I have been enriched by the patients, partners and peers
that I have come across throughout the years. Exchanges that may have lasted seconds
or minutes are those memories that I hold dear. Many simple moments that were
shared impacted my spirit, my nursing care and my entire life. People will not
always remember exactly what you did or said, but they will remember how you
made them feel. I have been blessed just as much by caring as I could ever hope
to bless those I have cared for.
It is not common knowledge what nurses do everyday. We hold
general assumptions of nursing stereotypes that vary from the stern student-nurse-eating
battle ax to the know-it-all doctor-hater; or simply from the naughty nurse to
the sweet angelic nurse. Despite the common media portrayal, nurses are
consistently rated as the most trusted profession (Jones, 2011). It is the
translation of caring, compassion, and competence into feelings of comfort that
place nursing at the top of the list.
The American Nurses Association(ANA) states, “Nursing is the
protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of
illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and
treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families,
communities, and populations” (ANA, 2012 ). Each nurse has a different task list, a range
of roles, and a jar of jobs to juggle. A nurse must learn to toggle thoughts,
prioritize plans, and think critically about multiple patients at one time.
Nurses must enter the most private of spaces, while hiding funny faces and
wrinkled noses, all in the name of protecting dignity and pride. Nurses must
remember the pieces and parts we treat are never separate from a body, mind and
spirit.
I have seen things I never thought possible. I have worn
fluids I never intended. I have sobbed with a sorrow I never knew. I have
laughed without limits. I have been blessed beyond belief. I’ve nursed and will
nurse, no matter what my role, for the rest of my life.
American Nurses Association. (2012). What is nursing?.
Retrieved May 8, 2012from http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing.
Jones, J. (2011). Record 64% rate honesty, ethics members
of congress low. Retrieved May 8, 2012 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/151460/record-rate-honesty-ethics-members-congress-low.aspx.
