As Nurses Week is winding down, I am honored to share this excerpt from “The American Nurse.” Created by Carolyn Jones, this book explores the unique lives of nurses using photographs and personal stories.
This infographic was shared with us by Erica Moss, who is the community manager for the online nursing programs at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies.
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Every year Nurses Week rolls around and nurses are told “thank you” by their institutions; if you are lucky, you may receive a token of appreciation like a lunch bag, a water bottle, or a beach towel. The research is clear, nurses do make a difference in patient outcomes and nurses are the most trusted profession according to the Gallop poll. This is my 28th year experiencing Nurses Week, but this year I am seeing it a little differently.
My mother passed away last year on May 25th from small cell lung cancer. From the day she was diagnosed to the day she died was 2 and a half months. She tried chemo but it didn’t work, it often doesn’t. She never regretted trying the chemo because it gave her the time to say good bye to all of her family and friends. Her friends were incredibly supportive of her and the rest of our family. You see, her friends were all nurses. They helped prepare meals, assist with her activities of daily living, and administer her medications. They even stayed overnight when one of the family couldn’t stay. They allowed me to be the “daughter” not always the caregiver. When my mom died, she was surrounded by her children and three of her best friends who were all nurses. These women made all the difference in the world to my mom and our family. They made it possible to keep her where she wanted to be – at home.
Being a nurse doesn’t end when you retire or take time off to raise your family. It is an innate part of who you are and how you conduct yourself each and every day. So, during this Nurses Week, if you come upon a nurse who is retired or is taking some time off, say “thank you…you make a difference.”
Submitted by:
Anne Dabrow Woods, MSN, RN, CRNP, ANP-BC
Chief Nurse
Wolters Kluwer Health / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins / Ovid Technologies
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Happy New Year everyone! I thought I’d start the year off here on In The Round with some positive energy and pull together nursing recognition days, weeks, and months for the beginning of 2012*. Please feel free to add to this list any that I may have missed by leaving a comment. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2012!
National Nurse Anesthetists Week
January 22-28, 2012
National IV Nurse Day
January 25, 2012
PeriAnesthesia Nurse Awareness Week
February 6-12, 2012
GI Nurses and Associates Day
March 28, 2012
Certified Nurses Day
March 19, 2012
National Radiology Nurses Day
April 10, 2012
National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month
May 2012
Oncology Nursing Month
May 2012
National Nurses Week
May 6-12, 2012 (National Nurses Day is May 6)
National Student Nurses Day
May 8, 2012
National School Nurse Day
May 9, 2012
International Nurses Day
May 12, 2012
Neuroscience Nurses Week
May 13-19, 2012
*Some of the links above may take you to pages from 2011. I will update these when new pages become available. Thanks!
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