Laudio believes that every week should be Nurses Week. Why? Because nurses do an incredible job around the clock 365 days a year. It’s a job that is often unrecognized – until recently.
I happen to have a unique perspective because my daughter is an ICU nurse and has been working the frontlines of the Covid19 crisis in her hospital. The COVID19 crisis has been stretching her and her colleagues in ways they could never imagine.
An Instagram post by Abby on Nurses Week
Reflecting today on the strange & wonderful that a career in Nursing brings…
“A lot of my job can be summed up by this picture (all patient identifiers have been removed). Chaotic, stressful, often-times a true cluster. Balancing someone’s life between which organ is deemed most important, and prioritizing tasks by the absence of which would be most detrimental. It can be absolutely exhausting, but thrilling and rewarding as well.
“The last two + years of my life have brought me both the greatest sense of accomplishment and purpose I imagine I may ever feel in a job, in addition to some of the deepest of emotions I’ve ever felt – sadness, anger, fear, frustration.
“I doubt that those of us who chose a path in this career fully recognized the depth to which the experiences we have at work would affect us. That we would cry tears of joy with a patient when they go outside again for the first time in 6 months. Or we would lie in bed at night mourning for the patient who died alone.
“In the last few months, medical staff have received major kudos around the world. Today on Nurses Day, a continuation of this recognition, we appreciate feeling like we’re seen, feeling like we’re heard. To everyone that has sent kind messages, words of encouragement, thoughts, prayers, vibes, etc over these last few weeks – thank you. Thank you for recognizing this role is challenging in ways many we will never understand.
“But this is also a job that I chose, that I’m proud to have. It is a privilege to be trained in this career. There are so many essential workers out there that have not had the privilege of choosing their path. But having it chosen out of necessity.
“Today on Nurses Day, I hope to recognize and thank all of my wonderful coworkers and fellow nurses, and also those people who embody the nursing spirit by caring for others by showing up for their roles. Our housekeeping staff, our PPE distributors, our maintenance staff. Our patient transport team. The restaurant industry. Shipping and distribution workers. Grocery store workers, public transportation operators. These people deserve your recognition and your thanks too! Shine a light on them today.”
As a proud dad of a nurse, I’m continually amazed at the strength of my daughter. But the more amazing thing is that she is one of the thousands of more nurses who share her same perspective, courage, and compassion. It is an understatement to say, nurses should be celebrated all year long!
