Monday 12 May 2014

Nurses Week

So it’s just been nurses week ..May 6th to May 12th…and i am fortunate enough to know a few nurses (family and family friends).

So all the thanks for the job they do as well as helping me through my application went out to them last week!
Honestly do not know where i’d be without their guidance, help and support. I keep waking up every day with a smile on my face that i am lucky enough to get onto a nursing course that i have been dreaming of first time round.
Now i’m not sure how many of you reading will know the history of nurses, but i am sure you have all heard of Florence Nightingale. There is more than enough information out there about her and her amazing work. And if it wasn’t for that incredible woman, who knows how the education of nurses would have turned out. Luckily enough it has turned out from being a nursing training scheme that she established, to later on nursing diplomas and now to nursing degrees. Nursing has long been a profession that has been overlooked and sometimes ridculed for the ‘bum-wiping’ and the ‘talking to patients’. It is a shame that some people do not and may never see the hard work that goes into becoming a nurse, maintaining that education and role as well as the hard work that goes into looking after patients. Now, for anyone that has ever worked in health care, i believe this is no news to you. But for those who haven’t, talking to a patient and carrying out personal care are 2 basic needs of any person that needs to be met. If that was you, would you like to be left to fend for yourself when you know you cant?
There are many many nurses out there, some more famous than others, who have helped to shape the health care system into what it is today. There are many nurses out there who have set an example, who have mentored students, who have spoken at conferences amongst many other things. And it is these nurses who may go unrecognised nationally for their contributions, that need to be thought of and need to thanked.
I am not going to give you a massive historical blurb about nursing. I’m sure you can find that out if you dont know already!
But what i do want to get across is that nursing is a profession that is not because ‘you are a failed doctor’ or because you weren’t clever enough (yes these are comments nurses STILL get today) it is a profession because you care. Because you want to have the patient contact, because you want to make a difference, because you want to help look after people and to ensure that their care is person centered to them.
It is a vocation, a profession, an education and above all, it is part of who you are as a nurse. Nursing doesn’t define you. You define nursing. By going into work every day, whether it is full time, part time or even on placement as a student nurse, you are leading by example. You are shaping the future of nursing. Every day. And that should make you proud to call yourself a nurse.


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