You are sitting in the waiting room, waiting to get your blood drawn. There’s only one nurse on duty. You watch one patient go back at a time, and cry inside, realizing that it will probably be 30-60 mins before they get to you. Then the second nurse returns from her lunch break. Someone who just walked in asks her a questions and she blatantly ignores them as she finishes some paperwork. Then she basically tells them to sit down and wait their turn. She calls your name.

Oh boy. She’s cranky. She’s not friendly. Exchanging pleasantries is not going to happen. And she’s going to stick a needle in your arm!

She types your info into the system and gets mad at you for not telling her something (you were trying not to talk to her because she seemed so ANGRY). You try to be as smiley and nice as possible. After all, you have to kill with kindness sometimes. She eventually grumbles at you to let you know that she’s not feeling well. You wonder why she’s telling you this, and inadvertently stare at her face. Then she demands why you are looking at her like that.

Flustered, you come up with some excuse like that you are worried about her (actually, you just want this blood drawing thing to be over and pray that she isn’t going to extend the negative vibes to her instruments of torture). She says she’ll be okay. She sticks you with the needle and finally makes you help her with putting on the tape and gauze to stop the bleeding (no verbal instructions, you kind of have to follow her cranky physical motion clues/orders).  There, that wasn’t so bad.

You wish her a good day and she says the same back to you, and you feel a little victorious because you feel like overall, you were probably not the worst patient she had that day.

Kill with kindness. I swear, it works.