Celebrating Nurses Every Day, Not Just During National Nurses Week*

I usually admire people who can do what I can't (or won't) ... I guess it's just human nature. Every day I'm confronted with such a group of individuals. They are the quintessence of everything that should be healthcare; they symbolize caring, trust, stability, hope, sensitivity, tenacity, and altruism. They are nurses.

Undoubtedly, we all have a strong appreciation of the enormous influence of nursing in healthcare; and it has been suggested that nursing forms the basic foundation of all patient care. But this sentiment does not even begin to denote the true impact that the nurse has on modern medicine.

Nurses work long hours, odd hours, and nights/weekends/holidays. Unlike physicians, who occasionally make rounds to dispense orders or change dressings, they spend their entire work day with our patients.

Whether it is the ER/Clinic/OR/Inpatient floor, nurses are always the first and last healthcare provider that the patient encounters. Yet, despite all of this, they are frequently ignored, usually under-appreciated, and (on a bad day) occasionally disrespected by the physician (to whom they provide unconditional support).

Moreover, in light of the cost of modern healthcare, their compensation is woefully disproportionate to the service they provide. Physicians often gauge success by the outcome of treatment on a large group of patients over an extended per-iod of time. Nurses usually measure their success from day to day, patient to patient.

Several years ago, I made innumerable trips to the hospital bedside of my sister Vicki, who had the misfortune of spending far too much of her young life in and out of the hospital. Her doctor, who had the respect of all in my family, was quite knowledgeable, competent, and prudent. But I will never forget her nurse. She always requested to care for my sister and, along the way, developed a special bond with her. Her nurse became her friend, her uncompromising advocate, and her ever-present "family"... and, to her nurse, it was not a job, but a mission.

Whenever I make hospital rounds these days I not only speak with my patients, but I always make a point of greeting their nurses. What I have to offer the patients often pales in comparison to what the patients can receive from their nurses.

RONALD W. LINDSEY, MD
Chair, Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX

Associate's Degree Has Served This RN Well

The letter on uniform entry requirements (Mail Box, December 2007) really got my attention. I've been an Associate's Degree RN for 26 years and I am proud of it! I'll stand against any BSN and declare that the training and experiences that I've received is comparable, if not beyond. I'm currently a nurse manager, and I am very conscientious of the job that I do. Not to be boastful, but I am confident in my abilities to perform the job well, and others have complemented me of the same. I've had the opportunity to work with BSN-prepared nurses and have found some (not all) lacking in their knowledge of caregiving. On the other hand, I've worked with some (not all) AD nurses who have been lacking in skills. I don't think you can pin this on a degree, but the individual nurses' willingness to learn and to have a heart of compassion and care. The attitude that a BSN is better only contributes to the division that's already so prevalent in nursing and—if we are not careful—may lead to further shortage.

*Reprinted with permission from UTMB Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation. (2007, September/October). Message from the Chair. Faculty News, 3(9-10), 1.

APRIL JONES, RN
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