What I Know About Nurses

There are some people we will always remember
Today is Nurses' Day, and in honor of the wonderful nurses I have known over the years, I want to share my thoughts about a group of men and women who I consider to be indispensable in this world.
There are some people we will always remember. I'll never forget my grade school teachers. I can still name off every one of them. I'll never forget some of the patients I've cared for in years past. And I will always, always remember certain nurses.
They were there when I needed them
I still remember the nurse who cared for me when I was five years old and had an emergency appendectomy. This was in the 1950's, and my nurse was the only black nurse on the unit. She was a large woman with a great sense of humor and a laugh that told me I didn't need to worry about anything. (It's hard to be scared when you're laughing.) She acted like I was her favorite patient, and I'm sure the other children felt they were her favorite, also. I'll always remember her bustling about making sure we had ice cream and such.
I remember the nurse who cared for me when my baby was stillborn at full term. She wrapped my broken heart in a blanket of love, and I will always be grateful to her.
I had wonderful nurses when I gave birth to five other children and when I had my gall bladder removed. My husband had great nurses when he was hospitalized, and I have witnessed outstanding nurses give excellent care to other members of my family and to my friends.
Nurses want to give safe, excellent care
Every nurse I know, without exception, wants to give excellent care. They want to spend more time with their patients. They want to teach them, keep them informed, and even pamper them at times. Nursing and patient care has become very complex due to the constancy of change, but that is a topic for another time. For now, I simply want to honor the fact that nurses genuinely care about their patients well-being at all times.
Thank you
I want to thank all the nurses who have cared for me, my family, and my friends over the years. I want to recognize my nurse friends who have set a wonderful example of professionalism and compassionate caring and who have influenced my own practice. I appreciate you, and partly because of you, I'm proud to be a nurse.