5 Things You Should Know Before You Date A Nurse

I always laughed and joked with my mom when I was younger that I would grow up and date and/or marry a healthcare professional so I would always have someone to help me when I’m hurt — I was always sick or getting injured when I was a child. I can’t event count the number of times I fell, sometimes while I was just walking, and cutting my knees up terribly.

Now, years later, I have found my hero. I am now dating a nurse but it’s not like I once imagined it to be like; a nurse’s lifestyle is much different than I thought.

1. Personal Care? Don’t Think So…

In my dreams as a child, I always imagined falling ill or getting a bad cut and running to the aid of my loving nurse I live with to take care of it. Well, I was wrong to say the least. I will never forget the time that I was cutting a piece of fruit in the kitchen when the knife slipped. When I looked down, I panicked; blood dripping from my finger at a rate that seemed like it was out of a movie. It really wasn’t that bad, but in my book, all cuts are TERRIBLE. Well, I wanted to take care of it myself but when the blood wasn’t stopping after I ran it under cold water, I was convinced I needed stitches. I ran like lightening up the stairs and stormed into the bedroom, shoving my finger into my boyfriend’s face in panic mode. He took a quick look and said, “…seriously, it’s not that bad.” I thought he would have taken me into the bathroom, cleaned it off, given it a full inspection, but no, instead he stayed in bed the entire time, and told me to grab the superglue. Yep, that’s right, his solution to my cut was superglue. Which, of course, did work, but I didn’t expect my care to take place while he relaxed in bed the entire time. It seems to be a common trend when I get hurt and run to him that he’ll look at me and says, “You’ll be fine.” Thanks for all of the comfort.

2. Their Work Friends Are Their Family.

Let’s face it, when we spend long amounts of time with people, we are going to grow a close bond. Well, what happens when you spend 12 hours straight with individuals almost four days a week? They are no longer your friends, but rather your family; they know your personal life and you know theirs. They are there for your problems because with 12 hours ahead of you, what else are you going to talk about? I know my boyfriend looks forward to going into to work to see his friends — he may not always work with the same people because everyone has a different schedule, but I know he always looks forward to going in, and he always tells me he has a “great night.”

3. Who Are You? Long Hours and Opposite Schedules.

My boyfriend and I don’t say goodbye to our dogs in the morning, go off to work, then come home eight hours later. Instead, we are on complete opposite schedules and work different hours. I work the everyday 9-5 job, but he works 7 P.M. to 7 A.M. Typically, when I am preparing to leave in the morning, he is just getting home, and when I am getting home, he is waking up and getting ready to leave. The positive thing about our schedules is there is always someone there for our two dogs. Eight to 12 hours is a long time for a dog to be alone and luckily with our schedules, someone is always home. The downside is that on the days we both work, we see each other for about a half hour; it’s not the greatest schedule, but the bills are getting paid. Luckily though, he doesn’t work every day, he typically works three to five days a week with overtime, so those half hour days aren’t as often as you may think.

4. Our House Needs a Doctor … Or Sanitizer.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that he or I have not gotten seriously sick with all of the germs that he must bring home. Sure, hospitals are sterile, but the sick beings walking into that emergency room are far from it. I’m pretty sure our immune systems have strengthened, and have protected us against the common cold. However, that hasn’t protected us from things like bed bugs, which yes, is something he has encountered at work; they may not be on him, but he was still around them. Sometimes if I hear the washing machine first thing in the morning, I am scared to ask why he has to wash his scrubs; to say I feel itchy for the rest of the day would be an understatement.

5. The Love of Coffee has Increased Greatly.

Since my boyfriend works such long hours, most of which are overnight, caffeine has become the solution for keeping him going and awake. Before we met, I would have my occasional cup of coffee, but now I have one every day; I can’t go without it. Our love for coffee has grown, and even though we’re just two people, we have more coffee supplies than a household of 10. We have enough coffee cups for an entire party, it seems whenever we see a new one we like, we buy it. We also do not have just one machine to make coffee either, we have about 5 different things relating to coffee. We first have a coffee grinder so we can grind our own beans instead of buying already ground coffee; it’s much more fresh grinding it on the spot, believe me. After the beans are ground, we can make espresso in out espresso machine, or if that is too strong, we have a regular coffee pot, too. However, if it is only for one person, we have a single-cup brewing system, but if that is not smooth enough of a taste, we also have a French press. Oh, and how could I forget about the different syrups we have to make flavored coffee?

Living with a nurse is much different than I would have ever imagined. There are difficult times with our schedules, yes, but all other times rise above that issue. My childhood dream came true of being with a healthcare professional, and even though the overall experience is much different than I once thought it would be, I couldn’t be happier with where I am.