The Demands of Nursing

One of the primary themes of "Two Nurses, Smoking" is the nursing profession itself, and the difficulties associated with it. Both Marlon and Gracie represent different facets of the nursing experience: Marlon works in the hospital, and Gracie is a traveling nurse who follows a medical trailer around the country. The smoke breaks that Gracie and Marlon take become their opportunity to get to know each other, but more importantly, they become their opportunity to share their experiences as nurses. Gracie is notably affected by her patients, specifically "Kidney Boy," who took his own life after receiving treatment in the medical trailer. Gracie turns to Marlon for support and he "resisted giving her the standard nurse-to-nurse talk about not internalizing the pain of the patients, how they come and go fleetingly" (5). The story suggests that Gracie takes on the pain and suffering of...