Ten years ago here in The Citizen I wrote an article in tribute to nurses. I wrote that they are vital and cherished components of our society, although sometimes under-appreciated. I paid tribute to them for their gifts of healing and caring. I lifted them up for their dedication to their noble profession.
Today I want to do all of that again with renewed enthusiasm.
The reason I know I wrote that article ten years ago is because I did so on the occasion of my wife Elaine completing 40 years of being a working RN. Guess what? This year now marks her completion of 50 years of being a working RN. Amazing. And she’s still the beautiful, hard-working 20-year-old she was the day she passed her nursing license boards.
So, I write to honor her once again. Elaine, you’re amazing.
But certainly, I also write again to honor all nurses in all fields and areas of nursing. This whole army of medical servants is an amazing bunch.
One component of the life and service of nurses which I believe is often over-looked is their high level of required formal education, their remarkable level of acquired expertise, their profound knowledge of science and medicine, and their stringent requirements for continuing education to stay current with the most recent discoveries and practices of nursing medicine. This whole army of medical servants is an amazing and smart bunch.
In addition, another outstanding quality of the lives of these dear ones is their dedication to their job and patients, even in the reality of almost brutal work schedules. Of course, there are part-shift working nurses and maybe those working in doctors’ offices who work hard and well, but so many nurses working in hospitals, including our local hospitals, work 12 hour shifts beginning at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.
My wife has diminished her number of days a month she works, but on the days she works she gets up at about 4:00 a.m. to be in the hospital at 5:45 a.m. to start her shift of preparing folks to go to surgery, giving meds and starting I.V.’s, etc.
She works her 12 hours until 6:30 p.m. because they subtract 30 minutes for “lunch,” which the nurses sometimes get and sometimes do not. Then she gets home around 7:00 p.m., unless she is on a mandatory “call,” which means that one nurse must stay until all the patients are discharged. Last week that was 9:30 p.m.
Please hear me here. She never complains. Never. Except to admit she’s pretty tired at the end of those days.
This is so important. Please note, I have told you about my wife’s schedule working as a nurse not to over-glorify her individual efforts. Rather, I lift up her schedule to shed light on and give great thanks to all the hard working nurses who do all that and more day in and day out. Day in and day out.
I could mention so many other sacrifices and contributions our nurses make. They help bring relief from pain. They listen as their patients need to talk about their medical problems. They help diagnose symptoms and help bring medical solutions. They comfort and make comfortable. They help perform unbelievable medical procedures. They communicate vital and accurate information from patients to doctors and from doctors to patients. They bring a healing and loving touch to their patients and to the world.
This whole army of medical servants is an amazing, self-sacrificing, healing-contributing, angel-like bunch.
Please join me today and in the future to do two things. First, thank God for the amazing skills and compassion that nurses bring to their jobs every day, to every patient, everywhere.
And second, make an intentional opportunity for yourself to thank a nurse, whether it’s the nurse who cares for you or your children and loved ones in your next office visit or hospital procedure, or someone you know who is a nurse. Thank them for their amazing service. Acknowledge their contribution to you and all they serve. Let them know that their heroic efforts are appreciated. Let them know they make a great difference in making our world a better place.
This whole army of medical servants is an amazing bunch.
I believe we can all say, “Amen!” to that.
[Dr. Kollmeyer, a thirty-eight year resident of Fayette County, is a retired Lutheran pastor. He offers his preaching and teaching pastoral ministry to any church or group seeking or needing a Christ centered, Biblically based, and traditionally grounded sermon or teaching. Reach him at justin.kollmeyer@gmail.com.]
