If you’re a "Grey's Anatomy" buff like me, you probably can remember some of Miranda Bailey’s cardinal rules she gave to the intern doctors on their first day of work. There is one that sticks out to me, though: “Don’t anger the nurses. They know more than you do.”
Many of my friends are in school right now to become nurses, and I couldn’t be more proud. I taught them everything they know.
I hear them talk about their nursing experiences so much that I could probably put in a catheter pretty easily if given the chance. Needless to say, they have given me a whole new appreciation for nurses and their abilities.
I am extremely impressed by their dedication to their “License to Heal,” and I personally think that God puts a little extra time into making nurses.
God knew that people would get pretty lost in hospitals in more ways than one, so He made nurses with an amazing moral and directional compass.
God knew the unpredictability of the medical field; therefore, He gave nurses the ability to handle any and every ailment that comes their way.
God knew that every nurse would have that patient who assumes nurses are servants rather than medical professionals, so he gave nurses incredible self-restraint.
God knew that people (me) would Google their symptoms and assume that they are deathly ill, so He gave nurses the ability to reason and predict illnesses in a way that WebMD cannot.
God knew that nurses would see tragedy in the midst of their working environment, so He gave nurses the innate ability to be strong and internalize their emotions, even when it is difficult to do so.
God knew that few people would be able to work 12-plus-hour shifts with no down time or lunch break, so he gave nurses strong legs and incredible stamina and drive.
God knew that most kids (again, me) are scared of needles, so he gave nurses a calm demeanor along with excellent aim. And SpongeBob Band-Aids.
God knew that, sometimes, one’s life may be spent within the hospital walls; therefore, he gave nurses the ability to make a cold, frightening environment feel like home.
God knew that the gift of life is an amazingly beautiful thing, so he created in nurses an exceptional emotional capacity to celebrate this special moment with new parents.
God also knew that the aforementioned new parents would stay up all night out of worry for their newborn, so God made nurses with an incredible ability to comfort new parents during this journey.
God knew that bodily death is a part of the cycle of life, so he provided nurses the ability to sincerely grieve with the families who lose loved ones.
God knew that, sometimes, doctors can get pretty caught up in medical jargon, so he gave nurses the knowledge to decipher this other language into understandable English for their patients.
God also knew that doctors can make the wrong call, so He gave nurses intuition and a backbone to express their opinions to someone who is considered their superior.
God knew that nurses had to be trained; therefore, he gave nurses the ability to teach the up and coming generation, whether it is in the classroom or on the hospital floor.
God knew that there was a need for empathy, love, passion, calmness, and strength in the midst of sickness and uncertainty, so God made a nurse.
And I am so thankful he did.
If after reading this, you still can’t think of a single reason to thank a nurse, just remember this: while most people run from bodily fluids, nurses spend their lives running toward them.
And if that isn’t something to be thankful for, I don’t know what is.
