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I had the opportunity to share several of my favorite
holiday chores with my oldest daughter this week: wrapping
and boxing presents to send off to our long-distance
family members and letting her in on my secret source
for handmade candy canes that have made a regular appearance
in her stocking since she was little. Until now, no
one in my family knew where Santa found these wonderful
candy canes.
As my children get older, the holidays take on a different
feel. There are now acknowledgements and appreciation
of our family's own traditions of the season. These
are the little things that my daughters recognize as
our own family traditions, a blend of those holiday
practices from my husband's family as well as my own.
Our Christmas breakfast is a good example: saffron
bread from my husband's family served with an egg and
sausage casserole from my family. My daughters have
had the same Christmas breakfast since they were little
and, once again, are already looking forward to it.
Enduring traditions are important; they keep us connected
in interesting ways. There is much in nursing that speaks
to one's heart in the same way-long-held values and
traditions of a profession that, even today, hold an
emotional importance to all nurses and serve as the
glue that keeps our profession together.
Recognizing and preserving those traditions of nursing
that should endure and survive is as important as identifying,
embracing and integrating the new.
I am not talking about the outmoded rituals that have
long been proved ineffective, but those things that
we know, ultimately, do make a difference and hold meaning
to us as nurses.
If you sit back and objectively assess what is happening
in nursing right now, the challenge seems to be in sorting
out what is important about the past, then determining
how best to blend it with the present for the benefit
of nursing in the future.
If we can find a way to do this successfully, we can
create an even stronger profession for the future-something
better than the nursing world we know today. A profession
in concert with and responsive to the needs and expectations
of patients. A profession that is cohesive and strong,
and competitive with the myriad other career alternatives
available to our children today.
As you look to the new year, be true to those important
traditional values of nursing, but be willing to embrace
the best of what is offered today with vigor, enthusiasm
and equal commitment. The future is ours to create.
May you and your family have a joyful holiday and peaceful
new year.
Discuss this and other topics with your colleagues
at www.nurseweek.com/rnvillage
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