 |
|
       |
||||||
 |
|||||||
   |
|||||||
|
Editor's
Note
|
|||||||
|
|
It’s nice to see nurses as heroes and to have others see nurses that way. I recently watched the movie "Pearl Harbor" and came away pleasantly surprised by the portrayal of its nurse heroine. Sure, she and her colleagues primped and preened to impress the guys, but they also got serious, took control and saved lives when the attack began. The birth of real-life nursing triage (albeit with a lipstick to mark foreheads) was a moving scene that captured the nurse’s reluctance to assume the power of deciding who received treatment and who did not, and her acceptance of her duty and her ability to fulfill it. The actress who plays the lead nursing role, Kate Beckinsale, has been vocal about how preparing for the role changed her view of nursing. In a recent interview with CNN, she said, "I had been under the real insulting illusion that nurses were some sort of underqualified doctor. It was so wrong. I learned so much from researching that. You know, the skill in nursing is a very particular and important skill, particularly during a war; that’s about caring for the human being … [It’s] being able to kind of heal somebody’s inside as well as their outside." Even those of us who are nurses or who have close relationships with nurses often lose sight of the heroic deeds of nurses. It doesn’t take a war for a nurse to be a hero. We saw that vividly at last year’s NurseWeek Nursing Excellence Awards event. As the achievements of our finalists and winners were described, you could feel the mood in the room change from a happy celebration to an eruption of awe and pride. You could witness family and friends seeing nursing and the nurses they knew in a new light. You could feel the power as we all basked in the success of those who were honored. Now, we have a chance to do it again. The deadline for award nominations for the South Central region is June 29. Every hospital, school of nursing and health care facility in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas has at least one nurse who serves as a great role model in clinical care, innovation, advancing the profession, community service, leadership, mentoring, teaching or patient advocacy. Many organizations, I’m sure, have a number of nurse heroes in each of these categories. Groups that have sponsored nurse recognition events should consider nominating their nurse heroes. As an example, I recently had the privilege of attending the Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana event and met many nurses who also could be nominated for NurseWeek’s Nursing Excellence Awards. All of the finalists for the Nursing Excellence Awards will be profiled in NurseWeek and receive an expense-paid trip to Dallas for the awards dinner. You only have two weeks left to send us your nominations. There is no shortage of nurse heroes. There is only a shortage of stories that tell about their works. Take this opportunity to tell their stories. What
do you think? |
||||||
 |
|
|
NEWS
AND TRENDS | CAREER
CENTER | EDUCATION
|
|
|||
