Happy Nurse's Day

Today is Nurse's Day, so to all of my nurse friends "Happy Nurse's Day" =) No one really knows about Nurse's day unless 1) you are a nurse or 2) you have a nurse in your life and even then sometimes you don't know. But, for the most part hospitals (and travel companies) try to say thanks for what we do during this week (Nurse's Week) and today especially. Here in Savannah, the hospital provided us with a free breakfast this morning! Filling up on eggs and bacon and yummy breakfast-goodness before bed is one of my favorite things!! When mom was alive, she would always send me a card for Nurse's Day as she was probably my biggest fan.

Funny thing about Nurse's Day though is that it has started me thinking about what I do and why I do it... I guess recently I have been thinking about this. Many of my new friends in Savannah are "young" nurses and its funny how when you first start out as a nurse you think you can save the world! And, many young nurses in the NICU think that every baby is the cutest thing ever (they are not) and that we can save them all and give them happy and healthy lives (we cannot always do this) and that working in the NICU is perfect for people who love babies and just want to sit and hold them and love on them (not what happens in the NICU, that is the Newborn Nursery). And I guess because of my years in the field and the way the thought process changes I feel that my love of my job is questioned by some of those "younger" nurses, which then makes me question it. But, I know that I love what I do. I know that there are days (nights) when I have ethical issues with what I do and there are times that I become very frustrated with what I do... but each night when I work and am able to care for a sick infant and maybe catch something that would cause greater harm and find a solution for it... or I can position one of the little ones so they can sleep comfortably... and I can help a parent feel close to their infant and learn about their infant and when I am able to share some of the knowledge I have gained from not only my years of experience but also all the places I have worked with the younger girls... and the feeling of knowing that I actively participated, if not was the only participator in saving a life... I realize that I do Love what I do and there is nothing else I could see myself doing and feeling so satisfied with.

Lately with the various other blogs that I have found myself reading, I feel that I have learned a great deal about how to better care for the parents of these little ones that I care for. It has been a great learning experience for me to learn the parent's view of what we do, what their understanding of why we do it is and then to take the knowledge and turn it into a better way to explain everything to the parents.

So, I am proud to say I am A Nurse. I am a NICU Nurse. And I am a really good nurse! =) But, most importantly, I am a Nurse who Loves what I do!