Nursing is WORK!

Physical, mental, emotional WORK. I was reminded of this acutely today as I faced a number of ethical challenges, as well as rigorous physical demands.

I was also reminded how much I'm coming to like some of my fellow nurses here, and what a unified front we can present if necessary. (AND of how little it can matter, but that's another story.)

I've picked back up Nursing Against The Odds and am reminded again how proud I am to be a nurse. Back in college, when I was pre-med, you couldn't have convinced me that someday I'd say that. I thought it was on par with being a secretary. (No offense to secretaries.) I think a lot of people probably still feel that way. But now, it's hard to remember that I ever viewed nurses as being anything but tough as nails. 

There are a number of nurse-midwives I've come in contact with who view their nursing education as a nuisance they had to get out of the way in order to become a midwife. Some never even practiced as nurses. They do their best to distance themselves from the profession, saying things like "I'm far less nurse than midwife."

I think they've got the wrong idea, though. If by "less nurse than midwife," they mean what I think they do, which is that they view themselves as somebody who's able to think quickly on her feet, make snap decisions under duress, rapidly form intensive bonds with people, and go to the mat advocating for somebody, then I would say they're able to distill the best of nursing--but I'll also say that they're given the advantage of some measure of power and a more forgiving environment (generally) in which to do it. By saying things like "Midwives are trained to lead, nurses are trained to follow," they're perpetuating a stereotype as old and tired as the one that says that only obstetricians can deliver babies. I know plenty of strong, smart, assertive nurses. I know that they're exactly what's needed (and in many cases, what is present) at the bedside. They're often the difference between life and death, and a hundred shades in between. And I'm proud to call myself one of them.