The Importance of Common Sense

Teresa Arrowood
Jan 10, 2019
3 min read

For those of you that do not know, I make my living as a nurse. This blog isn’t about me, although it tells of the different eras of nursing Nursing is an entirely different monster than a typical college class. It has an identity all of its own. I have always felt, like ministry, it has a calling. There is nothing wrong with anyone going into nursing or the ministry, but must have the heart for it. In this day and time, it seems most go into the medical field because of the financial benefits. While most of the medical careers pay well, there are some that do not. Wanting to help people and enjoy what you are doing should be what the individual is after.

With the many years of medical experience in my career, there have been many changes. Just in the thirty plus years, nursing has gone through many changes. When I started some facilities had crank beds, now we have smart beds. We have also gone from pen and paper to computer charting and records. All of these are meant for better flow and continuity of care. The medical profession had come out with bigger and better ways of treating different diseases and how to monitor patients more effectively than in the early 80’s when I started.

My love of medicine started when I was very young. I can remember watching medical shows when I was a kid, of course, that was the generation. We go through eras of television and movies like our own lives. At that time medical shows and dramas were of that time. Shows like Medical Center, (If you’re younger than I, you can look these up,) Emergency, Julia, and even comedies like Temperatures Rising, drew me into the medical field. My personal favorite was Emergency. If you watched it now, it might seem cheesy, but most of it is medically sound. Later on, after I went into the medical profession, the best one has been ER. I’m most of you have seen this.

The one thing I have found is if there isn’t common sense the knowledge doesn’t help. You can be extremely book smart, but if you can’t apply it, the information becomes worthless. I had had new nursing students look at me when I was teaching as a preceptor and ask me if I was finished. Can you imagine what the medical field will become as we age? What happens when we need medical care? There is no heart, no calling for humanity. The calling becomes financial. That’s a dark thought. We can have all the knowledge and some of the best teaching, but if there is no heart in what you are doing the idea is, “Oh, they’re old, they’ve lived their life. So what if they hurt, dying,), etc. There is no love of the profession.

I believe this profession aside from the ministry, is the closest you can get to doing the Lord’s work. Now, with that said, I'm not sorry if I offended you. Therese are my thoughts, and how I feel the medical community has gone. I am thankful for the mentors I’ve had in my career, and I can only hope that those that I have mentored I’ve ingrained the importance of listening to your patient and what their needs are.No school can teach it, there is no way to learn it. You have to think it out and know what is right or wrong. Do these things with a joyful heart, but above all, use your common sense.