My wife was destroyed by her job as an A&E nurse so I convinced her to quit

I saw a passionate young woman become anxious, exhausted and ashamed of her vocation. Watching her suffer was unbearable

Working as a paediatric nurse in accident and emergency was my wife’s dream job. A week after she qualified, she was offered a position in one of the largest emergency departments in the country. I’d never seen her so happy; I’d never seen anyone that excited about work. And I never thought I’d be the one to make her give it all up.

I drove my wife to the hospital to collect her first uniform. I’ll never forget how proudly she ironed it when she got home. We visited her parents a week later and her grandfather gave her a fob watch and made her pose for a photo in her uniform. Her mother told us that for his remaining years he would proudly point to it whenever he had guests and say: “That’s my granddaughter, the nurse.”

Related: A&E nurse: am I on the road to burnout and destruction?

Related: Working in A&E is a privilege even if it is stressful and understaffed

Continue reading... April 12, 2018 at 06:14PM