A Nurse's Manifesto (2010)

I'm stepping up to the plate and out of the box.

I'm a real Nurse: Not the kind of nurse who's stuck to the seat with Elmer's glue, or the clipboard nurse in a starched lab coat looking for errors, or even the nurse who is perpetually late.

I am not an rn (resting nurse).

I'm a Warlord Nurse, marinating in overtime, who fights for integrity and compassionate care.

Recently, I announced over the ER intercom that I needed the attention of a nurse's aide, "Could a competent nurse's aide please report to the station?"

There was work to be done and I needed help. And you know what? No one came forth.

Later that day, a supervisor came to the triage area and stood over my shoulder to reprimand me. Instead of having him look down at me, I offered him a seat.

"Talk to me as a man," I said. "More importantly, talk to me as one RN to another."

"Did you announce that you needed a competent nurse's aide?" he asked.

"Yes I did."

"Why did you do that?'

"Because it's what I wanted. Because it's what I needed. Competency is what we all want, especially our patients."

He was stern in his efforts to counsel me, and then he asked, "What if I went on the loud speaker and asked for a competent RN?"

Without hesitancy, I replied, "I would step up to the plate."

(I hold my pee, my glasses are lopsided and frame puffy, tired eyes, but I keep moving, and my co-workers never have to look for me.)

Regarding lazy nurses and aides: A wise Nurse Chen once told me, "A crow is black all over the world."

Then she would go into the pantry and eat bitter melon, (raw).

Nurse Chen was hard-core, but she was hard-working and never suffered from indigestion (nor indignation).

I eat bitter melon of a different kind.

Every time I suffer the indignation of a physician who yells at me, I swallow...

Every time a nurse's aide rolls their eyes when I ask for simple vital signs, I swallow...

Every time a nurse hangs up on me when I'm trying to give report, I swallow...

I protect and serve. I am a health care soldier.

I belong to the division called N.U.R.S.E.

Necessary
Unsung hero
Resilient
Selfless
Essential

It begins with us...and ends with us. We take all the bitter melons and make melonade.

I am stepping up. And I am demanding respect.

I'm a real N.U.R.S.E.

Can I get an Amen?