The prevalence of creative talents within the nursing profession is a fascinating link to explore. I remember stumbling upon this connection years ago during an employee recognition week, when we decided to have an exhibit of people's "hobbies" or creative endeavors. The hard evidence of our clinical staff's creativity on display was stunning.

I also have had the pleasure of knowing many nurses whose creative writing skills served as an outlet for the experiences and emotions that come with the realities of nursing. These nurses generously shared some of their work with me. It was a privilege to know these nurses through the messages within their creative work in addition to knowing them as wonderful clinicians.

In my own experience, I majored in fine arts before being persuaded into pursuing nursing by a mom who was a nurse and the compelling argument that "You can always find a job as a nurse." Even with the change in career direction, I have always sought out various forms of creative expression as a means of satisfying that inner need. If you share a similar creative side, you can probably relate to how important it is to find an outlet to satisfy this need.

As further evidence of creativity within our profession, I spent part of National Nurses Week in several California hospitals: John Muir Medical Center, USC University Hospital and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The creative endeavors of these nurses, whether as clinicians, writers or artists, were evident in many of the activities that centered on honoring the nursing profession. It was a week of high emotion for me and a joy to be invited into the midst of nurses who seem to be finding satisfaction with the challenges of practicing nursing.

In particular, I had the opportunity to serve as an outside reviewer of essays about nursing on behalf of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Along with several others, I had the almost impossible task of judging eight creative stories about "Why I would choose to be a nurse again." Each essay represented a display of creativity, not just in how it was written, but also in how nursing was translated to the reader.

Some were sad, some were joyous and some were funny. However, there was a balance, as most were capable of eliciting as many tears as chuckles. I am indebted to the essay writers, especially the winners, for sharing their special tales. Theirs are the stories that need to be told to the outside world.

There is no better time than today for nurses to take advantage of our store of creativity. I am confident that it will be the artists, writers and innovators among us who will help deliver us to our future.

Discuss this and other topics with your colleagues at www.nurseweek.com/rnvillage.