By Donna Kirker MS RN NEA-BC
Each year National Nurses Week begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, the day that Florence Nightingale was born. Florence Nightingale is known for her selflessness, dedication and commitment to serving others and for revolutionizing nursing as a profession.
Her work was remarkably progressive for the time, utilizing her own data to establish credible evidence upon which actionable conclusions could be drawn. Because of her meticulous work, it was demonstrated that simple sanitation techniques such as handwashing could stop the spread of infectious diseases in hospitals.
Her legacy of compassion and selfless service set the bar high for the nursing profession. Nurses are often recognized for their unwavering commitment and for making sacrifices to serve others during major events and other important health issues. They work extended hours, through the night and often without enough resources to deliver care effectively.
The national shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has put incredible strain on the health care system. Many long-tenured nurses left the profession for retirement, while others left the clinical setting choosing less demanding career options.
Those who remained at the bedside have been commended for their resilience. The American Nurses Association (ANA) reminds us “we must see and celebrate our nurses as whole humans, not as a fictitious image of an all-powerful, all resilient hero.” For the past 3 years, nurses have put aside their own needs and feelings to push forward through the pandemic and its aftermath. We must value them and promote their well-being.
It is important to raise the visibility of the critical work that nurses do and foster a greater understanding of the diversity of the nursing profession.
While many people are familiar with the typical aspects of the office, hospital and school nurse roles through personal experience or what is portrayed through television, there is so much more to professional nursing. Nurses are a vital component of our healthcare system and they provide care across all care settings. Nurses serve in the largest urban medical centers and the most rural clinics and patient homes. They serve as administrators, managers, educators, independent practitioners, midwives, anesthetists, researchers, consultants, patient navigators, advocates, board members, public officials and policy makers among a myriad of other specialized roles.
Nurses collect and analyze data, publish research and write articles to help evolve the body of knowledge that ensures the care we provide is evidence-based.
Nurses are privileged to experience some of the most critical moments in their patients’ lives. They educate and explain unfamiliar procedures or treatments to alleviate patient fears. They are the voice for the patient who cannot speak or advocate for themselves.
In the most difficult times, they know when to offer comfort, hope, or a silent presence to those who are suffering. Expert nurses have an intuitive way of knowing what needs to be done based on their knowledge and experience. These skills are developed and refined over years of caring, exposure to diverse patient conditions, and the nurse/patient relationships that are formed.
These caring moments are a sacred gift between the patient or family member and the nurse, and they strengthen our commitment to the profession.
National Nurses Week reminds us how important it is to appreciate, recognize, and genuinely thank nurses for the care and contributions they make to the health and well-being of their patients and community.
It’s an opportunity to showcase their work and share their stories. I am so grateful for the many colleagues, mentors and patients who have shaped my personal journey as a nurse, and I am immensely proud of our profession.