In the rush of medical emergencies or the daily anxiety of illness and recovery, it’s so easy to forget to thank the people who work behind the scenes. Nurses Week is an opportunity for patients, doctors, hospital staff, and colleagues to show appreciation for everything that nurses do.
Here are 7 good reasons to celebrate and give thanks to your hardworking nurses this Nurses Week.
1They are always on the front line of care
You can always find nurses on the front line when it comes to treating and caring for patients. Whether it’s a disease outbreak or simple flu, you can count on nurses to be there for their patients.
They are the members of the health care team who spend a lot of time performing bedside care, listening to their patients’ concerns, offering help and advocating for them. Nurses ensure that their patients are well taken cared of and looked after.
2They are less recognized
Nurses spend long hours at work seeing and hearing for doctors. They are the ones who administer medications and perform the procedures doctors order. They are the heart and soul of the health care. They blend in technical expertise with compassion, care, and empathy.
Despite their hard work, doctors still get most of the attention.
3They don’t think of themselves
Nurses are so passionate about what they do that they often forget about their own needs. They are willing to skip lunch just to make sure all their patients get their medications on time. They can hold their bladders for hours just to make sure that their patients get turned and that all call lights are answered.
4They don’t get to celebrate holidays
While the rest of the world are enjoying their holidays with out of town trips and getaways, nurses are stuck in the hospital to care for their patients. They sacrifice holidays and special occasions with the family just to fulfill their duties.
5They don’t mind getting their hands dirty
Not all people have the stomach to deal with body fluids every single day and not all people are brave enough to put themselves at risk of being exposed to diseases. For nurses, getting exposed to all these things is part of the job. They’ll just roll their sleeves and get to work without grimacing or having second thoughts. You can’t easily find people who’d be willing to go through these things every day.
6They are resilient
Nurses face a lot of stress at work. There’s the issue of short staffing, long shifts, and low salary. Apart from that, nurses also experience a roller coaster of emotions when dealing with patients. There’s gratefulness and appreciation when their patients recover. There’s also the sense of helplessness whenever their patients go through excruciating pain. Despite all of these things, nurses still show up at work day after day. You have no idea how nurses survive these things!
7They are smart and quick
For a person to become a nurse, you must first go through the long years in college. There, you have to memorize the human anatomy, medical procedures, medications as well as their actions. Once in the hospital, you have to apply everything you’ve learned in college and incorporate actual hospital experience to those learnings. For career advancement, a nurse will need to do continuous learning.
Despite all the things they have to learn, nurses are still quick on their feet. They can finish a huge amount of work all within a single shift. The combination of their knowledge and ability to act quickly enables them to care for different types of patients and save lives.
8They save lives!
There’s no limit to the number of ways awesome nurses save patients.
In fact, some of them are able to save people’s lives even while off duty. They don’t forget about their dedication to saving lives the minute they step out of the hospital.
Nurses always keep an eye on their patients. That’s why they are able to prevent and identify tons of medical problems.
9They work long hours
Nurses are known for their long work hours, often working beyond the standard 8-hour workday. They may work overnight shifts, weekends, holidays, and even on-call, depending on the nature of their job.
Long work hours can take a toll on nurses physically, mentally, and emotionally. Nurses have to be on their feet for extended periods, moving from one patient to another, and attending to their needs. They often work in high-stress environments, with little time to rest, eat, or take a break.
Despite the challenges, nurses continue to work tirelessly to ensure that their patients receive the best possible care.
10They know how to handle high-stress situations
Nurses are trained to deal with high-stress situations such as medical emergencies, traumatic events, and critical care situations. They often work in fast-paced, high-pressure environments, where quick thinking and calm decision-making can be the difference between life and death.
Nurses are the first line of defense in many medical emergencies, and they play a critical role in saving lives. They must be able to remain calm and composed in the face of crisis, communicating effectively with patients, family members, and other healthcare providers. They must be able to assess the situation quickly, prioritize care, and take appropriate action.
Ways You Can Thank Your Nurses
Nurses Week is a national celebration that is often celebrated hospital-wide to pay tribute to every hard working nurse, whose strength and resilience knows no bounds. This, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t thank your nurses on a personal level. Patients acknowledging their nurses’ efforts and compassion can go a long way.
To help you plan, here are some ways you can express gratitude to your nurses.
- Just say thank you. A sincere thank you can make any nurse’s day better.
- Show your appreciation through handwritten notes. You can leave them in the station or their locker room. You can even attach your notes onto your nurses’ favorite cups of coffee.
- Bring them a cake or, better yet, bake a personalized cake for them.
- Bring them a healthy snack. With so many things to accomplish every shift, nurses tend to skip meals and snacks just to finish on time. Help your nurses by bringing them something healthy to snack on.
- Set up a thank you board in the ward. Allow patients to write short thank you notes and post them on the board. Make sure it can easily be seen by nurses, patients, their families and the rest of the health care team.
- Give them a gift basket. You can send them some foot care essentials or some baking goodies to kick start a new hobby.
- Bring them coffee. Most nurses find it hard to survive their shift without caffeine.
- Give them something they can actually use at work. You can gift them pens, penlights, socks or even a new mug.
- Pack some fresh fruits in a basket. Nurses love taking care of their patients and your fruit basket will serve as a reminder that someone cares for them, too.
- Giving them flowers is also a wonderful gesture that will make nurses feel more special (they already are!).
- Reciprocate their kindness and patience. Nurses give it their all to help their patients. Surely, they will be reminded of how noble their profession is when given the same compassion and patience they give to others.
Conclusion
Nurses Week is the best time of the year to show extra appreciation to nurses. This, however, doesn’t mean that you should only be appreciative of nurses during this time.
Nurses work all year round so it’s only right that we give them thanks every single day. After all, with their immense contribution in people’s health care, a world without nurses is a bit hard to imagine.
Why do you celebrate Nurses week? How do you show appreciation to nurses?