FROM THE FIELD
Members' stories from the perioperative field as told in their own words
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A family affairA perioperative nurse shares her letter to her daughter after learning she will become a nurse Submitted by: Kristy Simmons, RN, CNOR Neonatal perioperative nurse Woman's Hospital, Baton Rouge, La. |
To my daughter,
I am so proud to be writing this letter to you upon your choice of becoming a Registered Nurse. I was so excited when you told me of your choice of career. It will be one of the best decisions of your life. I have always known you would make a special nurse. You have the special gift of putting people at ease and a genuine concern for their welfare.
That being said I would like to tell you about my wonderful profession of nursing. You will be with people at some of their most exciting times of their lives, the birth of a child, after a successful surgery, taking a first step after a major leg injury, speaking for the first time after being removed from a ventilator, learning their cancer is in remission and coming out of a coma. These are such joyous moments you can't help getting emotionally involved and thinking you made a difference in their lives. You will wonder at the miracle of life.
You will also be with people at some of the worst times of their lives, emergency surgery, the miscarriage of a child, the death of a loved one, the diagnosis of cancer, having a heart attack, and watching someone slip away. One day you will look up and realize you are the one in charge and have to make the difficult decision in the middle of the night, of calling a code, and calling the physician on call. These moments are difficult emotionally and professionally. You will question if there was anything you could have done differently to change their outcome. These times can be traumatic for a nurse, but it is a choice we make when we decide to enter the nursing profession. You have to take the good along with the bad. You see, there is a dance of life and death in the nursing profession.
And, as a nurse you can make a huge difference in the lives of people as they go through their trials of life, just by choosing to be at their bedside. You will be with patients during some of the most intimate moments of their lives. You will be a witness to sadness, happiness, abuse, ignorance, neglect, miracles and death. Nursing will make you a stronger person, and you will be reminded each day to be grateful for the precious life you have be given, as you watch patients slowly slip away, abuse their bodies and take their body for granted by using drugs, alcohol and smoking. You will go home grateful for your own family and friends and be reminded each day that life is so precious. Nursing will spill over into your private life and change the way you live. You will be encouraged to live a healthier life.
Nursing is the most exciting, changing, rewarding, exhausting and challenging profession you will ever have. You will love it and embrace it with all of your heart or you will work a few years, get burned out and change your profession to something else. And that's all right because nursing is not for everyone. You have to be a unique, caring and giving person to be a nurse and not everyone can do this. That is why there is a nursing shortage. It takes a special person to do the things a nurse is required to do.
Nursing changes each and every day as we find new ways to use technology to improve patient care. Embrace change, it will make you a better nurse. Put yourself in your patient's situation and treat them like you or your family would want to be treated in the same situation and you will become a great nurse.
My prayer for you is that you discover the joy and wonder that makes the nursing profession one of the best occupations in the world. I wish you the best in your choice of careers. I envy you as you enter our profession because it is going through major transformations as informed nursing leaders are taking control of our profession and guiding us toward a brighter tomorrow. Your future also looks bright. I wish you success, happiness, joy and love.
Mom
Editor's note:
AORN Connections is launching this new online From the Field series to give members a way to share in their own stories of hope, recognition and innovation from the perioperative field.
Do you have a story to tell? Tell us about it. Send an e-mail to aornnews@aorn.org with your story, images with caption descriptions and permission to post your story and pictures online. You can also address questions to Carina Stanton, AORN Senior News Editor, by calling 800-755-2676, Ext. 269.
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