Painting by Andrew Wodzianski:

Everyone who wants to work nightshift, please raise your hand. What, you say you hate working the graveyard shift? It’s hard sleeping during the day when your kids keep knocking on your bedroom door and telemarketers keep waking you up. Too bad you don’t work with Dracula. If he worked on your unit as a nurse, no one would ever have to float to nights.

If you’re working an evening shift, you pray that the night nurse doesn’t call in sick. That means you have to work until the next morning, and most of us are not nocturnal creatures. Our bodies complain loudly when we break established sleeping patterns. Patients love night nurses except when a night nurse wakes them up to ask if they want a sleeping pill. Some people have odd ideas about night nurses. Yeah, you know what I mean. A nurse working nights may dream about crawling into a patient’s bed, but just to get some sleep, so get your mind out of the gutter.

I detest working the nightshift, making those who want to work nights my hero. And speaking of heroes, even super-heroes need a nurse, and who do they turn to in time of need? The Night Nurse, of course. According to my coworker’s son who collects comic books, no one knows the Night Nurse’s true identity. He also said that she is affiliated with many super heroes, including Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Iron Fist. She runs Night Medical Center, a 24 hour clinic where super-heroes can go to get treated for the injuries, no questions asked. She never charges a fee for her services, but accepts donations. And like any professional nurse, her focus is on the welfare of her patients.

She’s not just a nurse, she’s the Night Nurse.