Saluting you

Nursing, May 1999 by Mee, Cheryl L

We nurses don't always recognize the great strengths of colleagues working in specialties outside our own. After 22 years in the profession, I'm still learning about the gifts other nurses have to offer.

For example, when I graduated from nursing school, I saw medical/surgical nursing as routine. Young and naive, I wanted to work in critical care, where the action was.

Soon after graduation, I landed a position in critical care. So many technical things to learn-and I loved learning them. But besides being physically hard, the work was emotionally draining, and I eventually had to move on. Thanks to you nurses I worked with for all you taught me and for being there when my patients and I needed you.

Not until I became a nurse-manager of a large medical/surgical unit did I learn that med/surg nursing is anything but dull and routine. I marveled at how the nurses in the unit organized their shift to handle so many assignments, so many medications, and so many high-acuity patients undergoing so many tests. They had superior organizational skills, not to mention a gold mine of knowledge about medications, diagnostic tests, geriatrics, and more.

Med/surg nurses make prioritizing an art. Perhaps most amazing is how they make time in a hectic day to sit with patients who feel lost in the system and give them the support they need. As a new grad, I didn't appreciate their art; now I'm humbled by it. Thanks to you med/surg nurses for sharing your talent. Your work is vital.

Until recently, oncology nursing was foreign to me too. Then I accompanied my mother to a Philadelphia cancer center when she received chemotherapy for recurrent colon cancer. Weak and vulnerable, Mom was losing hope. Comforted by the nurses' care and attention, we both relaxed, knowing she was in expert hands.

Eight months later, Mom's still undergoing treatment but gaining weight and strength. With renewed hope for the future, she's looking forward to celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary. Thanks to you wonderful oncology nurses for bringing her along.

During Nurses Week, watch a skilled nurse at work in another specialty area or in your own unit. Take the time to recognize other nurses' great accomplishments, and let them know you noticed. Nothing means more to a nurse than recognition and respect from a colleague.

Thanks to you all for the special gifts you bring to nursing.

Cheryl L. Mee, RN,C, MSN

Clinical Director, Nursing99