By 
iStockphoto | ThinkStock
It’s easy to have days (weeks, months…) when you forget how much you love your profession. Sometimes, amid the long shifts and tough work, you need a little reminder of why you do what you do.
Brittney, the Nerdy Nurse, wrote an awesome post about why she’s thankful to be a nurse. We hope it’ll inspire you, no matter how you’re feeling today, to be thankful as well!
Every day presents me with new challenges and the opportunity to overcome them.
My growth and development in my profession are limited only by my desire and will.
I have the opportunity to be intimately involved in peoples’ lives and promote health and positive change.
I am allowed ample opportunity to be creative and make things work.
Every patient interaction is an opportunity for learning for both the patient and me.
I get to talk about health, the patients, and often myself, if I like.
Almost every patient I’ve had asks me about my child, and wants to hear stories about them.
I make people feel better.
I do not have someone leaning over my shoulder constantly telling me how much better I could be doing. (At least not a boss…there was a nurse or two who did that for a while, but not anymore!)
I have relative job security, and even if for some odd reason I lose my current employment, I can likely find another job easily.
I earn a decent living wage. While it could always be more, I feel I am compensated fairly well for what I do, especially considering the staggering rates of unemployment even for degreed professionals.
I use my brain and my patients notice when I do.
It is perfectly acceptable, and required, for me to forbid someone from smoking anywhere near me while I am at work. This is because, like most facilities, we have adopted a tobacco free policy.
I never meet a stranger. Personally I treat every new person I meet as if I have known them for years. In public, people often react awkwardly and confused by this. However, in nursing, trust is already so ingrained in the patients in us that they are relieved by my openness and they fact that I talk to them like a person rather than a patients.
I get autonomy in decision making, but have a group of talents and competent teammates to bounce ideas off of. But ultimately, decisions I make are mine, I own them. Therefore, a good decision yields much pride while a bad one often overwhelms me.
I associate with intelligent, highly educated individuals and have learned that even the most arrogant, audacious person has their moments of insecurity and appreciates the ability to let their guard down every now and then and just be human and not have something needed of them.
I have the ability to make real changes in peoples’ lives. Many don’t think the way I do, but I look at every patient interaction as a chance to change the world. Who knows what you might inspire in someone by taking the time to discuss their healthcare and their goals in life? Perhaps it is a lofty aspiration, but I would like to think that I make my patients’ lives better because I have been a part of them.
Nurses, what would you add to Brittney’s list? Take a moment to focus on the good and tell us why you’re thankful to be a nurse in the comments below!
