Whether you’re caring for patients, assisting physicians, or talking with families, you love what you do. No day is ever the same. We asked nurses why they love being a nurse in 2018. They gave us many different reasons, but they all agree on one thing: being a nurse rocks!
Thanks to all who contacted us. Here’s what some of your fellow nurses had to say.
“I get to help celebrate new life with mothers/fathers and family members by working in the Mother/Baby unit. Where else can you celebrate a new beginning, literally every day?”
—Teresa Kilkenny, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC
“Being a nurse is great because I can focus on the holistic care of the patient—taking care of their physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.”
—Kim Hinck, BSN, RN
“I’m excited to be a nurse in 2018 because as health care evolves and improves, our ability to make a difference in our patients’ lives improves as well. Every day that nurses go to work, they have an opportunity to make a difference. That difference can be with lifesaving interventions or it may be providing explanations to our patients and their families in their times of need. Every day as a nurse is different and exciting, but also incredibly rewarding knowing your actions matter.”
—Megan Meagher, RN, CFRN, Care Fight Flight Nurse Truckee Base Supervisor
“With all the changes in health care over the past few years, I look forward to nursing in 2018 to bring innovative partnerships with community members, focusing on enhancing healthy lifestyles and preventive patient care through REMSA’s outreach programs in community and rural health.”
—Kristine Strand RN, BSN, REMSA-Care Flight Clinical Services and Quality Manager
“As more and more evidence confirms the high-quality care that nurse practitioners provide patients, 2018 is a great time to be a nurse practitioner (NP)! NPs are recognized for delivering patient-centered, comprehensive care, and meeting the health care needs of patients in more than 1 billion visits annually. NPs are improving access to primary care nationwide and consistently demonstrating excellent patient outcomes.
With CARA, NPs have stepped up to the plate to help combat the opioid crisis. Beyond primary care and our work to provide care to the nation’s most vulnerable populations, NPs working in acute and specialty care are also meeting the growing the needs of health care systems and the demand for mental health services as mental health NPs. The opportunities to make a difference for patients, families, and communities have never been greater—making 2018 a great year to be an NP—and a great year for states to enact full practice authority so that all patients can directly access NP care.”
—Joyce M. Knestrick, PhD, CRNP, FAANP, President, American Association of Nurse Practitioners
“I think it is great to be a nurse in 2018 because the different ways in which you are able to help patients is endless. From floor nursing to rare disease education, from a cruise ship to an elementary school, from the beginning of life to the end, and every phase in between, there is a nurse who is willing to listen and do all they can to make your day a bit brighter.”
—Shannon Ambrose, RN-BSN, Clinical Nurse Educator at Horizon Pharma
“As I look back on my career, I realize my practice has spanned four decades! It has been great to watch our practice change from routine to evidence-based (EBP) and the application of technology to both diagnostics and patient teaching. As an OB nurse, one of the most gratifying moments is when a new life is delivered into a mother’s waiting arms. Being able to help families identify their baby’s signals can give a new parent the confidence they need to get through the first night at home. As a nurse, I have so many tools to utilize for parent teaching, and we can customize them to our families’ needs and language—such as teaching them comfortable breastfeeding positions or practicing mindful diapering to promote bonding and protect sleep (something every new family cherishes!).
I remember my first months as an OB nurse in the 1980’s and feeling conflicted when some of my colleagues taught patients based on their opinions that babies could be held ‘too much.’ Fortunately, science has proved hugging your baby improves brain development, so nurses can encourage bonding. I can hardly wait to see what the future of nursing holds and will get to watch it unfold through the eyes of my daughter-in-law, Becky Faifer, who chose the NICU as her nursing home.”
—Felicia Fitzgerald BSN, RN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, CLNC, Perinatal Outreach Educator and Huggies Nursing Advisory Council member
“It’s not every day you hear that someone loves what they do after doing it for 35 years. I can say that I have the opportunity to live my passion every day and have for 35 years in the NICU. I get to observe and listen to the language of babies and even sometimes speak for them. Many medical technologies have changed the course of premature infant lives over the past 10 to 15 years, but one of the most powerful is simply listening and observing the language of their movement, cues, and cries. I love teaching parents and the health care team about the uniqueness and language of the premature infant and how every touch and relational experience we have with the premature infant can have impact on who they will become.”
—Liz Drake, RN-NIC, MN, NNP, CNS, NICU Clinical Nurse Specialist at CHOC Children’s and Huggies Nursing Advisory Council member
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