There are nearly 3.1 million registered nurses in the United States. And, 2.4 million of them are actively employed. (So. . . I’m thinking that really, nurses really don’t ever get to stop working!!!)
The nation's registered nurse workforce is aging significantly. . . . (Yeah, I’m old. Rub it in.)
Yesterday, I was thinking about the fact that I am a nurse. I have been one of the blessed to know, almost since birth, what I wanted to be in life. When I hear people talk about not knowing what they want to be when they grow up, it seems very strange to me. God just MADE me a nurse. My Mom tells the story of when I was a little girl (around 4 or 5 probably), I had a Mrs. Beasley doll. (Here is a picture for you youngins’!)
(I am sure my daughter will think she is creepy.)
You may not be able to tell, but the body of the doll is made of cloth. The story is that MY doll got a rip in the fabric, somewhere around the chest. My Mom says that I got a giant safety pin and fixed it up and told everyone that she had had open heart surgery and I was her nurse. (How I even KNEW about open heart surgery at this age is a mystery to me.) So when I think back on my life as a nurse, I think that God must have placed this desire in my heart at a very, very early age.
When I was 15, instead of working at the pool or the local restaurant, I worked night shifts as a nurse’s aide, taking vital signs and giving baths. I remember having to talk my parents into letting me work. (Too bad kids today can’t get this concept!) I had graduated from nursing school the first time at age 19, as an LPN. So while my friends my age were still in college, partying and staying out late, I was working. I went back to school 3 years later and became an RN.
Other than the birth of my daughters, I can’t think of ANYTHING I have done in my life that I am more proud of. I can remember when I got off the plane, coming back from Topeka from taking my RN boards, and there was my sweet Momma, holding up at T-shirt that said “RN stands for Real Nice.” I just burst into tears! This was something that I had wanted literally my whole life. And for her to acknowledge me that way was just AMAZING! (And yes, I still have that shirt somewhere!)
I have worked in many different areas of nursing, but I’m most proud of my time as an operating room scrub nurse, a trauma nurse and as a Labor & Delivery nurse. I was actually a very, very good nurse. And this is not bragging on my part. It really isn’t. GOD made me this way. HE gave me the ability to learn and to have compassion for people. HE is the giver of all good things, and I am so thankful that He chose to give this to me.
I think that TRUE nurses are an endangered breed. New nurses seem to be in it for the money. Or they pick nursing because it’s a fairly short degree program. The nurses who really, truly MEAN it when they say they want to be a nurse, the people who really CARE about their patients, are not so common anymore.
I am no longer able to work as a “real” nurse, as I often say. I have a desk job now, and I am only able to talk to people on the phone, teaching them about diabetes or high blood pressure or cholesterol. My health has deteriorated to the point where I can’t work on my feet anymore, a death sentence for a nurse. And I’ve come to realize how much of my IDENTITY and my self-worth are tied up in this. I guess I have just another couple of years in me before they put me out to pasture. (Where DO old nurses go anyway?)
If you have gotten to this point, thanks for listening to the ramblings of an old nurse! I appreciate it! I found a poem that I like and have put it below. I hope that you will take a look around you, as you go through life, and take time to say “thank you” to all the nurses that you come into contact with.
The Proverbs 31 Nurse
By Lois Sigmon Turley, RN
Who can find a good natured Nurse?
For her price is far above silver and gold.
She seeks medicines and skills,
and works willingly with others.
She gives of herself
and considers her own desires last.
A heartwarming smile is hers,
and is made beautiful in her eyes.
She girds herself with honor
and strengthens her ability with patience.
She perceives that her work is good.
Her candle does not go out by night.
She lays her hands upon understanding.
She stretches out her hand to the poor;
yet, she reaches forth hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of sorrow,
for her trust is in God.
Pride and humility are her clothing,
and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with comfort,
and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Her associates rise up and call her blessed;
her patients also praise her kindness.
Many daughters have helped others,
but you excel them all.
Favor is deceitful,
and beauty is vain.
But a Nurse that
fears the Lord --
She shall be praised!
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