Nurses are angels in comfortable shoes.

~Author Unknown

Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon. ~Dag Hammarskjold

Nurses are the heart of healthcare. ~Donna Wilk Cardillo

Nursing would be a dream job if there were no doctors. ~Gerhard Kocher

Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. ~Florence Nightingale

Caring is the essence of nursing. ~Jean Watson

Nurses can take the pressure. ~Author Unknown

The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest.... ~William Osler

Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription. ~Val Saintsbury

Bound by paperwork, short on hands, sleep, and energy... nurses are rarely short on caring. ~Sharon Hudacek, "A Daybook for Nurses"

Nurses are I.V. leaguers. ~Author Unknown

When I think about all the patients and their loved ones that I have worked with over the years, I know most of them don't remember me nor I them. But I do know that I gave a little piece of myself to each of them and they to me and those threads make up the beautiful tapestry in my mind that is my career in nursing. ~Donna Wilk Cardillo, A Daybook for Beginning Nurses

After two days in the hospital, I took a turn for the nurse. ~W.C. Fields

When you're a nurse you know that every day you will touch a life or a life will touch yours. ~Author Unknown

Panic plays no part in the training of a nurse. ~Elizabeth Kenny

Nurses are patient people. ~Author Unknown

You might be a nurse if you firmly believe that "too stupid to live" should be a diagnosis. ~Author Unknown

You know you're a nurse if... you triage the laundry when at home: This pile needs immediate attention, the pile can wait, this pile, with a little stain stick will be OK until you get back to it. ~Donna Wilk Cardillo

Whether a person is a male or female, a nurse is a nurse. ~Gary Veale

If Christian scientists had more science and doctors more Christianity, it wouldn't make any difference which you called in - if you had a good nurse. ~Finley Peter Dunne

Nurses - one of the few blessings of being ill. ~Sara Moss-Wolfe

Nursing is not for everyone. It takes a very strong, intelligent, and compassionate person to take on the ills of the world with passion and purpose and work to maintain the health and well-being of the planet. No wonder we're exhausted at the end of the day! ~Donna Wilk Cardillo

If love can't cure it, nurses can. ~Author Unknown

A nurse will always give us hope, an angel with a stethoscope. ~Carrie Latet

Nurses don't wait until October to celebrate Make a Difference Day - they make a difference every day! ~Author Unknown

Confucius say: "Man who want pretty nurse, must be patient." ~Author Unknown

Nursing care comes in many forms. Sometimes it is the ability to make someone feel physically comfortable by various means. Other times it is the ability to improve the body's ability to achieve or maintain health. But often it is an uncanny yet well honed knack to see beyond the obvious and address, in some way, the deeper needs of the human soul. ~Donna Wilk Cardillo, A

Daybook for Beginning Nurses

Always thank your nurse, Sometimes the only one between you and a hearse. ~Carrie Latet

Nurses are the hospitality of the hospital. ~Carrie Latet

We'd all be worse without a nurse. ~Author Unknown

During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. "Absolutely," the professor said. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy. ~Joann C. Jones

100 Entertaining & Inspiring Quotes for Nurses

June 14th, 2010

Nursing can be a challenging profession, and whether you're a student or a seasoned veteran, sometimes you just need a little pick-me-up to help you keep going. Here are 100 quotes all about nursing, medicine and patient care that can help inspire you or make you laugh and make your day a little brighter. Inspiration and Motivation Look to these quotes for inspiration and motivation to keep you going through even the most difficult day. 1. Mother Theresa: It is not how much you do but how much love you put in the doing. 2. Homer: The charity is a trifle to us can be precious to others. 3. Clara Barton: The door that nobody else will go in at, seems always to swing open widely for me. 4. Lynn Keegan: Nurses have come a long way in a few short decades. In the past our attention focused on physical, mental and emotional healing. Now we talk of healing your life, healing the environment and healing the planet. 5. Clara Barton: I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them. 6. Clara Barton: I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past. 7. Maya Angelou: They may forget your name but they will never forget how you made them feel. 8. Anatole France: To accomplish great things, you must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe. 9. Benjamin Franklin: Genius without education is like silver in the mine.

