After a varied, fulfilling, and fascinating 43-year career as a nurse, I finally retired. To be honest, I was a little anxious about it. After all, what would I do with all that free time?

So many of my colleagues were continuing to work long past the age of 65. But my husband and I had planned to move across the country when we retired, from Connecticut to California where our daughter and her family were living. Now that time had arrived.

Once we settled in the San Francisco Bay area, I looked around to see what I could do. I have always said that “everyone needs to be needed.” But where was a retired nurse needed? It soon became evident that volunteer opportunities abounded. I volunteered one day a week in a clinic for the underserved and unhoused, providing patients with health education. That is, until the clinic closed due to financial constraints. Back to square one.

An eye-opening experience.

Then the perfect opportunity presented itself. When I was working as the community outreach nurse for my local hospital in Connecticut, I met a co-worker, Dina, who was born and raised in Haiti. We collaborated on several health fairs in the area; they were open to everyone, but mostly targeted a large local Haitian community. Dina had also organized a medical mission one week each year in Petit Goave, Haiti. Since I was now retired and had the time, I could finally participate.

In June 2019, I had the privilege to join the medical mission, along with other nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and students. In one week, we served over 1,500 men, women, children, and infants, most of whom had walked miles to attend the pop-up clinic. We provided toothbrushes and toothpaste to hundreds of children who never owned a toothbrush before. We did blood pressure screenings, blood glucose testing, visual acuity tests, and more. We distributed OTC medications like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, bacitracin, multivitamins, and Tums; blood glucose testing equipment; first-aid supplies; and sanitary products—all generously donated by people in Connecticut. The dentist had to extract 300 rotten teeth from people who never had access to dental care, many of them young people. Everyone was so gracious and grateful for what little we could provide in the week.

It was extremely hot—over 100 degrees each day—and there was no air conditioning or electricity anywhere. The house we stayed in also had no hot water, but the cold showers were a welcome relief. The streets were noisy and chaotic with pickup trucks, scooters, motorbikes, and cars honking their horns at each other. Goats roamed freely in the streets. The people were upbeat. We could hear music and singing coming from every window in the surrounding buildings.

Finding ways to help out closer to home.

When I returned home to California, I felt changed and humbled by the experience. Soon after that medical mission, Dina and her organization, recognizing the dire necessity for a permanent clinic in Haiti, purchased land and began to build one. Because I saw firsthand how much this clinic is critically needed, I have made it my mission to spread the word and assist in the fundraising efforts.

I’ve also looked around my own local community and become involved with organizations supporting the underserved and unhoused. My husband and I volunteer on a weekly basis at a rescue mission, helping to prepare and serve meals to recovering addicts, unhoused people, and women and children escaping domestic violence. My nursing experience has been needed a few times, including when kitchen crew members accidentally cut themselves, or when a shelter guest had an allergic reaction to an ingredient in the meal.

The bottom line is there are so many ways we retired nurses can use our experience and newfound freedom to help others. We aren’t ready to be put out to pasture just yet!

Alice Facente, RN, MSN, is a retired nurse. Her previous posts on this blog can be found here.

The post The World Can Use Our Help: A Nurse’s Thoughts on Retirement appeared first on Off the Charts.