Nurses Month continues. The celebration has not ended. The traditional Nurses Week celebrations take place from May 6 to 12, but the COVID-19 Pandemic brought nursing the the forefront. Nurses became the heros of the healthcare industry for showing up and caring for patients in all stages of this disastrous disease, and still show up today to care for the lingering long COVID patients as well as those newly diagnosed. The Public Health Emergency for COVID has officially ended, but COVID will remain with us for who knows how long?!
As Nurses Month continues, the American Nurses Association suggestion for week 4 (May 22-31) is to “Focus on Engaging with your community this week, whether virtually or in-person. Educate members of your community on what nurses do beyond the bedside — advocacy, shaping public policy, or serving as an organization board.” Read more at ANA…
Nurses are, and have been for decades, the true backbone of health care. Without nurses, the healthcare industry would be a shambles and perhaps non-existent. Doctors, PAs, therapists, medical technologists and technicians, nursing assistants and aids, unskilled patient attendants, hospital, clinic, and office staff, patients and caregivers all depend on nurses to help them meet the needs of patients. Nurses request and carry out orders, educate patients and caregivers, assist with filling in the healthcare illiteracy gaps of communication, provide direction and supervision to aids and assistants as well as other necessary disciplines providing care and assistance. Nurses are the glue that holds the entire system together. Unfortunately, nurses are also expected to work miracles to hold it all together when administrators cut funding and leave them shorthanded, without necessary supplies, overburdened and burned out. Nurses also fight for patient rights and quality of care!
Nursing is never an easy profession! It’s not for the faint at heart who cannot handle blood, guts and gore! It’s not for those who cannot work long, hard hours, and make sacrifices everyday. Nursing is a deeply serious undertaking. People’s lives are in their hands! Nursing is hard work physically, emotionally, and mentally. Work-life balance is never easy to attain. Because it’s so hard, he rewards are vast and deep. Making a difference in someone’s life everyday is the most rewarding thing in life. It’s as precious as gold, but it doesn’t pay the bills. It is often something the nurse has to glean for his or herself. “Thank you’s” are not easily come by. Sick people are never at their best, and family members and caregivers are focused on the present and the patient.
By just focusing on engaging with your own community, you can do wonders to help spread the word about nursing and the role nurses play in everyone’s life at some point in their lives. Educate your own family and friends on what we do and how we make a difference everyday. Social media is a great place to post about being proud to be a nurse, to list your accomplishments (being HIPAA compliant, of course) , and to encourage others to explore the career options nursing affords. The pandemic may be behind us, but nurses cannot stay home ever!
THANK YOU FOR BEING A NURSE! Happy Nurses Month!
