Making a difference every day
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Nathalie Walker RN, MBA, CNOR Treasurer, AORN Board of Directors |
This year we took time during National Nurses Week, May 6-12, to recognize the ways that nurses make a difference everyday. We talked about what being a nurse has given to each of us and what we have been able to give to others.
I have yet to meet a nurse who continues to practice because the money, hours, prestige, and recognition are the rewards that matter. We may find it difficult to recognize the reasons we stay in nursing, or we may not be able to articulate our motivation, but most of us know we make a difference.
The power of one individual nurse is not quantifiable. Who knows what influence you have had on colleagues, patients and families in your years of practice? The differences you have made, when positive, affirming, and meaningful, are unique to you. You own those stories. They may not seem extraordinary but to patients who feel their care has been special, that difference is profound. Ask any nurse who has been a patient. One nurse, one attitude, one unexpected act of kindness can have the power to calm and connect and to help patients achieve wholeness.
Nurses know that we cannot continue to practice in the same way every day, in spite of our current health care system. We are in the midst of a crisis - whether the effects are evident in the statistics we collect, or more subtle in terms of staff morale and altered ability to provide high touch, high tech nursing care. The power and the future of nursing may be that we manage to deliver excellent care despite the flaws in our system.
Nurses who engage in the practice of citizenship do far more than practice their profession. They bring a unique perspective to legislative, environmental, and health care issues.
The care provided by dedicated nurses, one patient at a time, makes a meaningful difference for patients and for the practice of nursing.
We make a difference - one person at a time.
Nathalie
Nathalie Walker RN, MBA, CNOR
Treasurer
AORN Board of Directors
Meet the 2007-2008 AORN Board of Directors