This Nurses week, AvaSure wanted to recognize all that Nurses around the world do for their communities! In alignment with this year’s theme “Nurses: A Voice to Lead – A Vision for Future Healthcare”, we are celebrating by sharing daily messages to the future generation of Nurses, from our very own RN’s. Here are their full messages and words of advice compiled into one!
Kathy Price, MSN, RN
2021 has been an interesting and challenging year! Healthcare has been challenged in ways that we have not experienced for many years. Throughout it all, nurses have risen to the challenge and continued to work tirelessly to provide care to their patients. The AvaSure Clinical team has had to be creative and provide support and education to our customers. We have provided remote education for implementation and go-live. We introduced our current customers to Advanced Monitor Training classes. When we were able to work on-site again, we worked alongside these brave and devoted professionals, training them to use a new device while they are working short-staffed and in extenuating circumstances. Most have exhibited patience and grace and the willingness to try something new.
Nurses have been rated the most trusted profession according to Gallup for 19 years! My hope is that future nurses will humbly recognize this and work to maintain the trust of the public. Our patients are at their most vulnerable time when they are hospitalized or ill. Recognize that your patients belong to someone – they are a father or mother, a sister or brother, a grandparent, son or daughter, aunt or uncle. Treat them with the dignity and respect you would want for your family member and you will maintain this trust. It won’t always be easy. There will be times when you are challenged to the core of your being but hold your head high and stand tall. You are a nurse!
Tom Vandalsen, RN
Congratulations on considering or selecting one of the best careers and calling that you could choose!
I have been a nurse for over 40 years and have seen so many changes, especially in the field of technologies. When I started as a heart cath lab nurse and then manager, there were few options available to treat heart patients besides surgery and medicine. But as brilliant minds began developing new strategies and technologies for treating heart disease, the field exploded. This is just one tiny arm of the medical field. The same could be said for orthopedics, gastrointestinal and imaging. I look at the wonderful technology that even we offer our clients and marvel at how we help to contribute to patient safety.
However, with all of this new technology, we cannot lose our grip on the human side of providing care and the value of the human interaction. That has never changed and hopefully never will. As nurses we help patients in so many ways, but I still feel that a kind smile, a hand hold, a touch on the shoulder, a hug, and the time that you spend talking and sharing life experiences with your patient, has a value that you cannot put a price on.
Remember, these patients may have an illness, disease, or injury that needs our expertise, but never forget that value of truly caring from your heart, for that person’s emotional well-being. We can be a kind, caring, and knowledgeable nurse and enjoy the reward of making a patient smile and knowing you contributed to their well-being.
Sue Dodde, MBA, BSN, RN-BC
Nursing is the most diverse and rewarding career, as there are numerous opportunities to make a difference in ways other than being at the bedside. The bedside staff need support in order to do their jobs. This support can come from being a leader, a vendor that supplies products to help ensure safety of patients and caregivers, project management, support for insurance companies and lawyers to make sure the highest of standards are being maintained, and forensic nursing, to name a few, bottom line is it takes an entire team to care for patients and every role is important and makes a difference. Do not let the events of this past year scare you, let it empower you to find your niche and help make a difference.
Kim McClure, MSN, RN-BC, CMSRM
I am not sure what I would say to nurses today as I can’t imagine having had to work the bedside during this past year. I would have cried every day and wanted to give up. I think CS Lewis said it best: “Hardships often prepare people for an extraordinary destiny.”
Jennifer Williams, MSN, RN
Over the past year, we have all been put to the test. During this time and throughout my career, I have learned many things; however, there is one thing about being a Nurse that always seems to stand apart from all the knowledge that I have gained. We are not only nursing professionals; we are a community. Combining our strengths, finding new resources and sharing our voices with our colleagues and other healthcare professionals, is what makes us successful. I have been honored to work with some of the most amazing individuals throughout my career and I am grateful to continue to contribute to such an amazing profession. Being a part of this expansive community, has been a powerful experience beyond measure.
Stacey Overholt, MBA, BSN, RN
There are so many ways you can impact lives through nursing. Jump In! You will be rewarded in more ways than one!
Shannon Farrell, BSN, RN, MSN Candidate
My Mom graduated from Nursing School when I was in the 5th grade and she inspired me to pursue a career in nursing. I entered healthcare 34 years ago while in high school starting as a Nursing Assistant and I set my goals of following my Mom’s footsteps into nursing. I had challenges of getting into nursing school, which lead me into Respiratory Therapy School, and I graduated with honors as a Respiratory Therapist. I loved working in respiratory, but I never gave up on my dream to be a nurse. To my surprise during my second year in Respiratory School, I got into nursing school and started 5 months following my graduation. I graduated with honors two years later as the class president and accepted my first nursing position. While in nursing school, I admired my nursing instructors and I wanted to be an educator in my life before the end of my career. This dream would take me 25 years to complete when I complete my master’s in nursing education and Professional Staff Development in August of 2021. The lesson with my journey to be a nurse educator is never giving up on your dream even when life throws you challenges.
While we are navigating through challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic that have presented healthcare workers with unique and prolonged challenges my advice to you is:
- Make self-care a priority always. By taking care of yourself, you will have the resilience, endurance, and confidence to sustain yourself during the challenges that you may face as a new nurse.
- Take vacations, time off, and visit your family/loved ones. Your work setting will be there when you get back and yes, they will survive without you.
- Social support is key to enduring the unique challenges we are facing. There are groups on many social media platforms that I participate in that are dedicated to nurses, nursing students, nurse educators, and other healthcare professions. Although I love meeting people in person, online platforms can connect us with others that are experiencing the same issues and we can find like minded people to connect with.
- Please speak up if you are experiencing signs or symptoms of PTSD or any other mental health issues. I had issues with PTSD after a traumatic incident that I was providing care with a patient in the Emergency Room, and I suffered for months before I spoke up. By speaking up, I was able to get the help that I needed, and I connected with others who had experienced the same during this incident. Yes, there are others out there like us.
- Patient care and patient outcomes are in the center of what we do, but for that to happen communication is critical across the healthcare spectrum. Please seek out resources to help you gain confidence in communicating and communication skills.
- Explore every nursing opportunity that you can. I moved around fairly frequently across my hospital system because I gave myself the goal of being as diverse as a nurse as possible. I have worked in intensive care, cardiac catheterization lab, emergency, surgery, procedural units, education, clinical education, case management, administration, survey committees, preadmission testing, utilization management, nurse manager, school nursing, physician offices, cost containment, and a few other areas in between. Our profession is amazing with many opportunities to learn and grow, please explore it to the fullest.
- Learn to set boundaries for yourself and say “no” when you need to maintain those boundaries. Please do not feel guilty about saying no to coming into work when your family needs quality time with you.
Best wishes to everyone and welcome to nursing!