10. Mark Twain: It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. 11. Florence Nightingale: I think one's feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results. 12. Orison Swett Marden: There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow. 13. The Bible: A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. 14. Dr. Carl Sagan: Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history. 15. Miguel de Cervantes: God who sends the wound sends the medicine. 16. Leon J. Suenes: Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. 17. Epictetus: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. 18. Aristotle: We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. 19. Robert Frost: The best way out is always through. 20. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Knowing is not enough; we must apply .Willing is not enough; we must do. 21. Washington Irving: There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming griefand unspeakable love. 22. Elizabeth Kenney: It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life. 23. Florence Nightingale: I attribute my success to this I never gave or took any excuse. Leadership As a nurse, you'll often need to work with others and maybe even lead them. These quotes provide tips and advice for being a great leader. 24. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. 25. General Douglas MacArthur: A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him. 26. John Quincy Adams: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. 27. Friedrich Nietzsche: To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult. 28. Sophocles: What you cannot enforce, do not command. 29. Robert Burton: I light my candle from their torches. 30. George S. Patton: Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

31. Publilius Syrus: Any one can hold the helm when the sea is calm. 32. Napoleon Bonaparte: A leader is a dealer in hope. 33. Ovid: A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward. About Nurses See what these great leaders and thinkers had to say about nurses in these quotes. 34. Dag Hammarskjold: Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon. 35. William Osler: The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest. 36. Val Saintsbury: Nurses dispense comfort, compassion, and caring without even a prescription. 37. Sharon Hudacek: Bound by paperwork, short on hands, sleep, and energy nurses are rarely short on caring. 38. Sara Moss-Wolfe: Nurses: one of the few blessings of being ill. 39. Anonymous: If love can't cure it, nurses can. 40. Carrie Latet: A nurse will always give us hope, an angel with a stethoscope. 41. Stephen Ambrose: It would not be possible to praise nurses too highly. 42. Henry Ward Beecher: God appoints our graces to be nurses to other men's weaknesses. 43. Florence Nightingale: The most important practical lesson than can be given to nurses is to teach them what to observe 44. Rawsi Williams: To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; is to be a nurse 45. Lois Capps: Nurses serve their patients in the most important capacities. We know that they serve as our first lines of communication when something goes wrong or when we are concerned about health. 46. Elizabeth Kenny: Panic plays no part in the training of a nurse. 47. Anonymous: Nurses may not be angels but they are the next best thing. 48. Gary Veale: Whether a person is a male or female, a nurse is a nurse. 49. Carolyn Jarvis: The character of the nurse is as important as the knowledge she possesses. On Nursing

These quotes offer some insight into the profession of nursing. 50. Florence Nightingale: Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. 51. Jean Watson: Caring is the essence of nursing. 52. Myrtle Aydelotte: Nursing encompasses an art, a humanistic orientation, a feeling for the value of the individual, and an intuitive sense of ethics, and of the appropriateness of action taken. 53. Florence Nightingale: Unless we are making progress in our nursing every year, every month, every week, take my word for it we are going back. 54. Erin Pettengill: We often think of nursing as giving meds on time, checking an X-ray to see if the doctor needs to be called, or taking an admission at 2:00 a.m. with a smile on our faces. Too often, we forget all the other things that make our job what it truly is: caring and having a desire to make a difference. 55. Christine Belle: Our job as nurses is to cushion the sorrow and celebrate the joy, everyday, while we are "just doing our jobs." 56. Elizabeth Kenny: He who angers you conquers you. On Compassion These quotes will inspire you to be a more compassionate nurse. 57. Georg Brandes: A love for humanity came over me, and watered and fertilised the fields of my inner world which had been lying fallow, and this love of humanity vented itself in a vast compassion. 58. Terry Waite: At the end of the day, love and compassion will win. 59. Chogyam Trungpa: Compassion automatically invites you to relate with people because you no longer regard people as a drain on your energy. 60. Mason Cooley: Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves. 61. Joseph Butler: Compassion is a call, a demand of nature, to relieve the unhappy as hunger is a natural call for food.

