(Real) Nurses Rock

I'm only as good as the nurses I am working with.

Outstanding nurses make even the most difficult shifts run smoothly. It's amazing to watch, really. They not only can tell when their patients are "sick," initiate treatment before I am even aware of the patient, keep track of numerous medications and interventions, know the plan of care and the updated vital signs on their patients, write detailed and appropriate notes, identify many problems before I do, catch my mistakes, make appropriate suggestions, encourage appropriate dispositions, and accomplish all of the "little things" that make a patient's stay more comforting, safe, and efficient. Sometimes all they really need is my signature. I disagree with them at my peril.

I don't care if a nurse wears an "unapproved" T-shirt or holiday socks, if she chooses to display tattoos or piercings, or if he speaks a little too bluntly to the customers. I only care that the nurse is a good nurse. All of us in the trenches know who the good nurses are. Cut them some slack. Give them a raise. But don't chase them away for silly reasons like that. Looking like a good nurse or toeing the line like a good nurse doesn't make one a good nurse.

They can work anywhere, in any nursing situation. They don't have to find a niche. You can plug them into any ER, ICU, recovery room, or disaster scene and they will be outstanding nurses wherever they go. In fact, if you piss them off, they are likely to leave for greener pastures. They don't have to take any grief from busybody pencil-pushers. They can work anywhere. Their excellence ensures that they will prosper, as long as we maintain a relatively free market.

Because real nurses ROCK. You know who you are. And so do we.