Sharing a Pearl

Flare, as a brand-new nursing student-to-be, I found your article encouraging and your metaphor of pearls both poetic and inspiring, and I will turn to it again and again to help me through the tough times!

Hopefully we all have a necklace full of "pearls". Thank you for sharing your story.

It sounds like this girl had not been exposed to much hardship in her life. Perhaps she was a poor person to pick for this task. Everybody has bad days and has to learn problem solving. Most of the nurse techs...student nurses working in positions similar to to CNA's were able to carry out their jobs without breaking down in tears.

Thanks for sharing this pearl.As for other posters implying that a CNA could do their job without breaking into tears, everyone is different and has different things going on in their life. What sets one person off, doesn't even faze another. Personality differences, and the level of experience in dealing with something play a big part of how a person will react to a situation. It's nice to see that you gave this student the confidence she needed without 1)fixing it for her 2)babying her 3) discounting the question she was asking. I hope, when I graduate and enter the workforce, that I have fellow nurses like you who recognize that I'm not asking for special treatment when I breakdown. I just need someone to let me know that I'm capable of doing this, because for what ever reason, my confidence that I can do so has been shaken.RenSoul

As another future nurse, this was a great story to read. I agree with the others. I hope that I can find teachers, clinical instructors, nurses, and others that are able and willing to extend a moment of thoughtful wisdom if/when I have my first (or second or third...) breakdown moments in nursing. I'm putting this story on my necklace.

All of us have had to deal with patients like that before and know how it feels. We are only humans! That's why it is so important to work as a team and take turns taking care of difficult patients and give each other encouragement. I've had a few people like "Flare" in my professional and personal life that have helped me to go on .