62. Simone Weil: Difficult as it is really to listen to someone in affliction, it is just as difficult for him to know that compassion is listening to him. 63. Albert Schweitzer: I can do no other than to have compassion for all that is called life. That is the beginning and the foundation of all ethics. 64. Dalai Lama: If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. 65. Anne McCaffrey: Make no judgments where you have no compassion. 66. Simone de Beauvoir: One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion. On Health and Medicine These quotes deal with the larger health care and medical field. 67. Sally P. Karioth: A good doctor is one who'll say, 'I have no idea what's going on with this patient. Come help me figure it out.' 68. Robert Skeist: I like when patients tell me that they understand their conditions and meds better and that now they're optimistic about their health. 69. Henri Amiel: There is no curing a sick man who believes himself to be in health. 70. Norman Cousins: Drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is. 71. Bill Frist: America has the best doctors, the best nurses, the best hospitals, the best medical technology, the best medical breakthrough medicines in the world. There is absolutely no reason we should not have in this country the best health care in the world. 72. John Hutton: For too long nurses have been undervalued, restricted in what they could do, with too few career opportunities in clinical practice. For far too long, nurses have endured a pay system that has held them back both professionally as well as financially. 73. Lois Capps: Studies have indicated there is a strong correlation between the shortages of nurses and morbidity and mortality rates in our hospitals. 74. Florence Nightingale: Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion. 75. Ovid: Medicine sometimes snatches away health, sometimes gives it. 76. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross: We have to ask ourselves whether medicine is to remain a humanitarian and respected profession or a new but depersonalized science in the service of prolonging life rather than diminishing human suffering. 77. James Bryce: Medicine, the only profession that labors incessantly to destroy the reason for its existence. Communication and People

Nursing is a career that requires you to work closely with people from all walks of life. Learn to better work with and speak to them with advice from these quotes. 78. Lord Chesterfield: You must look into other people as well as at them. 79. Saint Basil: A good deed is never lost: he who sows courtesy reaps friendship; and he who plants kindness gathers love. 80. Publius Syrus: Look to be treated by others as you have treated others. 81. William Thackeray: Never lose a chance of saying a kind word. 82. Thomas Campbell: The soul of conversation is sympathy. 83. John Tillotson: A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence; which costs us nothing. 84. Francois de La Rochefoucauld: We never listen when we are eager to speak. 85. Seneca the Younger: The great thing is to know when to speak and when to keep quiet. 86. George Bernard Shaw: The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. 87. Anthony Robbins: To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others. 88. Anthony Robbins: The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives. 89. John Kotter: Good communication does not mean that you have to speak in perfectly formed sentences and paragraphs. It isn't about slickness. Simple and clear go a long way. Funny For those just in need for a good laugh, read through these quotes. 90. Gerhard Kocher: Nursing would be a dream job if there were no doctors. 91. Anonymous: Nurses are I.V. Leaguers. 92. W.C. Fields: After two days in the hospital, I took a turn for the nurse. 93. Cass Canfield: Some people think that doctors and nurses can put scrambled eggs back in the shell. 94. Florence Nightingale: No man, not even a doctor, ever gives any other definition of what a nurse should be than this 'devoted and obedient.' This definition would do just as well for a porter. It might even do for a horse. 95. Finley Peter Dunne: If Christian scientists had more science and doctors more Christianity, it wouldn't make any difference which you called in if you had a good nurse. 96. James M. Hunter: Treat the patient, not the X-ray. 97. Warren Beatty: How can anybody hate nurses? Nobody hates nurses. The only time you hate a nurse is when they're giving you an enema.

98. Anonymous: Confucius say: Man who want pretty nurse, must be patient. 99. W.H. Auden: Health is the state about which medicine has nothing to say. 100. Florence Nightingale: It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm.
Nursing is not just an ART, it has a heART. Nursing is not just a SCIENCE, but it has a conscience

Nursing Poems
Submit poems for this page. We attempt to verify when authorship is claimed, however NAR take no responsibility for poems submitted under false names.

Hearts of Gold
Sherry York There are times in our lives when we sit down and wonder where our lives will lead us. Sometimes we get so caught up in our jobs that we forget what we truly represent. We get frustrated, aggravated, pushed to the limits and so mentally tired that we feel what is the use in being a Nurse. But then someone gives us a weak smile or holds our hand and may say "thank you, you are so special." The we feel the warmth growing in our hearts. All the bad feelings disappear and replaced by the core values that we present: human dignity, compassion, dedication, integrity, stewardship, leadership and excellence. So when the bad feelins begin to show take the times to say this prayer: Lord, help me to bring comfort where there is pain. Courage where there is despair. Acceptance when the end is near. A touch gentle with tenderness, patience, and love. And, always remember, all Nurses are truly blessed. For you see --- God gave of Hearts of Gold.

Why Do I do This?
Ashley Lipscomb, Student Nyrse Why do I study all hours of the night? Why do I put up such a fight? I do it because one day I will celebrate new baby born. And, one day help a family mourn. It makes me have courage and determination. It teaches me how to handle my dissatisfaction. Some people will curse or bless you. But every day they will teach you something new. That is why I study all nght. And, why I put us such a fight. Because one day, a Nurse I will be. To help people like you and me.

