To all the nurses out there—

To many people you are a sign of fear, sadness, and bad news. But to many more people you, are hero’s, protectors, and caretakers. Going into a hospital, a doctor’s office, a clinic, or whatever it may be, you are one of the first things a patient sees. You are the one taking their vitals, making them aware of the doctor’s timing, getting them water, making sure they are comfortable, holding their hand and reassuring them. You are the voice of reason in all of the chaos.

Sometimes it may feel like you are under appreciated because you do all the dirty work while the doctor comes in and speaks to the patients to tell them their diagnosis, and what steps should be taken next. And they are what the patient is looking for. You are the one monitoring your patients for hours at a time. And you are the one who gets to interact with all of the patients, some are easy and nice but some are not so pleasant. But you do your job and take care of them anyways. So I am here to say thank you so incredibly much.

Just like many things in life and life itself we take things and people for granted. But coming from someone who has been in the hospital a lot, I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for all of the hours you stayed up, all of the sleepless nights, and all of the hard work you have put in. Thank you for taking care of people to the best of your ability because I know that can’t be easy. Because yes we take care of our family and friends but it’s different when you are taking care of a complete stranger. You see things and encounter things that aren’t easy to deal with but thank you for continuing on and being strong.

Thank you for being there for comfort when a patient needs you even though that’s not exactly on the job description when someone defines ‘nurse.’ Because so many people come in scared to death of all the tests they are about to be put through, or when awaiting bad news that the doctor is going to bring but a lot of patients find comfort from the nurse’s reassurance. Or when a nurse comes in and just has small talk with a patient, it means more than most of you know.

I know your job isn’t easy and you are tired, but thank you for being a nurse. The medical field wouldn’t be the same without you. Thank you for being heroes, protectors, caretakers, and a nurse.