This week, from May 6 through May 12, we celebrate National
Nurses Week, starting with Florence Nightingale's birthday.
The American Nurses Enterprise chose the theme “Power of the
Nurses” to shine a much-deserved spotlight on nurses' impact and influence on
healthcare, from the bedside to the boardroom, from novices to experts.
At the Blessing of the Hands ceremony, the nurses recited, “May our hands always bring healing. May they always be gentle. And may they always remember the power they hold—the power of a nurse.”
The hospital held a Super-Nurse Cape Competition as a fun activity. The cape is an iconic image symbolizing the compassion and caring of the nurses who served under rigorous conditions. It is a poignant reminder of our “super-hero” status during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but our powers never left.
The power of our minds as we embrace new technologies,
research, and evidence-based care.
The power of our vision as we promote professional growth,
participate in the hospital’s strategic initiatives, and continue to make
Nursing a loud and credible voice in healthcare programs.
The power of our hearts as we navigate nursing challenges through staffing issues and workplace violence, the power of our hearts to find our joy in the workplace, and the power of our hearts to put caring for our patients as our “why.”
The power of our hands as we healed and cared.
Our group of nursing educators from the Nursing Professional
Development visited the different patient units with our Wellness cart filled
with goodies (a variety of teas, granola bars, lip balms, pens, hand lotions,
stress balls, lollipops, lavender sachets, and Skyflakes chocolate biscuits). A
simple Thank You for a job well done. The smiles from the nurses, as they
paused from their busy work, to engage with the educators: Priceless.
This Nursing Week is a turning point for me. A milestone of all milestones. It will be my last Nurses Week as an active-duty nurse. I have reduced my work hours for the past year and slowly inched forward to retirement. After 42 years as a nurse in the United States, I will retire this year at the end of July. Yes, 2025 will be, not next year. This is it.
It will be a great honor to join the ranks of those who retired to enjoy the fruits of their labor. I reflect on the great work of those who led the way, whose profound influence left an indelible mark on those they worked alongside. They touched many lives, dried many patients' tears (and their own), uplifted many hearts, celebrated their peers, endured the long hours, and overcame many challenges. They were powerful nurses; on their shoulders we stood and learned.
A life spent in service is well-lived and blessed with immeasurable emotional rewards. Thank you to Paula, Cecil, Rosemary, Trish, and Avis for allowing me to use your pictures. They have many stories to share and precious memories to inspire. These ladies are legends in their own right, leaving a legacy of excellence through the years.
Many more retired before me, and sadly, some who did not make it to retirement. I am humbled to have worked with them, from Coler Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Mount Sinai Morningside, and St. John’s Hospital.
It has been a wild ride. Promise, I will post more photos on my Retirement blog. What a journey it has been. My countdown begins.
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