Nurse
Submitted by Paul Nickerson - Paul is not a Nurse, but his Mother , now retired, was for many years. Paul found this poem tucked away in a small photo album belonging to his mother.

It was a game we all played as a child Then some of us made it a dream worthwhile More to learn, not as much time to share Because in our hearts we really cared We have worked the late night hours While others slept away Handles a doctor's many moods Then found time to pray Critical moments that remain as memories Some sad - then some are good Then there are the tragedies That will never be understood We see a newborn baby smile As we watch another slip away And that completes the circle The price for life's that paid Sometimes not appreciated When just a hug will do We are proud of our profession A guift from me to you

Another Goodbye
By Jennifer Huff, LPN I said goodbye to you today. In my own quiet way. A hidden tear was shed. Tribute to the life you led. Empty chair, an unspoken reminder of you. Too soon to be filled by a patient so new. Numb to the pain of so many goodbyes. Sorrow hidden, secretly brushing tears from my eyes. You joined the others who paved the way for you. The leader, the song-man, the fiesty one, too. The one who decided that he'd just had enough. Saying farewell to you all has been so tough. I like to imagine you are all gathered up there. Playing poker, having feasts, so many stories to share. No more restrictions on fluid and food. No longer chained to disease, it is as it should. Those of us left behind, keep your memory alive. Working hard every day to help others survive. Chair no longer empty, a new soul to tend. Hidden tears suppressed. A new beginning to the end.

The Cute Little Lady in The Pink Sweater

By Dawn Maselli, RN They can take my meal away before I'm done They can talk to me like I'm dumb They can refer to me as a "Feeder" Fluff me up to make me look neater They talk about me like I'm not Here They address me as "honey" "cutie and "dear". But there are things they can't do to me As they insult my dignity Oh there are things they can't do to me They can't take away my memories My Roles through this life cement my presence With withered mind they call senescence I am rich in culture, wisdom and knowledge That medical people can't learn in college I am a mother, a sister, a historian, a wife I have mastered many roles throughout my life I created warm meals in my day I wiped my children's tears away I cared for a close knit family Who look up to and value me And now I master another role Dependent patient with golden soul If just one of "them" would sit with me I'd share with them this history And if one would stay awhile I'd teach them that I'm still God's child. They are so busy this I know I have aged and have gotten slow This I must share in written word I may not be seen but I will be heard They say I'm anxious, noisy and loud This life has taught me not to be too proud I am too many things to capture in a letter I am so much more than the lady in the pink sweater If you've listened from the start I may help you find your heart.

Assignment
By Kim Jordan RN I have nine patients, you are but one I will walk five miles before I am done Tiptoeing in and out of the rooms Darkened and quiet like silent tombs I try not to wake you, for there is no time When trying to divide eight hours by nine.

It is my duty
Dawn Butler, RN (Pennsylvania) I walk through those doors with pride, Who's life will i save tonight? Someone is waiting for me, Someone is alive today because of my duty. Sometimes we cry cause we can't save them all, God sometimes won't let us interfere when he calls. A baby's first breath when he looks at me, The joy of my first delivery. The tear i wipe a way with my own hands, The life ending of a gentle old man. The night seems so dark and the morning so bright. Being a nurse you see life in a different light. Who will i save tonight? Who will hold my hand during their last breath with no fright? Who will enter this world on my shift? How many mothers will greet their babies with a kiss? I don't know who these special people are but i will meet them with every call I will hold them tight and help the pain I will hold them up when they feel faint. I will be strong when i am needed That is my job, I am a nurse..that is my duty.

Lily of The Valley

By Paul Lawrence Dunbar. At the time this was written, the Miami Valley Hospital School of Nursing flower was the Lily-of-theValley and Paul Lawrence Dunbar has just been a patient at the hospital. This was his tribute to the students. Sweetest of the flowers a blooming In the fragrant vernal days, Is the Lily-of-the-Valley With its soft retiring ways. Well, you chose this humble blossom, As the Nurse's emblem flower Who grows more like her idea Every day and every hour Like the Lily-of-the-Valley In her honesty and worth Oh! She blooms in truth and virtue In the humble works of earth. Though she stands erect in honor When the heart of mankind bleeds,

Still she hides her own deserving In the beauty of her deeds. In the silence and the darkness, When no eye may see or know, There her footsteps shod with mercy and fleet kindness, come and go. Not amid the sound of plaudits, Not before the garish day; Does she shed her soul's sweet perfume, Does she take her gentle way. But alike her ideal flower, With its honey-laden breath; Still her heart blooms forth its beauty In the valley shades of death.

