National Nurses Week officially ended yesterday. But since I’m committed to imperfect action and didn’t want to wait a year to honor our nurse colleagues, here we go.
“When I think about all the patients and their loved ones I have worked with over the years, I know most of them don’t remember me, nor I them. But I do know that I gave a little piece of myself to each of them, and they to me, and those threads make up the tapestry that is my career in nursing.” — Donna Wilk Cardillo
If you subscribe to NANT’s Newsletter or spend any time with me, you already know how I feel about neonatal nurses and their unique and invaluable contributions. Many of us (therapists) also began our careers somewhere other than the NICU and have learned from countless nurses along the way. Three of my sisters-in-law are also nurses, each of whom changed the lives of innumerable patients in their lifetimes.
In my pre-NICU years, I worked with acute care nurses (adult patients) from every type of ICU—burns, neuro, surgical/trauma, cardiac. No matter the setting, they seemed to share common traits. Maybe there’s a secret code they all learn in nursing school, as the core of every nurse I know bears a striking resemblance to the whole.
A few of my favorite things about nurses:
1. Nurses are doers.
Whether finishing their PhDs, admitting a teenager (the same age as theirs) to the SICU with multiple trauma, inserting a PICC line in a <1000g baby, or volunteering at their kids’ elementary school Olympic day, they do not sit idly by and let things get disorganized. They do not leave things to chance, not on their watch.
2. Nurses are the bedrock of healthcare.
They are one constant that patients and all other professions can count on to be present 24/7, regardless of holidays, weekends, or natural disasters. They remain steadfast in their mission, whether transporting premature babies by boat in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or advocating for the best care coordination for your beloved grandmother who can no longer drive herself to 5 medical specialists scattered all over town. Healthcare cannot be fully or safely executed without nurses.
3. Nurses are tricky.
Let me explain. Experienced nurses can develop a thick skin or shield of armor. Historically, this has made non-nurse professionals like me approach cautiously until accepted by this band of warriors. However, the heart of their deep compassion and commitment to patient care beats wildly inside the armor. The dichotomy is nearly visible.
After 32 years in healthcare, I now understand that the armor comes from years of bearing intimate witness to trauma, loss, grief, pain, sickness, frailty, disparity, and overwhelming joy and relief—all of which pierce a person’s innermost core. The tricky part is allowing space for the function and history of their armor while understanding that their giant beating heart for humanity is the reason they sign up for this challenging work. Sometimes, this looks like hugging a post-full-moon-nightshift-
Thank you, nurses, for your expert and compassionate care, camaraderie, and humor, and the relentless advocacy you bring to the patients and families you serve. You teach us well.