My horrific clinic life as a student nurse

I watched as my hands swelled due to the hot water. They hurt. They hurt like thousands of needles were being stabbed into my hands. Tears came up and filled my eyes.

Unluckly Okusama (the doctor’s wife) came into the kitchen and saw that my eyes were full of tears.

She said, “Oh, my! You are not crying, are you? You don’t have time to cry because you have to remember everything that you need to finish until tomorrow. I have to let you attend the nursing school from tomorrow and you won’t be back until late afternoon. Do you understand what that means? It means that I lose money because I have to pay you while you are gone and are not working here. I’m being ripped off here!  I’m the one who wants to cry. Look, if you have free time to cry, then go and clean the restrooms!”

“Restrooms?” I asked.

“Oh, no! You don’t know where they are?” Then she looked at Senpai-1 with a sever expression on her face. “You! You didn’t even tell her where the restrooms are? What have you been doing all day? Dawdler!”

I thought, “All day? It’s not even nine o’clock in the morning yet. We’ve been working like hell cleaning the office, cooking, delivering the patients’ breakfast and eating what little food we get.” Of course I didn’t speak this out loud without knowing what the consequences may bring.

Senpai-1apologized to the Okusama and took me to the restrooms.

There were two restrooms on the second floor where all the patients were staying.

The floor of the restrooms was covered with tiles and I had to wear Geta, the Japanese old style wooden sandals. I don’t know if you have ever tried wearing those wooden sandles on a tiled floor, but I’m sure some people must have died trying. They slip and slide!

I was told how to clean the restrooms. First, fill a bucket with water and pour it across the floor. Then use some cleaning soap and scrub every centimeter. Then scrub the toilet bowls with soap and last I had to mop the floor.

The bucket of water was really heavy for me, and with those wooden sandals, I slept and fell down on the hard tile. The back of my head slammed on the floor and the bucket of water splashed me from head to toe. Oh, did it hurt! My head, my back and my heart felt pain, and I cried again.

But there was not much time for me to cry because I had to finish cleaning those restrooms. “I have to do it,” I thought to myself. “I have to do it.” I could barely see the floor through my tears.

To be continued…