You Are Not “Just A Nurse!”

Nurses are the heart and soul of the health care team. Health Care Facilities would not exist without nurses.  Nurses are the eyes and ears of the physician and the lifeline of the patient.

After I graduated from nursing school, some friends would ask “why didn’t you go on to medical school?”  Well, the public doesn’t understand how nurses are different.  That nurses are special and we have our own unique body of knowledge.  I think it’s in our DNA to be a nurse.  It was our calling and I guess we just didn’t have a choice.

It bothers me when I hear colleagues say, “Oh, I’m just a nurse!”  Though this might show your modesty, this does not help our profession.

I, for one, am grateful that I am a nurse and that I didn’t go on to medical school.  While both physicians and nurses impact the lives of patients, nurses just do it differently.  Conducting a 30-second examination doesn’t provide the physician with the same relationship to a patient as a nurse would have.  They don’t connect with the patient as well as a nurse will.

So, when you hear a co-worker saying that they are “just a nurse,” tell them how valuable, important and needed they are to the healthcare team.

They are NOT just a nurse … they are more than that!