Assignment
By Kim Jordan, RN I have nine patients, you are but one I will walk five miles before I am done Tiptoeing in and out of the rooms Darkened and quiet like silent tombs I try not to wake you, for there is no time When trying to divide eight hours by nine.

Look Closer - A Nurse's Reply

Liz Hogben This was sent in by Mrs B Boyle. I came across this poem, when my mother was in the nursing home it was place in the rooms there, believe it's a reply to the poem, "A Young Girl Still Dwells" What do we, you ask, what do we see ? Yes, we are thinking when looking at thee! We may seem to be hard when we hurry and fuss, But there's many of you and too few of us. We would like far more time to sit by you and talk, To bath you and feed you and help you to walk, To hear of your lives and the things you have done; Your childhood, your husband, your daughter, your son, But time is against us, there's too much to doPatients too many and nurses too few. We grieve when we see you so sad and alone, With nobody near you, no friends of your own. We feel all your pain, and know of your fear That nobody cares now your end is so near. But nurses are people with feelings as well, And when we're together, you'll often hear tell Of the dearest old Gran in the very end bed,

And the lovely old Dad, and the things that he said, We speak with compassion and love, and feel sad When we think of yours and the joy that you've had. When the time has arrived for you to depart, You leave us behind with an ache in our heart. When you sleep the long sleep, no more worry or care, There are other old people, and we mist be there. So please understand if we hurry and fuss-There are many of you and too few of us.

I Gave My First Injection Today

Sent in by Misspr@aol.com I gave my first injection today, now wait before you get bored and want to walk away its been a long road to get where I'm at, 15 years to be precise now what do you think of that? This has been my life's dream to take care of the sick and work with a team of caring professionals with all the same goal of ridding aches and pains and doing work that's not in vain. So maybe now I have your attention so I can tell you my story and you possibly won't find it so boring I gave my first injection today and my patient didn't flinch she said she didn't feel a thing. What a wonderful compliment that she gave to me "a wonderful nurse you are going to be". I also passed meds and cleaned lots of wounds and held alot of hands before I walked from the rooms. You wonder how can I be so happy in all this misery? you see I guess I see it different than the average Joe, before you think I am crazy just let me explain. If I can ease just one pain or dry just one eye or offer just one daughter some comfort when she finds out her mother has just died. I have accomplished my task and have been successful in my goals to have offered a hand when life has taken its tolls. See I have been truly blessed to have touched these lives and pray I never find it boring or bothersome to do the meaningless of task. Even when the most trying of patients call and ask. My goal is to answer every time with a smile and ask for forgiveness when I can't after I have gone mile after mile. Have I told you yet I gave my first injection today. I am a student nurse and for dedication I pray.

An Old Lady's Poem

When an old lady died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Dundee, Scotland, it was felt that she

had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through her meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Ireland. The old lady's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the North Ireland Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on her simple, but eloquent, poem. ... And this little old Scottish lady, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this "anonymous" poem winging across the Internet. Goes to show that we all leave "SOME footprints in time"..... What do you see, nurses, what do you see? What are you thinking when you're looking at me? A crabby old woman, not very wise, Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes? Who dribbles her food and makes no reply When you say in a loud voice, "I do wish you'd try!" Who seems not to notice the things that you do, And forever is missing a stocking or shoe..... Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.... Is that what you're thinking? Is that what you see? Then open your eyes, nurse; you're not looking at me. I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still, As I do at your bidding, as I eat at your will. I'm a small child of ten ... with a father and mother, Brothers and sisters, who love one another. A young girl of sixteen, with wings on her feet, Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet. A bride soon at twenty -- my heart gives a leap, Remembering the vows that I promised to keep. At twenty-five now, I have young of my own, Who need me to guide and a secure happy home. A woman of thirty, my young now grown fast, Bound to each other with ties that should last. At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone, But my man's beside me to see I don't mourn. At fifty once more, babies play round my knee, Again we know children, my loved one and me. Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead; I look at the future, I shudder with dread. For my young are all rearing young of their own, And I think of the years and the love that I've known. I'm now an old woman ... and nature is cruel; 'Tis jest to make old age look like a fool. The body, it crumbles, grace and vigor depart, There is now a stone where I once had a heart. But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells, And now and again my battered heart swells.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain, And I'm loving and living life over again. I think of the years .... all too few, gone too fast, And accept the stark fact that nothing can last. So open your eyes, nurses, open and see, Not a crabby old woman; look closer ... see ME!! Remember this poem when you next meet an old person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within ...... We will one day bethere, too!

