Not Just A Nurse...

Nursing care comes in many forms. Sometimes it is the ability to make someone feel physically comfortable by various means. Other times it is the ability to improve the body's ability to achieve or maintain health. But often it is an uncanny yet well honed knack to see beyond the obvious and address, in some way, the deeper needs of the human soul.
~Donna Wilk Cardillo, A Daybook for Beginning Nurses

This quote reminds me of the many roles I've thought I've taken on as a nurse. We are/I am not only a RN... But sometimes I feel like the minute I step into the room I start to fulfill the following roles:

Nurse
Doctor ( I answer the questions you didn't ask/ or your doctor never addressed)
Medical dictionary ( I am expected to know the answer to any health question you have)
Teacher ( I teach you how to take care of yourself and how to prevent coming back here)
Crystal ball ( You expect me to know your outcome, though I am usually only 50-75% sure)
Media technician ( You expect me to fix your TV and mechanical bed)
Mom ( I have to remind you to eat vegetables and drink water)
Dietitian ( Because you don't take care of your diabetes)
Therapist ( I sometimes feel like you talk too much about your personal life and I'm to answer)
Baby sitter ( You let your kids aimlessly roam the hospital)
Marriage counselor ( You announce to me you are no longer intimate with you wife?)
Mediator ( Nothing like a patient and the spouse together in the same room- not getting along)
Referee
Chaplin ( I pray with you when you ask me to)
Security ( My license is on the line if you get hurt on my watch)
Physical therapist
Slave ( You take advantage of me at times and ask me to do things you are very capable of doing)
Belongings keeper ( If you lose something you request I find it or else it's my fault it's lost)
Punching bag ( You treat me badly sometimes...I think because you are scared or in pain or perhaps just an asshole)
Discharge planner ( I assist in coordinating your life at home after your hospital visit)
Friend...

I'm sure the list could go on.
I think the biggest shock is when these roles hit you and you weren't prepared for them, especially since you didn't learn this during school... They don't warn you about all of these roles. You step into them and are expected to know the role and all of the answers. You fly by the seat of your pants. I know now that I can do all of these roles because even though I may not have all of the answers, I know now where to find them...