So I go to the Doctor for a 3 month checkup/exam. I've had some health issues over the last several decades, but 50 years + of we'll say, indiscretions, have left this old flat foot a little worse for the wear.

So the Doctor say's cough. I cough. He say's "that don't sound too good Lefty". He touches/palpates my ankles and say's "they look swollen". He takes my pulse (with the cutest 18 or maybe 20 year old female nursing student in the office, they asked permission to observe, I said yes) she couldn't calculate my pulse or respiration, but she sure was a pretty a girl, maybe that was the problem, but I doubt it. A plus for her I suppose, her folks should be proud for the dollars spent on college. Perhaps she will meet and marry a doctor, no.....I'm not her mother.

What got me thinking about cops and nurses. Where I worked, and I think it's probably universal, they were almost entirely inseperable. We brought the damaged, the lost, the victimized, the crying, screaming who lost their way from reality, to the Emergency Rooms. We were met first almost always by Nurses. The M.D.'s were typically interns or sometimes residents, but the Nurses (which I capitalize because they are the principal care of emergency medicine) were who kept a patient/victim alive, despite remarkable injury or trauma.

To each of you Nursing Professionals:
I want to say publicly, I admire you, I admire your profession, and I'll buy you a drink any time your in my town. A nurse saved my sorry *** after a shoot out....and that my friends....is a fact. And for you gals, your damn cute in them uniforms, I don't care how incorrect that might sound. Just ANGELS! God Bless You!

Cheers;
Lefty

Anyway....

My Ex, who is a Nurse, always said: "Doctors treat people, Nurses save people." In my case a couple of times she was right.

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Keep Shootin' and check 6

In my years as a substance abuse counselor (yep, a compulsive helper), and even before as I look back...I am not surprised at the empathy one compulsive helper has for another. Nurses, teachers, cops, counselors, these are the professional outlets for so many...It's likely we were programed to be helpers

My wife has been a Nurse for 34 years, an ER Nurse for over 20 of that.

She is wise and tough, can size you up in seconds and doesn't suffer fools well or for very long.

And your comment, " ...damn cute in them uniforms..." was something that got my attention over 26 years ago & still does!

GF

My wife has been an OR tech for many years now and at age 55 just graduated as an RN and passed her state boards recently. I'm pretty proud of her and ordered a Vermont teddy bear nurse for her for Valentines with her name on the uniform.
She plans on working a few years as an RN and then after retiring working in maybe an emergency care clinic. After that she plans on doing some mission work in retirement.
I don't know how they do that kind of work as I never could have but am glad they do. I had some real good ones last year after my back surgery and they went out of their way to make my stay comfortable. I recently took my father-in-law to the emergency room at the hospital and they took him right in and I was impressed again with the nurses he had. It was a long day for me too and one of the nurses was considerate enough to bring me some juice while I was waiting for him to come back after one of his tests.

True in NJ, my RN niece married a NJ State Trooper.

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Back to back World War Champs.

On vacation in a beach resort town. Suffered a session of my chronic arrhythmia (pacer patient) and was hospitalized for a week. During stay nurse approaches my wife very quietly on the side and tells her to get another cardiologist in. This one,a rookie, she said was reding my EKG wrong and was going to kill me with the wrong meds he admministered. My wife followed her advice and by golly the nurse was correct. New doc and was out of there in one day. I should have sued the little pin striped suited clown but I didn't. Anyway, it was the nurse who saved me with her knowledge and brave actions. She stuck her neck out a mile for my well being! Nurses are our best front line of health care.

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Lost in Penn's Woods

I can't speak highly enough of the nurses & physical therapists that took care of me when I was in the hospital for quite awhile two years ago. I've posted about it before, so I won't bore everybody again, but I just couldn't resist the chance to thank them again!

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

ER nurses are the best doctors in existence, and that is a plain fact.

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Even older, even crankier....

Thank you for your kind words. I've been an operating room nurse for the past thirty years and, for me, it's the best job in the world. I'm here to tell you I don't look near as good in a nurse's uniform as the females do.

I've said this to my friend Larry on several occasions. He tells me his wife thinks he's cute too!

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Can open, worms everywhere.

Nurses is what keeps the medical profession oiled and runnin'.

My ex-wife is a nurse, my brother (a retired Maryland State Trooper) is married to a nurse. I've dated several nurses over the years...great gals all.

Some of the best stories I have are about nurses I've met...here's one of my favorites...

In January 1993 my nozzleman and I were burned in an apartment fire. We had 1st and 2nd degree burns on our faces and necks, and I had some 3rd degree burns on the back of my neck and my upper back. Our medics took us to the Burn Center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital for treatment.

We were filthy, smelly, wet, and butt-ugly when we got there. Our burns were starting to sting pretty good. We were wearing turnout pants, supported by suspenders, and boots, but we had no shirts at all on when we walked in the treatment area. (You have to picture this.) A nurse took one look at us, smiled, and said: "Are you guys here for treatment, or are we shooting a Chippendales calendar?" It cracked us up, and we really needed the laugh at that moment...

I love nurses!

My wonderful Mother was a Nurse, back in the day when they went to Nurses Training at the Hospital. Very regimented. Kinda like boot camp for Nurses. The proper uniforms and hats. She was a Nurse her whole life. Ended up teaching at College. Always caring and giving As a surgical Nurse she was known for putting a few pompous Doctors in their place!

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Still Running Against the Wind

When I meet someone for the first time, the small talk gets around to 'what do you do for a living'. When I tell them, very often the response is, "How do you do that kind of work". I ask them what they do and when they tell me, my response is, "How do you do that kind of work". It's all about what you love, I guess.

Amen. Got my own big city hospital nurse right here at home with me. She has seen it all and done it all. She is hopefully going to retire soon, but until then she is still doing those 10-12 hour days plus 1-1/2 hour commutes each way. Honest to God, I don't know how she does it.

You ask ANY cop....NURSES are the top of the mark, male or female, I have met a dozen of male RN's and both gender NP's that were awesome ......no gender issue with me, these people were first rate in every professional respect. God bless them, true guardian angels. They save lives.

Cheers;
Lefty

My Wife is a retired Nurse-I feel the same way-I forwarded your generous thoughts to her PC. Thanks.

Sounds like she's trying to stay away from you...

I make no bones about it: I owe my life, several times over, to the skilled care of nurses.

As wordy as I can be, I can say no more than "thank you, nurse".

Russ

To all the previous good things noted, I would add that nurses are also funnier than regular people. Nurses are excellent humans, period.

Semper Fi,

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

2 1/4 years ago I had a stroke. When I got to the rehab ward, The nurses were the ones I trusted! The therapists were all young, ( need strength and fresh frames to lift many of the patients), but the seasoned nurses watch out for us. My favorite was a male nurse who had immigrated from Ghana. He protected us from less than competent techs who would tear us apart taking samples. More than one go banned from the ward! Thanks to all of you RN's, lots of us function properly today! Ivan
PS My son-in-law is a trauma nurse in Philly. My daughter says he is cute in his scrubs. I ask him if he has the little white dress.