I’ve been a nurse since 1985 and have experienced the highs and lows, as well as everything in between when it comes to taking care of people in need. With the current “debate” going on in our nation over how to solve the plethora of issues surrounding our broken health care system—I don’t want to loose sight of the role our nurses play in caring for the gamut of humanity, from newborns to elderly in hospice.

I once told a group of male buddies that nursing is the closest thing to being a mother a man could ever know. Your needs come last, you’re always looking out for others, are often caught between a rock (patients and families) and a hard place (doctors), you have too much to do and too little time to do it, you work small and large miracles, and they will go routinely un-noticed, and the rewards can be like no other vocation.

Melodie Chenerert, RN, has put to words the nursing experience:

Being a NURSE means…
You will never be bored.
You will always be frustrated.
You will be surrounded by challenges.
So much to do and so little time.
You will carry immense responsibility
and very little authority.
You will step into people’s lives
and you will make a difference.
Some will bless you.
Some will curse you.
You will see people at their worst…
and at their best.
You will never cease to be amazed
at people’s capacity for
love, courage, and endurance.
You will see life begin…and end.
You will experience resounding triumphs
And devastating failures.
You will cry a lot.
You will laugh a lot.
You will know what it is to be human
and to be humane.

-Melodie Chenerert R. N.

I dedicate this post to my cousin Jeanne Saylor RN who is a new (middle-aged!) nurse and will soon find out what I have known for quite some time now…

See

When do you know you’re really a nurse?

The New Old Age: Nurses Witout Borders

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