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It is National Nurses Day!

May 6, 2012 is National Nurses Day

 

By Carole (craftnut)

 

Generally an unsung profession, nurses have to be well trained in anatomy, biology, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology and psychology, then pass a rigorous licensing exam.  After licensure, nurses must complete continuing education every year mostly on their own time and sometimes at their own expense.   The focus of nursing is not only the patient’s physical health, but also their response to being ill and returning back to the highest level of function possible physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Most people only encounter a nurse when ill.  It is difficult to appreciate that the nurse who is caring for you is a highly trained and intelligent professional, not a maid in a white uniform or scrubs.   They handle people on their worst behavior, clean up the worst of illness and injury, hold the hands of the scared and alone, take abuse from not only patients and doctors but also their employers, yet still go to work again the next day.

Ever been in the hospital?  It may surprise you to know that your stay was not so much because you needed medical care but more that you needed nursing care.   One of the reasons that there was a backlash against early release from the hospital some years ago is that people were returning to the hospital due to complications that could have been avoided with professional nursing care.  Nurses keep a vigilant eye on patients to catch problems and assist them to get back to caring for themselves so they can go home.   They save lives every day by catching problems before they become life threatening, and handling those life-threatening events as they happen.  Hospital nurses put their licenses on the line every time they go to work.

A friend of mine was in the hospital recovering from an emergency operation to repair a perforation of her stomach.  The nurse on the night shift saved her life when she began to breathe so shallowly that her blood oxygen level dropped.  She could have died if not for this nurse!

 

This week, make an effort to say thank you to a nurse you know.  You never know when one might save your life.

 


Nurse: The True Story of Mary Benjamin, R.N. by Peggy Anderson

 

 


Intensive Care: the Story of a Nurse by Echo Heron

 


A Call to Nursing: Nurses’ Stories about Challenge and Commitment

Edited by Paula Sergi, BSN, MFA and Geraldine German, RN, PhD

 


The Making of a Nurse by Tilda Shalof

 


Tending Lives:  Nurses on the Medical Front by Echo Heron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 Responses to “It is National Nurses Day!”

  1. Gail P. (TinkerPirate) Montara, CA says:

    Carole, thanks for the reminder!!!! I’m a graduate (1979) of Michael Reese School of Nursing in Chicago. Once a nurse….always a nurse!

  2. ANNA S. (SanJoseCa) says:

    Yes! Gail is a nurse……..(private joke) and a very good one too!
    Happy National Nurses Day to a wonderful caring group of hard workers!

  3. Sherri B. (sherrib50) , says:

    Carole,
    Thank-you for that my brother-in-law is a ER nurse… We forget who it is that brings the ice chips, and helps us to walk again after an injury… So I thank-you

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