Hong Chae-ryoung/People Watching/Thursday 1-3pm

The Night Shift Nurse

 

            Surprisingly and unexpectedly, the place I spent second most time in the past week is hospital. Not that I got sick, but my grandfather got hospitalized and went through a surgery all of a sudden. Grandma, aunt and my cousin took turns in staying at the hospital with my grandfather over the week, and I spent quite a lot of time staring at random people in the hospital.

            I sat in one of the chairs by the elevators, facing the nurses' station on the 15^th floor of the hospital. The nurse in charge of my grandfather was a young lady, wearing pink striped nurses uniform, just like any other nurses in the hospital. The uniform seemed to be quite old, with fuzzy fluffs on the edges of her uniform. Her shoes were white Crocs, with some dirt around the edges of the shoes, seeming relatively new compared to her uniforms. She barely had any makeup on and her hair tied back into a bun even more tightly, unlike during the day, and it made her look even younger. She was in the nurse station, sitting down at the desk where all the nurses can check everything they need on the computer. The whole hospital was full of the typical hospital scent; I guess it is mainly the sterilizers. The nurse station specifically had more strong smell of sterilizers, which I do not prefer that much.

            The clock hands were already pointing at half past 12 in the night, and only one or two people walked down the hallway. Her eyelids were half closed with dark circles hanging down underneath her eyes, just about to fall asleep in her chair any minute. The nurses' area was more calm and steady compared to the day shift with less people and less noise, and she was struggling so hard to stay awake in such peaceful and quiet atmosphere. She kept repeating to frown and stretch her upper body every other five minutes, trying to fight the sleepiness, but both of them did not seem to be much effective as I heard her yawn every other minute.

            The nurse had one of the most feminine but clearly hearable voice, I could even just recognize her from all the way down on the other side of the hallway, but even her voice was starting to crack when she chatted with three of other nurses on night shift, as she was staying up through the night. Suddenly the intercom from a hospital room rang at the desk. "May I help you?" she answered in a very kind voice and tone. "I'll be right there", and she sprinted out of her chair right away. She urgently ran back to the station to get the stuff that she needed and disappeared in just a few seconds.

            Once she was back after taking care of the patient in need, she reported what had happened, and what she had done to take care of it, to another nurse in the station. The words and expressions she was using to report what had happened were professional and specialized ones, which I would not be able to understand unless I was a medical student.

            She was getting busy again, organizing the equipment that she used just before, and she seemed more awake than just ten minutes before. Then she patted on her shoulders and massaged them by herself with her small hands, and the tiredness could be recognized even from her back. "What a long night," she murmured in a low tone.