National Nurses Week May 6-12: Let's Not Forget Where It Started

National Nurses Week May 6-12: Let's Not Forget Where It Started Posted By:
...

Two hundred years ago, on May 12th, Florence Nightingale was bornit is now a day when we celebrate nurses around the world. Did you know that Nightingale's parents objected to her becoming a nurse? In 1844, she enrolled as a nursing student at Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserswerth, Germany. While working during the Crimean War, Nightingale earned the nicknames "the Angel of the Crimea" and "the Lady with the Lamp." She received the name "Lady with the Lamp" because she would carry a lamp while she made nighttime rounds on her patients.

Here are some quotes from Florence Nightingale to reflect on:

  • "I attribute my success to thisI never gave or took any excuses."
  • "How very little can be done under the spirit of fear."
  • "It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm."
  • "Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better."
  • "I am of certain convinced that the greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel."
  • "Let whoever is in charge keep this simple question in her head (not, how can I always do this right thing myself, but) how can I provide for this right thing to be always done?"
  • "Live life when you have it. Life is a splendid giftthere is nothing small about it."
  • "For the sick it is important to have the best."

The World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife in recognition of the contribution nurses make and the risk associated with the nursing shortage. The WHO wants nurses to tell their stories of what it is like to be a nurse, the pressures they are under, the challenges they face, and the triumphs they witness. There are so many stories about nurses being at the front lines of COVID-19. From traveling to other states to lend help, to retired nurses going back to practice to offer an extra pair of skilled hands, nurses are practicing in departments they have never practiced before, learning new routines/protocols, utilizing telehealth, making masks for other healthcare providers, and volunteering. We have also seen tremendous efforts by the faculty who have had to take their face-to-face classes and adapt to teaching exclusively online, including assessing students on taking history and physical exams via telehealth format.

What appropriate themes for this year's International Nurses Week: "Nurses: A Voice to LeadNursing the World to Health" and National Nurses Week: "Compassion, Expertise, and Trust." I want to personally thank all the healthcare providers who are at the front lines day in and day out. There are not enough words or "air" hugs that express how proud I am of all of you. You are my HERO!

Be Safe, Share Your Stories, And Happy Nurses Week!

References

Share

Filed under: Miscellaneous , NPs & PAs

Sign up to receive posts from The Exchange

Related
When a Window Is More Than Just Something We Look Through

When a Window Is More Than Just Something We Look ...

I am sure you have heard the phrase “window of time” applied to many different aspects of life. ...

Filed under: Miscellaneous, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Our Next Great Innovation

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Our Next Gr ...

In 1935, the great British mathematician Alan Turing described a math machine that had limitless cap ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Primary Hyperoxaluria: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and New RNAi Treatment Approaches

Primary Hyperoxaluria: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, ...

PH PathophysiologyPrimary hyperoxalurias (PHs) are rare and caused by a genetic defect of glycolate ...

Filed under: Miscellaneous


Continue Reading
Sexual Health in Patients With Rheumatic Disease: How to Ask Sensitive Questions in a Clinical Setting

Sexual Health in Patients With Rheumatic Disease: ...

It is not easy to ask our patients about sexual health and functioning. The European Alliance of Ass ...

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Rheumatology


Continue Reading
Hope Tempered With Reality

Hope Tempered With Reality

"We don't want to lose hope or let Mom think we don't believe she'll get better." For palliative car ...

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Practice Management/Career


Continue Reading
How Much News Is Too Much News?

How Much News Is Too Much News?

With the COVID-19 pandemic and influx of global interest in current events, many people started cons ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous


Continue Reading