A Saint Dirty Face Reflection

Here’s something nobody tells you about nursing.

One day you wake up and realize you’re no longer the new nurse, the charge nurse, or even the supervisor.

You’re the veteran.

The one people quietly look at when something doesn’t make sense.

Ironically, I spent part of today rewriting my résumé and actually toning it down a little. After 30+ years in nursing, the strange reality is that experience can sometimes work against you. Hiring managers might glance at a résumé and think:

“Hmm… This guy will run the room.”

And the truth is… they’re not wrong.

I’ve been on the other side of that desk. I’ve hired people. Sometimes managers choose the younger nurse they can mold instead of the veteran who might naturally carry gravity in the room.

Now here I am.

The veteran.

Life has a funny way of flipping the script like that.

But here’s the part that made me smile.

A couple of days ago, someone close to me was getting an iron infusion at a local hospital. During the usual small talk with the nurses, my career came up. Next thing you know, they said:

“Call him.”

Apparently they had questions about an MD order they had just received.

So there I was — sitting at home — suddenly doing a curbside consult through a phone.

Thirty years in nursing and I’m still getting pulled into the conversation… even when I’m not in the building.

And honestly?

That moment meant more to me than any résumé line.

Because the real badge of honor in nursing isn’t titles or awards.

It’s when another nurse looks at a situation and says:

“Hey… what do you think?”

That’s trust.
That’s experience.
That’s the quiet reputation you build one shift at a time.

So yeah, tonight I polished my résumé. I softened a few lines. I played the hiring game a little smarter.

But the truth is still the truth.

After three decades in the trenches, when something complicated pops up in a hospital somewhere, sooner or later someone will still say:

“Let’s ask Robert.”

And honestly…

That’s the part of the job I’ve always loved the most.

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Saint Dirty Face™
Stay Dirty. Stay Human.™