The Value of Nurses

Nursing Week, from May 06 to May 12 has come, and was almost gone, before I sat up and paid attention. To fit with this month’s theme of Money, I have written a short essay on how they may relate.

In very early times nursing was considered a religious vocation ~ a calling ~ kindness and care of the sick was not paid. Nursing also has a long military history. Florence Nightingale is most famous for nursing protocols she established in the Crimean War.

However, nurses have historically, cleaned up many, many messes from the dreadful to the minor ~ whether in religious orders or in the military, all the while supporting their patients through sickness into health, or unfortunately sometimes into death, all the while putting at risk their own health.

Many men have joined Registered Nursing ranks through relatively recent years, however nurses at one time were predominately women. Thus many women’s issues were of great concern. At one time, women in nursing could not be married and definitely not pregnant. So women were to support themselves on whatever money would be paid them, and once married automatically left the profession.

Very slowly over the years, the nursing profession has graduated to paid employment allowing much more freedom along with the ability to support a small family. Unions have come to the fore to support this body of employees within our health care system. Unions supporting this profession have also been very controversial. How can one legislate dollars for caring?

In my opinion the ensuing power struggle between unions and management has the potential for pushing out time for the soul we put into our tasks, and encourages only time for our nursing tasks merely for the sake of getting a job done.

At the same time, I am extremely grateful to the unions I have been a member of, for the salary and benefits that have been hard fought and won. Nurses, not noted for taking care of themselves as they do their patients or families, often have spent time and money on someone else first. Unions have provided monetary supports for the nurses in their membership, encouraging nurses to care for themselves in the workplace.

As I watch nurses, and work along side nurses, I see that we are an incredibly creative bunch. Holding a hand just so while starting an intravenous, finding the laugh in the stitches on a jagged scar, shedding a tear along with a patient’s great sadness........so many little ways of practicing the art of nursing. These things do not increase one’s weekly pay cheque, but these arts of communication with our patients are the bond of trust we build with them and satisfaction of tasks well done.

“Nursing encompasses an art, a humanistic orientation, a feeling for the value of the individual, and an intuitive sense of ethics, and of the appropriateness of action taken.”

~ Myrtle Aydelotte