One Angel - No Wings By Babs Hurst I worked the graveyard shift last night Oh my god, I saw some sights! I had a constant stream of admissions Mostly old, with chronic conditions Gout and asthma, and a few heart pains Even a sprinkling of varicose veins People yelling and wetting their beds Sending us nurses off our heads Someone let out a ripping fart Made me gasp and clutch my heart Then a snort, a grunt, a yelp Those people really should get help! That lady in the farthest bed She was so pale I thought she was dead Her pallor was just a trick of light My god!! she sure gave me a fright I worked my butt off, as per usual Charts, charts, charts for my perusal B/P's were done - standing and lying I weighed them all and felt like crying I wiped up shit and dished out pans Then rubbed some butts with my caring hands I did the obs, the whole damn lot Gave morning meds then cleaned the grot So there I was earning my crust Even though I cursed and cussed! I am an Angel dressed in white Walking the ward in the midst of night

I Am A Student Nurse Submitted by Boyd Williams I am a student nurse I promise to be brave I graduate in May I am a student nurse I will not show them I am afraid I will pretend that I have done this a million times or more So my patients will feel at ease when I am on the floor I am a student nurse I promise to be brave I graduate in May The Nurse Submitted by Frank Paylor of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada When you are feeling sick, or worse, thank your dear Maker for your nurse Whose tender care and ministrations are worth sincere congratulations. The shattered limb, the fevered brow are much the same to her somehow. There is a need, a chance to heal, to ease the pain that you might feel. Through all those precious smiles and words of comfort, as she tends With all her sharpened skills and guiles without complaint, she mends. Then there comes the day when you are sent upon your way -- and you discover, in the end, that you have had a pleasant visit with a very special friend.

The Proverbs 31 Nurse By Lois Sigmon Turley, RN Who can find a good natured Nurse? For her price is far above silver and gold.

She seeks medicines and skills, and works willingly with others. She gives of herself and considers her own desires last. A heartwarming smile is hers, and is made beautiful in her eyes. She girds herself with honor and strengthens her ability with patience. She perceives that her work is good. Her candle does not go out by night. She lays her hands upon understanding. She stretches out her hand to the poor; yet, she reaches forth hands to the needy. She is not afraid of sorrow, for her trust is in God. Pride and humility are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with comfort, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Her associates rise up and call her blessed; her patients also praise her kindness. Many daughters have helped others, but you excel them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain. But a Nurse that fears the Lord -She shall be praised!

What is a Nurse? By Fred Berk, Hospital Photo Guild If you must get sick, a Nurse is the nicest thing that can happen to you. Nurse come in all sizes, shapes, colors and ages. Efficiently cheerful, they will rustle past you many times a day.

When Hercules cleaned the Augean Stables, he set a standard which the Nurse surpasses each day. Buoyed by an immense sympathy for mankind and undismayed by experiences with particular members of that, at times, cantankerous race, they perform miracles of devotion with effortless cheer. When you rub your Alladin's Lamp (or sound your buzzer) your little Genie appears. Perhaps they have been summoned needlessly a dozen times already. But they are cheerfully ready to soothe you, to help you down your medicine, to smooth down your bed, to answer your fears. The Nurse is the Doctor's guard against forgetfulness, his questioning conscience, at times his challenge, and at all times his skilled right arm. Their charming cap (well, use to be anyway) perches undisturbed through the roughest day. They have no self for themselves. Their all is for their patients. If they are short with one patient, it is because they are pressing to return to the one whose need is greater. The Big Show (life itself) must go on. This is the Nurse's creed, their battle, their drive. They will fight to the end with every trick, every knowledge, ever passion. At the end of the day, the Nurse returns home, physically weary, but with their inner light glowing brightly, for they have richly earned the peace within themselves. If you must get sick, you are mighty lucky to have a Nurse happen to you.

Nurse Prayer Unknown Author Dear Lord, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to hide the bodies of those Doctors I had to kill because they pushed me too far....

