Or drive the extra 20 min to Belfast for a lunch and bathroom break then back the 20 min to the original neighborhood.

Judd was good about coming up to  Oxford or Bangor for a hotel vacation once a week when I was stranded for a month at a time.  We'd hit a new restaurant every week. I did replenish my stock of hotel shampoo and conditioner.

One man had a thank-you card waiting at the end of the visit  and wanted to tip me $20.  I told  him he couldn't do that but that I'd take the card.  I left the cash at his wife's end of the table. He said "you girls stick together." One little old blind lady was accompanied by a neighbor "in case." I guess, in case I turned out to be the scary one. Anyway, with all the questions about are you safe at home, do you need ramps or handles in the bathroom, do you wear a seatbelt in the car, the neighbor outs the lady and reveals that the lady's hobby is rearranging her furniture and that sometimes when the lady goes in the cellar she forgets to wear her lifeline device. I guess the neighbor thought I should add these questions to the safety inventory. We all did laugh that rearranging your house when you're blind was a funny hobby.

A couple thoughts about that time and my discomfiture. As I've said, the work wasn't difficult and much of the displeasure was the inefficiency.  But it really felt that I wasn't doing the clients much good.  They still think of themselves as a patient when a doctor is in the room. So they wanted to tell me about their medical problems not so much their healthy screening/safety issues. If they were really sick, I had to say, "you need to see your Primary Care provider (PCP) about that. Here's I'll write it down on your reminder sheet."  And I know I wasn't helping the PCPs because they're swamped in the office and trying their best to fit these questions into a "normal" 15 min appointment. So it really felt I was only helping the insurance companies and my own pocketbook. It started to feel worse and worse as the second month ground on.

I guess I know of one person whom I did help.   Her BP was very elevated and we checked it again and it was even higher.  I said she really need to get into her doctor in the next week or so and not wait for her check up in 4  months.  After a call back, she had seen her provider and was starting a medication and getting checked regularly. She and the doc were appreciative and I felt less like a mercenary.

There were more than a few people who asked me how long I've been a nurse (and then looked scared when I said I've never been a nurse.) They said they couldn't believe they'd send a doctor to their home. Should I hear that as, "I can't believe a lady in a white coat is a doctor." or just let it go?

That job is over. I let it go.
The next new adventure starts now.