Dear Nurses,
Valentine’s Day is a great time to give that special someone in your life a little extra attention. If you’re not too busy this Valentine’s Day, be sure to spend some quality time with that person. However, don’t forget to give yourself some love as well. As a nurse, you deserve a bit of appreciation and relaxation more than anyone!
We want to use this Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to show some love to our favorite people: nurses! So, while you shouldn’t neglect your partner on Valentine’s Day, do take a moment to give yourself and your fellow nurses a little credit for all of the great work that you’ve done throughout the year. Here are a few of the many reasons why nurses like you deserve some extra recognition this holiday:
We Know You Work Hard
Throughout the year, nurses put in long hours to ensure that their patients are as comfortable and content as possible; this is hard work. People who think that nursing isn’t difficult at times have never spent 12 hours on their feet juggling a huge patient load only to spend another 2 hours fighting off exhaustion to complete charting requirements, and they certainly haven’t done it for days on end! We know all about the long, hard hours that you’ve put in to ensure that your patients had the help and expertise needed to get better.
We Know You Make Sacrifices
Unfortunately, illness doesn’t take the day off for holidays, which means that nurses aren’t able to either. In fact, there’s no doubt that plenty of you reading this article are working this Valentine’s Day. While your patients and their families don’t always make it known, they appreciate that you’re willing to spend time away from your loved ones on special days in order to provide care. We certainly appreciate all of the anniversaries, birthdays, and other special days that you’ve spent away from your loved ones in order to care for someone else’s.
We Know About Your Extra Efforts
Simply working as a nurse is already a great service to the community. However, many nurses don’t stop there. At home and abroad, nurses are some of the most active healthcare professionals involved in volunteer missions. In fact, there are currently more than 15,000 nurses in the American Red Cross serving in various capacities. In the past, nurses have provided aid through some of the world’s worst disasters and conflicts. If you’ve ever worked in a volunteer capacity, you should know that you’ve probably touched and changed quite a few lives as a result.
We Know You’re a Skilled Professional
Nurses do far more than simply caring for patients. These days, most nurses are forced to wear several different hats. Nurses are caretakers, educators, and healthcare providers, and their ability to fill a variety of different roles is virtually unrivaled in the healthcare field. Throughout the average day, you probably provide more patient care and education than you realize, and believe it or not, your clinical judgement is likely as sound as many of the MDs working your floor.
We Know You Don’t Get Enough Recognition
Unfortunately, plenty of nurses suffer verbal and physical abuse at the hands of patients from time to time, and workplace bullying isn’t uncommon in this field either. Though nurses shouldn’t have to grin and bear these types of situations, they do; they remain pleasant and professional during even the most trying times. Despite their ability to handle these types of situations with a Zen-like calm, nurses often receive little or no thanks by the time their shift is through. While it’s certainly too little and too late, we want to thank you for everything that you do.
We Want You to Know We Care
Now that you know how much we appreciate you and all that you do, we also want you to know we care. We care about the important work you do, and we want you to continue on in the nursing profession for as long as possible. For this reason, we think that you should take this moment, and many more like it in the future, to reflect on the good that you’ve done for your patients each and every day working as a nurse. The positive impact you’ve had on them and their families has undoubtedly earned you a place in their hearts as well as ours.