It's just rain people

OK, so it's been raining here. It's like no other place I have ever been in the rain. People actually go outside in the rain. They love it. They can't drive in it, but the love it. We were leaving the hospital the other night, my husband/chauffeur behind the wheel as usual, at it took us forever to get home. It's usually a 20 minute ride...almost 45 minutes! My husband is not the most patient man, especially when it comes to driving. He was like a caged animal between the cars. They were driving like it was ice on the road. Yeah, there were some spots of standing water but not a lot. It was a sight. You can tell a native Arizonan right away , just say it's going to rain and watch them light up. Amazing.
I have been blessed with an extra pair of hands this past week. I have an extern, he is done with school and has to work 96 hours with a preceptor. I feel lucky to be able to help mold new nurse. We had a patient with an amputation and a feeding tube and a central line and oxygen and a catheter. He was so nervous, didn't want to go in the room. I walked into the room and started talking to her, she's had a stroke so she can't talk back very well, but nods her head yes and no. I talk to her like I'm talking to you, like I do with all my patients. We flush her IV and check her feeding tube, reposition her and that's that. It took him the rest of the day to be comfortable enough to go into the room without me but he did it. Later, we sent her home, after we removed her IV and her catheter and flushed her feeding tube. He did finally admit he was afraid to go in the room. It's OK to be apprehensive about something new that you haven't encountered before, but you don't have to let anyone know. Portrayed confidence is just as good as confidence as long as it's believable. I'm not saying to do things you don't know how to without asking questions. I'm talking about walking in that patients room and making them feel confident that you will take care of them and keep them safe. Most of them are scared, even if they don't say it. Make them feel at ease and safe most of all. I have my extern for another 4 shifts so, we'll see what I can get him into.
Remember first do no harm.