May 6th-12th 2007 is National Nurse Appreciation Week. I’m retired, so I’m not expecting thanks for myself.
I’m sending flowers to my friends still in the biz, many of them are close to my age, so they’re soon joining me in my leisure.
Now you guys… Get out there and tell a nurse, any nurse, s/he is a hero.
Even though the industry started the week, most hospitals have pretty lame celebrations. One place I once worked had a day of “workshops” IF you could get coverage for your assignment, you could go to a couple. The only title I remember was “How Much is Too Much? When Patients become Abusive” It was basicly an hour lecture on whether or not it’s ok to tell a patient to back off when they get physical. :rolleyes:
Most places leave a pile of hospital logo gear in the nurse’s locker room at the begining of each shift.
Those things never meant much to any of us, a smile and a heartfelt “Thank You” meant so much more.
Nah, really, I love the nurses. It’s not an easy job and I have tremendous respect for the profession. If it wasn’t for my inability to deal with the emotions involved in working with mostly very sick people on a daily basis, I may have chosen nursing over the lab.
Hooray for nurses. You rock. Keep up the good work, because we need you.
Just this morning (early…I work 12-hour nights) I had to wake a poor guy up to poke him for a blood gas and he mentioned that he didn’t feel a thing when I stuck him. I mentioned to him that I’d been doing this for a long time…this July will mark my 25th year as a Medical ICU/CCU RN in the same job at the same hospital.
Critical care nursing is, as the saying goes, hours of boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror…but I love it and wouldn’t want to do anything else. I’ve seen it all, yet just when I think nothing surprises me anymore we get someone up from the ED who makes me say, “Well, Jeeezus Keee-rist…look what floated to the top of the gene pool!”
I don’t like that hero bullshit, though. You want to see a hero? Social workers are heroes. My fiancee is a social worker and she comes home with stories that make my hair stand on end. Me? I’m just a old fart doing his job…
I have a lot of nurses in the family. My mother and aunt are both retired RN’s. Two cousin’s are nurses, as well as a second cousin. Of those three, two of their spouses are nurses as well.
I could never do it, I’m squeamish in the extreme, being afraid of needles. Tending a major wound, or doing surgery assistance? Forget it.
I can clean up either end of a person who is sick, and not turn a hair, but not the serious stuff a registered nurse does.
As a child, when I was sick, it was comforting to know my mom was a nurse. I always knew that she would know exactly what to do to take care of us!
My mom’s been a nurse for over 40 years, working at the same nursing home for over 35.
I’m having an Edible Arrangement delivered to her on Friday for Nurse’s Week, as well as some CDs and DVDs for Mother’s Day. And I just sent her a hefty Target gift card for her 60th birthday last week. She’s making out like a bandit!
If it makes you feel any better, I don’t consider nurses heroes. However, in my experience, nurses are generally caring, dedicated professionals who do a very challenging job that I couldn’t in a million years manage. So I either have a healthy level of respect for nurses, or think you’re all a bit crazy.
This thread has inspired me to call my aunt who I haven’t talked to since Christmas. She’s a nurse (in a rehabilitation unit, I think) and I’ve always been sort of amazed by her willingness to work holidays. (My cousins hated having a nurse for a mother; it made it that much harder to fake sick and get out of school. The fact that their father is their school principal didn’t help, either.)
Oh, great! Seven days of “Appreciate Nurses!” followed immediately by “Appreciate Mom!” I suspect that Deb will have a serious case of appreciation withdrawal, next Monday.
I’m but a nursing student, so don’t thank me, just wish me luck! I’m finding out more and more each day that nursing is one of our society’s most challenging professions, and one of our most necessary. Go nurses!
There was a nursing student who took care of me after I had my last baby, and she was one of the kindest, most caring people I’ve ever known. I’d bet by now, she’s about the best nurse on the planet. I actually wrote a letter to the hospital about her. (Her name was Maya. She wrote cheerful little messages to me on the dry-erase board in my hospital room, so I would see them when I woke up in the morning. She drew flowers on the board for Mother’s Day. She told me all about her daughter, and cooed over my son. She took the time to talk to me. On top of that, she was competent and efficient.)
I don’t have the temperament to nurse, but I admire those who do.
And to think I just hated being the daughter of the presidents or secretaries of the PTA! (stands for Pain in The Ass) When they weren’t one they were the other…
I know she won’t see it, but I’d like to thank one more time the nurse who told Mom’s ObGyn that “maybe we should verify whether she’s pregnant before scraping her uterus, you know, even if she’s sterile” - six months before I was born.
