Wherever you are in your nursing journey – I want to encourage you –

I have noticed a running theme in the last 9 years I have been in the nursing world. And that theme seems to play out in everyone I meet: you must be better than all of your peers. I see this time and time again. Almost every nurse I meet feels like they must impress me with their vast knowledge. If I say I do it this way, a great many nurses will tell me my way is wrong, and the way they do it is the correct method. This is a DAILY struggle. Why do we all have to one up each other?

When I took the position of resource nurse in my unit, one of the other nurses had a BIG problem with it. She told a new employee how my unit stunk, and that all the nurses there were incompetent, and how I was not qualified for the position. She promptly took another position in another part of the hospital, and now rolls her eyes at everyone from our unit. We all breathed a sigh of relief at her leaving.

But the damage was done. Just yesterday, I had probably one of the hardest days on our unit, and was overwhelmed at a few points in the day. That nurse’s words kept coming back to hurt me, over and over.

Maybe I AM incompetent.

Maybe I am not worthy of this position.

Why did they choose me?

At the end of the day, her poisonous words from two months ago had taken their toll. I was completely defeated, and the two new-hires I had been precepting all day probably saw this at the end.

I am now more determined than ever to spread hope and love throughout my career.

You, whoever is reading this right now, YOU are a fantastic nurse TODAY. You might now be the smartest and the quickest in the field you are in, but you are everything you need to be TODAY. Keep up the great work, lift your head high, and know that you are exactly where you need to be. Tomorrow you will shine a little brighter, so kick off the grime and wash off the poison from others who do not see the greatness within anyone besides themselves.

You are a wonderful nurse.

You are a fantastic student nurse.

Keep up the fight, and stay strong.

(((HUGS)))