Survivor Psalm By Frank Ochberg, MD and Gift From Within I have been victimized. I was in a fight that was not a fair fight. I did not ask for the fight. I lost. There is no shame in losing such fights, only in winning. I have reached the stage of survivor and am no longer a slave of victim status. I look back with sadness rather than hate. I look forward with hope rather than despair. I may never forget, but I need not constantly remember. I was a victim. I am a survivor. I'm Sorry In Advance By Linda Leeson - Licensed Practical Nurse Vernon Jubilee Hospital Vernon. B.C. Canada Your beds not made today But I have a patient here Whose chest pain wont go away Im sorry in advance Youre not happy with your meal Dietary does try hard sir, To give it some appeal Im sorry in advance Your morning pills are late Ive a patient climbing out of bed That I must try to sedate Im sorry in advance Your mattress isnt soft We do need some new beds maam But these things do cost a lot. Im sorry in advance I didnt get to comb your mothers hair Ive a patient with emphysema

Shes scared, she cant get air Im sorry in advance Your fathers still in pain Im trying to reach his doctor Ill have to try again Im sorry in advance Your dressings arent yet done But a patient has just passed away, I offered solace to his son, Im sorry in advance Im not cheery as a bird Ive worked 12 hours, my feet ache I asked for help, but no one heard Im sorry in advance Ive only two hands and two feet Im trying to care for you, patient Your needs, I want to meet My 12 hours now are 16, No replacement could be found My aching feet they cry out My head begins to pound Im sorry in advance I cannot meet your gaze My eyes are filled with tears Your face is just a haze If I could sit down for a minute And maybe grab a bite Phone my kids to say I love them And Ill be late again tonight Im sorry in advance I didnt do all that must be done If I worked any faster Id soon begin to run When I do get to hold your hand Or wipe your furrowed brow Please understand, dear patient I care for you and how I see your pain, I sense your fear Your anger in a glance, Our health care service is failing you Im sorry in advance.

Place Your Healing Touch In My Hands Unknown Author Help me as I care for my patients today, Be there with me, O Lord, I pray Make my words kind --it means so much-And in my hands place Your healing touch Let your love shine through all that I do, So those in need may hear and feel You. A Nurse's Prayer Unknown Author I dedicate myself to thee, 0 Lord, my God, this work I undertake Alone in thy great name, and for thy sake. In ministering to suffering I would learn The sympathy that in thy heart did burn. Take, then, mine eyes, and teach them to perceive The ablest way each sick one to relieve. Guide thou my hands, that e'en their touch may prove The gentleness and aptness born of love. Bless thou my feet, and while they softly tread May faces smile on many a sufferer's bed. Touch thou my lips, guide thou my tongue, Give me a work in sermon for each one. Clothe me with patience, strength all tasks to bear, Crown me with hope and love, which know no fear, And faith, that coming face to face with death Shall e'en inspire with joy the dying breath. All through the arduous day my actions guide, All through the lonely night watch by my side, So I shall wake refreshed, with strength to pray, Work in me, through me, with me, Lord, this day.

Dedicated To The Man I Never Knew I work at Good Samaritan (Dayton, Ohio) on the neurology unit. I love your site. You have done a wonderful job. Thank you for sharing with us. Here is a poem I have written.

By Pauline Hamblin As I tend to you, in your death. I feel I know you, by those you left. You must have been, a wonderful man. The strengh and character, of your clan I see love, deep in their eyes. The pain they feel is no disquise. The gentle way , they touch your hand. As you are drifting, to the promised land. Your children talked, of being raised. Respect and devotion, lived at your place. Grateful to God, they appeared to be. Happy to be a part of your family. Your wife's heart, is beating loud. Tears well up, her eyes did cloud. Unable to speak, she begins to cry. Begging to God, to not let you die. So you see, my friend, this life is past. But the values you left, will always last. Though I never knew you, I know you well. Your life, your love, their eyes did tell. Dedicated to the patients that I have attended to over the years. Although I might not know them when they first arrive the love and devotion of their families tell their true story. Regretfully not all patients survive, but the love they have given their family will last a lifetime.

An Old Woman (Note: This poem was found in the bedside table of an elderly woman living in an extended care facility upon her death.) What do you see nurses, What do you see? Are you thinking, When you look at me;

A crabbit old woman, Not very wise Uncertain of habit, With far away eyes, Who dribbles her food, And makes no reply When you say in a loud voice 'I do wish you'd try', Who seems not to notice The things that you do, And forever is losing A stocking or shoe, Who, unresisting or not, Lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding, The long day to fill, Is that what you're thinking, Is that what you see? Then open your eyes nurse. You're not looking at me. As I'll tell you who I am, As I sit here so still, As I rise at your bidding, As I eat at your will. I'm a small child of ten With a mother and father Brothers and sisters, Who love one another, A young girl of sixteen, With wings on her feet, Dreaming that soon now A lover she'll meet; A bride soon at twenty; My heart gives a leap, Remembering the vows That I promised to keep; At twenty-five now I have young of my own, Who need me to build A secure, happy home. A young woman of thirty, My young now grow fast, Bound to each other With ties that should last; At forty, my young ones, Now grown, will soon be gone,

