The World Health Organization has designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in honor of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday.
I work in the healthcare world, am proud that my daughter is a nurse and am someone who now regularly interacts with nurses as they care for someone in my family. In survey after survey people most often equate the quality of their care with the nurse(s).
During this Year of the Nurse, l hope we can thank a nurse for her or his fortitude, intellect, compassion and service. If you've been a hospital patient, remember those things you asked your nurse to do. In a doctor's office, remember how you turned to the nurse to explain what the doctor just said! Or in an emergency, think about what the nurse did before and after the doctor engaged.
Physicians, don't wait until National Nurses Day to thank the RN's for being there and giving calm, comfort and care to your patient. It is a daily task and when they rise to the occasion, share the praise.
Someone recently wrote that health care as we know it would collapse without the skill, science and art of nursing.
Amen.
Garry Mac