Sheldene’s Thoughts: You make a difference
In the month of May, we celebrate both Nurses Day (12 May – Florence Nightingale’s birthday) and Mother’s Day. All the nurses we employ at Somerset Surgery are mothers. This got me thinking about the similarities between nursing and mothering and this is what came to mind.
- Mothers will do almost anything to meet the needs of their children and often ask themselves if there is anything more they can do to help them feel cared for.
Nurses feel the same way about their patients.
- A mother will make sacrifices for her children without a second thought.
Nurses will forego tea and meal breaks, stretch their bladders and put their bodies on the line to stand through long surgical cases or give undivided attention to a critical patient.
- Mothers empathise with their child’s pain.
Sometimes they don’t show it but nurses are impacted by everything their patients experience.
- A mother’s satisfaction is seeing her child happy and content.
Nurses feel the same way about their patients.
- Mothers are attuned to their children’s needs. They know when their child needs a hug, pep talk or a push to keep going.
Nursing is a combination of science and art. Their science is the evidence that guides them. Their art is the art of caring.
- In homes and hospitals, life’s dramas play out. Laughter is the best medicine and sometimes humour and fun can add lightness to seemingly serious situations. The nurses at Somerset Surgery work together as a family. They have their quirks and fun times that help them tackle each day together.
- Mothers never stop being a mother. Being a nurse does not turn off when the shift is over. If you are a nurse, it is not a job, it is who you are.
The nurses at Somerset Surgery support each other, draw on each other’s experience and knowledge. Each new day and each new encounter helps them to learn and grow.
To all the nurses who will be celebrated on Nurses day this year: Take pride in the calling you have answered. Nursing is tough yet rewarding, tiring and yet energizing, ever-changing and yet some things never change. Caring for people at their most vulnerable is a privilege and you are the few who have been honoured to be a part of people’s most intimate, scary, painful and joyous moments….just like a mother.
