Reflecting on real life experiences, soldiers are always highly valued by almost everyone. This comes in return to sacrificing their life, time and effort to save their countries. To them, saving their home land is a sacred responsibility. On the other hand nurses are soldiers too, but are they valued as much as soldiers?! Perhaps yes, but not by all as some might associate the word “nurse” to a personal experience that reminds them of a certain incident in a hospital. Else, the word brings back an old memory of a loved one who had been treated by a nurse.
In another connotation, the word “nurse” describes a person who is strong enough to tolerate anything and soft enough to understand anyone. Generally, nurses are called angles of mercy, dispensing to their patients comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription. However, very often we underestimate the power of a nurse’s touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
Becoming a nurse is one of the most selfless acts a person can undertake. In a world of so many different races, cultures, customs, and beliefs, nurses are a universal gift to all. Nurses care is based on the individual's physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social and spiritual needs. Nursing combines physical science, social science, nursing theory and the skill in caring for those individuals too. Nurses kindness delivered in every corner of hospitals serves as a reminder of the fundamental humanity inside us all.
Nurses remain committed to providing care and nurturing of both healthy and ill people, individually, or in groups, or even communities. Nurses are simply life-savers who believe in Einstein’s saying “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”. Behind the scrubs and lab coats are an army of devoted professionals that deserve to be respected and valued. Nurses are a compassion in scrubs and will always give patients hope. They fill their hearts with love and spend their life in service.
Hence, all mankind owes nurses respect and gratitude for all what they deliver to humanity. According to the “State of the World’s Nursing 2020 report”, issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), jointly with the International Council of Nurses and Nursing Now, about 59 per cent of all healthcare professionals are nurses and the global workforce of nurses is currently around 28 million, of which 19.3 million are professional nurses, 6 million are associate professional nurses and the remainder is not being classified.
On the other hand, to all nurses, Plato advised you to be kind as everyone you meet is fighting a battle. As a nurse, you have the opportunity to heal the mind, soul, heart, and body of your patients. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Be the nurse you would want as a patient, as Charles Dickens said, “Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts”. Just remember to work for a cause, not for applause and to live life to express, not to impress. Thus, never strive to make your presence noticed, but make it felt.
A nurse is the one who opens the eyes of a newborn and gently closes the eyes of a dying man. It is indeed a high blessing to be the first and last to witness the beginning and end of life. Every day, a nurse will either touch a life or a life will touch hers. A nurse is always there for everyone of us and is drawn to nursing because of a desire to care, to serve, or to help. Tribute to all nurses; they are not only stitching painful wounds, but crowning patients with happiness!
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