But my man stays beside me, To see I don't mourn. At fifty once more, babies play round my knee. Again we know children, My loved one and me. Dark days are upon me, My husband is dead, I look at the future, I shudder with dread, For my young are all busy, Rearing young of their own, And I thin of the years And the love I have known. I'm an old woman now, And nature is cruel. 'tis her jest to make old age To look like a fool. The body is crumbled, Grace and vigor depart. There is now a stone Where I once had a heart. But inside this old carcass, A young girl still dwells, And now and again My battered heart swells. I remember the joys, I remember the pain, And I'm loving and living Life over again. I think of the years, All too few, Gone to fast, And accept the stark fact that nothing can last. So open your eyes, nurses, Open and see, Not a crabbit old woman; Look closer ... see ME.

At Your Side He Will Remain I love your website and enjoy reading the poem about the little boy talking about his nurse. Here is a poem I wrote for the things we face. I am a nurse in ICU and have been there

for 8 years. I need God to help me through the things I must deal with. By Becky Coleman I watch the tears fall of those who stand by. I see their despair tearing them apart inside. I feel so helpless as I watch at their side. Trying to give hope, as my feelings I hide. I want to tell them not to cry. I want to say, "this is only a body - the soul shall never die." At the time I know these words won't erase the pain. Sometimes silence is better than words spoke in vain. A gentle touch, a simple nod is all I can do except a prayer to our Father to see them through. For I know His touch is gentle and will guide them through their pain, and help them realize, at their side He will remain.

On Call Anonymous When the beeper went off you were dreaming about running away from your kid's ball game and your job and your home. On your way you review all the steps of pronouncement you look for the hospice death packet and think about what you will do and say. They meet you at the door, quietly leading you to the room. Everyone is silent, the lights are dim, they are waiting, expectantly. On the hospital bed lies a skeleton - a shell of a person pasty in color, motionless. There is no heartbeat, no peripheral pulse, no respiration, the eyes are open and fixed. You wonder who this person was, what she was like when she was young,

what kind of suffering she endured. You tell the family that the patient has died. The young girl begins to cry, her brother holds her, their mother - the patient's daughter - sits stoically next to the bed, hands folded in her lap. You stop the CADD pump and gently remove the sub-q catheter. You turn off the oxygen concentrator and remove the nasal cannula. You excuse yourself to make the phone calls. The family sits next to their now gone grandmother touching her hands, crying, reassuring each other that they have done the best for her. The daughter, the spine (pillar?)of strength, is not crying but gently talking to her children. You notify the doctor - he is sad, says he's known her for 30 years, probably will go to the funeral. You notify the minister who says he'll be right there. The funeral director will arrive in 30 minutes. The daughter witnesses for you as you pour morphine and Percocet tablets into the toilet and flush. Paperwork. The daughter tells you her mother suffered from cancer for 20 years off and on - but that the last 3 months were fast and painful until the hospice nurses got the pain under control with the CADD pump. You calculate what the cancer must have occluded, eroded, robbed, to cause such pain. There is cachexia. There are pedal contractures. The abdomen is grossly enlarged. You tell the daughter the good things you see - how beautifully the skin has been kept, not a hint of breakdown; how nice the hair looks, such an

obvious sign of the love and devotion her mother has received. The two young children leave the room and you and the daughter bathe the mother one last time, change the linens, and make her comfortable. You talk to each other and to the body. The daughter begins to cry - you hold her, like the child she is at this moment - the child who no longer has a mother. The doorbell rings, the funeral director has arrived. You encourage the daughter and her family to come into the dining room and have a cup of tea. You go back to the bedroom to assist with the transfer of the body into the funeral bag. Such finality when the zipper goes over the face - you want to keep the family delicately away from the sight of this. It is painful enough for you. The minister arrives. The family gathers in the living room. They thank you for being there and for giving up your sleep in their hour of need. You pack the loose medical supplies, strip the bed, break it down, gather the trash, turn out the bedroom light, and close the door. The equipment company will come in the morning for the larger supplies. You say good-bye and leave. Outside, alone in your car, you cry. A few months later at a mutual friend's wedding, you see the daughter. When she sees you she smiles with sadness in her eyes. You smile back. She knows. You know. She knows you know. That is all. That is enough.