10 Reasons to Thank a Nurse
It’s been another challenging year in health care, with ups and downs in COVID cases, staffing shortages and stressful working environments. Health care leaders and public health officials continue to debate the best way to move forward, while providers are left to soldier on and make the best of their situation.
At the center of it all, nurses continue to care for their patients, offer encouragement and complete a multitude of tasks on every shift. Is it a thankless job? We hope not. But for any nurse who is feeling underappreciated, the team at AMN Healthcare would like to offer our sincere appreciation for all you do.
We feel that nurses are a special breed, whether they hold staff positions or choose to work as a travel nurse. So, as we near the end of 2021, we just want to highlight some of the reasons we are grateful for nurses and the privilege we have to work with so many across the country.
10 Reasons We are Thankful for Nurses
1. Nurses are Well-Educated Clinicians
It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to complete nursing school and clinical rotations, and then pass a licensing exam--not to mention all that on-the-job training. Today’s nurses can choose from a variety of specialties and subspecialties, where they can develop very specific skills and knowledge. An increasing number of registered nurses are choosing to get a bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN) degree and work toward certification in their chosen field, which not only improves their skill set, but can lead to greater opportunities in the future.
2. Nurses are Compassionate and Caring
We are thankful for compassionate nurses who are empathetic to the pain and suffering of their patients and will go out of their way to make patients more comfortable when they’re in pain, feeling ill or suffering from emotional stress. By demonstrating compassion, nurses provide patients with the support and confidence they need to prepare for a lengthy recovery, face a frightening procedure or fight a devastating disease.
3. Nurses Advocate for Their Patients
Nurses are always looking out for their patients, and the 2019-2020 Nursing Scope and Standards Revision Workgroup even added advocacy as a standard of professional performance. Advocacy can include being the voice of the patient, such as speaking out about the appropriate level of care and timely transitions, protecting patient privacy, making sure patients know their rights, and even honoring a patient’s wishes at end of life.
4. Nurses Have Earned The Public’s Trust
For 19 years running, nurses have ranked as the most trusted profession in Gallup’s annual poll. Even as some people have become suspicious of public health officials during the global pandemic, they continue to trust in the ethics and honesty of nurses.
5. Nurses are Effective Communicators
Nurses often gather medical histories, but it is their skills in active listening and communicating information that can make the biggest impact on patient safety. They can assess a patient’s level of anxiety as well as their health literacy. They can then provide reassurance, explain procedures in layman’s terms and convince patients to follow through on treatment plans. Nurses are also adept at communicating with family visitors and caregivers, who play a key part in a patient’s health journey.
6. Nurses Have Keen Problem-Solving Skills
Nurses must be able to quickly assess situations, think on their feet and act appropriately, especially in settings like the emergency department, the operating room, critical care units and labor and delivery. Yet, in every setting, it is the nurse’s responsibility to notice changes in a patient’s condition, use critical thinking skills, and adjust the nursing plan of care; nurses also need to know when to call in a physician or advanced practitioner to intervene.
7. Nurses are Educators in Disease Prevention
With today’s shift from simply curing disease toward effective prevention techniques, nurses have a key role to play. They can instruct patients in preventative health care, using evidence-based research and recommendations to encourage good habits and improve their health.
8. Nurses Care About The Whole Patient
Nurses understand that patients are not just people with physical issues or complaints. Many factors and facets of their life can come into play. Nurses also pay attention to mental wellness, religious and cultural sensitivities, and a patient’s access to resources and a support system. They are trained to ask probing questions and help address social determinants of health that can affect outcomes.
9. Nurses are Adaptable
Every time a nurse shows up to work, almost anything can happen, so they have to be ready to flex and pivot. A new procedure? An unusual case? They will figure it out. Travel nurses especially can become very adept at stepping into a new workplace, figuring out the lay of the land, and providing excellent patient care after a short orientation.
10. Nurses Keep Going When The Going Gets Tough
If we learned nothing else from the devastating COVID pandemic, the country has clearly seen nurses demonstrate their strength and determination. Amid patient surges, staffing and equipment shortages, and the many uncertainties from a novel coronavirus, they showed up to work and gave it their all. Then they came back the next day and did it again. And they keep showing up.
We are grateful for nurses’ selflessness and dedication. Thank you for working in the trenches every day, and showing such exceptional skill, care and compassion.
AMN Healthcare is seeking talented, caring nurses for travel nursing opportunities across the country.
Additional Nursing Resources:
- AMN Passport: Our all-in-one nursing app for booking nursing jobs.
- Nursing Salary & Benefits: AMN Healthcare offers our nurses some amazing salaries and benefits. Find out what's in store for your nursing career today.
- Travel Nurse Licensing: Find out about nursing requirements for all 50 states.
- Exclusive Facilities: AMN Healthcare has relationships with the most sought-after healthcare providers.
- Refer-a-Friend: Make up to $2,000 per referral.
