Nurses

 

Nurses are a special bunch.  For the last 18 months, I have dealt with quite a few.  Following are my top ten facts and observations.

10)   For the last twenty years Gallup has conducted a poll of the most trusted professions and nurses have been number one every year and it hasn't been close.  Not surprisingly, doctors are generally second beating out your grade-school teachers by a slim margin.

9)    Florence Nightingale (see above pic) is widely recognized as the founder of modern nursing training.  Her book "Notes on Nursing" written in 1859 remains as relevant today as the day it was written.  Nurses Day around the world is celebrated on May 12 which is Nightingale's birthday

8)    Recent experience has taught me that hospital gowns are not the most fashionable or modest piece of clothing and clearly, they are not intended to be.  Having said that, I feel sorry for nurses - how many butts can one see in a lifetime?

7)    In an office or other professional setting, you would never address a client as "honey," "darling," or "sweetheart" as there would surely be some backlash, or you may even be fired.  From my perspective having been on the receiving end from a nurse, it has never failed to put a smile on my face.

6)    Statements you should never use when working with your rehab nurse include, "that was easy," no problem I can handle it," and the one you will live to regret---"is that all you got."

5)    Nurses are on their feet (4-5 miles) much of the time during their shift.  I have noticed they always seem to have the most comfortable shoes. Since scrubs allow nurses little room to make any kind of fashion statement, their shoes should say something.  BTW, what's the deal with those Crocs?

4)    Speaking of scrubs, in an effort to identify their specialties, not all, but many hospitals color code their uniforms.  For example, surgeons generally wear green in the operating room - for a specific reason, green hides stains very well (think red stains) and is said to reduce eye strain.  Many nurses wear a shade of blue (blue is thought of as a relaxing color), and in OB-GYN, yes, you guessed it--pink, is the popular choice.  The one thing they all have is common is the V-neck for ease of removal and since its diagonal, it makes you look slimmer.

3)    Nurses are your advocate and provide a pathway for improving your health.  It's also easy to forget their everyday activities like making sure you are fed, have the right amount of medication, providing you with extra pillows and blankets, and of course answering the nurse call button. I am pretty sure they have another name for that particular device.

2)    Save one life you are a hero, save a hundred you are a nurse.  Not surprisingly, nurses like policemen and fireman never consider themselves heroes, and they always say the same thing "I am just doing my job."  While this may be true, it takes a special individual to "just do that job."

1)    Submitted by an anonymous nurse - "people will forget what you said, forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel."

Note:    I am proud to say I have two working nurses in my family, my talented daughter-in-law (Courtney) and my very special niece (Holly).