An Ode to Nurses

An ode to nurses

For the past 2 weeks, I've been giving Anatomy and Physiology classes for the nursing school attached to the hospital. It's just 2hrs a day, before I go to the OR. 

I love it. It has helped take my mind off things for a little while, and preparing the classes has been a great way to review stuff. 

But today, at the end of class, I stopped everything, turned off the powerpoint, and told them to pay very close attention because I was going to tell them the most important thing they need to learn about nursing: 

The doctors see a patient at rounds, for maybe 5 minutes a day. The doctor is the detective, that discovers what is wrong, and decides the treatment. But the nurses are the ones who actually treat the patients. The nurses are the ones who realize if something is wrong, and the patient is getting worse. Or if the treatment is working or not. 

If something goes wrong, the nurse is the first one to notice, and it is their responsibility to tell the doctor. The doctor can't guess or devine what is going on. The nurse is the eyes, the ears and the hands of the doctor. 

Nurses: don't underestimate the importance of your work. The doctors could never treat patients without you. 

Doctors: never forget that. Treat your nurses well, because the quality of patient care depends on your interactions with them.