Hug a nurse

This week in the U.S., and next week here, it's National Nurse's week.
I've been nursing for almost 4 years now, and I can honestly say that this is the best career choice that I have ever made.
With nursing, some people think that we just hand out pills. I can assure you, in my workplace alone, we do way more than that.

The one thing that people may not consider about nursing, is that there is plenty of patient teaching, and counselling that goes unnoticed. We explain the patient's medical condition, common treatments for the same, possible options and expectations for their hospital stay.
We also advocate for our patients. Many people are afraid to ask a doctor to repeat him/herself, and say "yes, I understand" only to have more questions than when the doctor first arrived.

I think I enjoy the patient teaching the most. In a previous post, I mentioned that I would love to be a nursing instructor one day, and my everyday work experience will help me along the way.

I watched Martha Stewart today while waiting in the hospital lounge. I had to laugh when she appeared on camera wearing nursing scrubs. If only she knew what kinds of debris hits those pink scrubs, she would not think that "was a good thing...".

So this week (or next) hug a nurse. Tell them you appreciate them, and that they are doing an excellent job. And then buy them cookies.