Happy Birthday Florence

“Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses… we must be learning all of our lives.”

Florence Nightingale

Yesterday we celebrated the 200 year anniversary of the birthday of Ms. Florence Nightingale. For the Holistic nurses team we observed a moment of silence on 5-12 at 1200.

For me, I encouraged all of my wonderful coworkers to join in. Funny circumstances occured providing unadulterated insight.

I went to see my patient who has a strong Turkish accent. He was very soft spoken and he had little to say in the beginning. He sat in his room with a flat affect and minimal words.

I sat with him to help him eat. As he ate, I talked (because I just can’t stop). My talking sparked in depth conversation between us. As 1200 slowly approached I noticed there was no leaving. So for the next 15 minutes we talked about Turkish food. He smiled. I smiled. We shared an experience.

It took me a moment to realized that this was the best way to recognize the work we do….that is, keep serving. He was known to be a challenging patient but I knew not this side of him. He was a person, a man. He loved, he hated, he knew joy, he knew pain, he knew COVID lonliness. We experienced a moment of sharing.

This is the joy of nursing. Celebrating life together. Giving grace in differences and celebrating similarities.

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