The college I graduated from has been under numerous changes since I graduated. Yesterday, I checked our mailbox looking for my usual Amazon Prime delivery, and instead found an alumni newsletter from my college. As I flip through it waiting for the bus, I noticed something a little disheartening. There were pages full of updates on what all the medical and dental school alumni were doing with their lives- becoming Deans, opening their own practices, researching medicine in far away places or doing mission work. When I looked over the list of nursing school graduates who sent updates, I saw something that made my heart sink. The only updates on the School of Nursing graduates discussed who they were marrying. Apparently, the biggest recent accomplishments this year for nurses from my school was that they got married.
What Kateri says in her blog post is beautiful and true. A lot of times, society and even nurses themselves look at nursing as "just" something you do. "I'm just a nurse." We've all said it at one point in time.
I've wanted to be a certified nurse-midwife for years now. I still have every intention of going back to school once we're back in the states, but there was always one depressing comment that I got from people when I told them my dreams: "Why don't you just go to medical school and be an OB/GYN?"
Well, for one, midwives and OB/GYNs are not the same.Two, medical school is crazy expensive and can sometimes be a pretty poor payoff these days. When I was working in labor and delivery, I was assisting a doctor (who will remain nameless) with a procedure when he asked me what my goals were for my career. I told him I intended to continue my education and become a nurse practitioner. He smiled and said to me a few sentences that I will never forget. "You're a smart girl. These students of mine, they aren't all that smart. Intelligent people become nurses now. Most of my students are going to leave school to be bogged down in student loan debt and working nonstop for what they earn. People will say to be, "But Dr. *blank*, you have so much money, why would you not tell others to be a doctor?" And I tell them that all the money in the world doesn't matter if you don't have time to enjoy it!"
Medicine and nursing are two different professions that are equally important in providing patients with the care needed, just in different ways. There are plenty of doctors and individuals out there who respect nurses as a profession, but sometimes it's not as easy to find other nurses who respect their profession. For some, nursing is something you do before you have kids and stay home, which is perfectly acceptable. For others, it's a career and a passion that keeps us on the computer in the evening reading articles so we can better serve and educate our patients. Working in the field, I'm frequently my patient's only source of medical care. They may have a doctor that if they're lucky, they'll get to see for a few minutes a few times a year. I don't have all the answers for them, and I don't have an expert in every field on speed dial. Encouraging patients to trust you is so important, because you'll never get all the answers you need without good cooperation. When I see a patient, I don't just see their uterus or their breast or their new baby, I see the whole picture. I'm assessing her mental state. I'm looking for clues that indicate other medical concerns. I'm thinking about where I can refer her for the help she needs that I'm not able to provide. It's not "just" nursing, it's a skill and a profession.
I know that other nurses have accomplished great things. I know my alumni newsletter obviously isn't an all-encompassing update of the state of nursing throughout the country. It's always nice to be reminded that this isn't just something I'm doing to pass the time, it's a lifelong passion and a commitment to serve others. No matter where life takes me, nursing isn't just a job, it's part of who I am.
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| Source: someecards.com |
[FYI: I'm definitely not saying getting married isn't an accomplishment. I will say, however; staying married is a much bigger and more lucrative accomplishment in this day in age.]
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