|
Defining moments
change our lives forever. Three weeks ago, we as a nation sank to
the bottom of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy. We have only just begun
the slow ascent back to the top. Most people believe that in order
to successfully survive, the best thing we can do is to return as
close as possible to what was normal before Sept. 11.
Al Siebert,
Ph.D., author of The Survivor Personality, says that survivors have
a learning/coping reaction to adversity rather than a victim reaction.
Learning from the attacks on our country and recovering quickly
will help America as well as all of us as individuals.
On a more basic
level, showing the people who perpetrated this tragedy that they
cannot destroy or divide us is reason enough to move forward. It's
a shame that it took terrorists to bring America together, but now
the togetherness of Americans has become a hallmark of this event.
Flags fly everywhere. Patriotic songs play and everyone knows the
words.
An increasing
number of people are realizing that our differences are much less
important than our similarities. "We Shall Overcome,"
once sung by some of our citizens seeking rights and respect, now
is sung by all as a message to those who would question our resolve.
It has been
particularly gratifying over the recent weeks to see how nurses
have come forward to support each other. At NurseWeek, we have received
hundreds of e-mails and letters from around the country and the
world at our offices as well as at nurseweek.com.
Nursing has
so much to offer, now more than ever. We all start by becoming nurses
and then we use our talents and desires to build on that foundation.
We've covered nurses in different roles in this issue of NurseWeek.
There is an interview with the first lady of Texas, Anita Perry,
who is a nurse of vast expertise and now of even broader influence.
We have a story on Florence Nightingale from an unlikely source-Country
Joe McDonald. Traveler and registry nursing, a specialty in itself
if done right, is profiled in our cover story. In another article,
we look at nurses who have become chief operating officers and chief
executive officers and how their nursing backgrounds affect their
present roles.
Later this week,
NurseWeek will recognize 60 nurse finalists from Arkansas, Louisiana,
Oklahoma and Texas at our Nursing Excellence Awards in Dallas. You
will have a chance to read their stories in the next issue of NurseWeek
and I can promise you that you will feel deep pride in nursing when
you do.
As a final note,
many of our nurse colleagues are part of the reserves who are being
called to duty. They could well end up on the front lines of this
war and in harm's way. Let's keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
What
do you think?
Email us at
editor@nurseweek.com
|