Celebrate our value and dance

AORN Journal, Nov, 2004 by Sharon A. McNamara

The Lee Ann Womack song, I Hope You Dance, contains several lines that illustrate the dedication and caring of perioperative nurses. One lyric, "I hope you never lose your sense of wonder" (1) exemplifies the value perioperative nurses bring to their patients daily. Our fascination with the human body in health and illness draws us to the mission of caring in our practice. There is a mind and body connection that impresses upon us our spiritual bond to our patients and colleagues.

It is difficult to put your hands inside a patient's body, see an exposed brain, or watch a human heart cease beating so it can be repaired by the skillful hands of a surgeon without holding your breath at times. You know as you stand over patients and look into their eyes as they drift off to sleep that your eyes may be the last human contact they have. It is a powerful experience for perioperative nurses and their patients, and it creates an ongoing sense of wonder.

"May you never take one single breath for granted." (1) How often do we have to tell ourselves to breathe and stay under control as one of our patients goes into cardiac arrest, the trauma pager goes off, or the surgical suite doors crash open with a patient who has a hemorrhaging ruptured aortic aneurysm? How often do we use our breath to say thank you to our team members? Dale Oller, MD, a surgeon at WakeMed, Raleigh, NC, took time to breathe life into a tribute to Cyndi Long, RN, CNOR, a perioperative nurse at WakeMed. Oller says,

   She is one of the most outstanding
   nurses I have seen at WakeMed and
   perhaps literally the best leader in
   our entire operating room. Examples
   of her management style are
   legion, [and] include her willingness
   to adapt to extremely emergent
   situations by getting our trauma
   patients in on multiple occasions
   despite doing elective and semi-urgent
   surgery. An example that
   comes to mind is an acute patient
   who had splenic lacerations and
   hypotension, and she pulled the
   patient right into the operating
   room, redistributed her operating
   room personnel, and acted as if this
   were just an ordinary everyday
   event, when indeed it was off hours
   on a weekend. She
   indeed has the support
   of her nurses and has
   shown on multiple occasions
   a great sensitivity
   when her nurses and
   technicians who work
   with her are under
   stress, have to be away,
   or are pulled off. It is an
   honor to have her in our
   room working with us,
   and basically, size maintains
   a low profile, but
   high intensity supervision
   attitude). (2)

How do you measure value like that?

"I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean." (1) A recent letter to William K. Atkinson, PhD, MPH, president and chief executive officer at WakeMed, demonstrates the value nurses brought to a patient's life. The letter said,

   These employees have touched my
   life in such a way that when I didn't
   feel like going on they would say [or]
   do [things], or even
   encourage me in some way
   to go a little further.... God
   has truly blessed you,
   Mr Atkinson, with some
   very gifted employees that
   truly care about people.
   You need to know that
   those employees are reaching
   out to us patients and
   are blessing us in a very
   positive way. (3)

Are perioperative nurses small pebbles in a very large pond? I don't think so.

"Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens." (1) Nydia Rodriguez was a surgical nurse in Puerto Rico before she came to WakeMed in 1999. Physicians and staff members see her as an outstanding complement to our surgical service. Dr Oller says,

   She has increased my
   knowledge of Spanish and
   also the technical terms
   for the surgical equipment
   in Spanish; she has had
   materials always available
   and ready as she has
   anticipated our needs; she
   has a good knack for and a
   sense of immediacy for the
   operation; she is well prepared;
   and she makes sure
   she has minimized my
   "fussin and cussin." I
   know when I go into the
   operating room I need to
   behave myself in Nydia's
   presence. She cares very
   much for the patients, and
   it is obvious to me that
   she cares for me and the
   physicians and surgical
   staff. (2)

"Promise me that you'll give faith the fighting chance." (1) After hearing keynote speaker Steve Rizzo at her first AORN Congress in 2004, Renee Ingoe, RN, shared the experience with her colleagues during a surgery inservice program. Ingoe said,

   What I want to say to you
   is that life is a journey
   and should be embraced.
   Our paths to get here
   today may have been very
   different, but think back to
   when you first started this
   journey. Was it because
   you were following a lifelong
   dream to be someone,
   to take care of others?
   Was it that someone in
   your family was a nurse
   or doctor? Was someone
   very close to you sick?
   Whatever the reason,
   when we first started out,
   we did it because we
   wanted to make a difference.
   Bring back to mind
   when it was exciting and
   new. We were enthusiastic
   and eager. Rediscover the
   joy in your job and in
   your life. Make it new
   again. Support your
   teammates, be there for
   each other, and build each
   other. Raise each other up
   to more than we can be by
   ourselves. Take notice
   when someone needs a
   smile or a hug. When
   someone is in a bad case,
   go and help them get
   through it so they don't
   feel all alone. This is a
   tough, emotional career
   that we have chosen. We
   need to unite and stick
   together and bring out the
   best in each other.
   Remember that it is the
   patients that are going
   through this. They are
   scared, they need us to
   raise them up and let
   them know we care about
   them. (4)