In honor of National Nurses Week, which just concluded, NMC would like to share with you a poem recognizing the outstanding work that nurses do for patients each day.
Nurse’s Litany
To care for the sick, the injured and those in need — This is why I became a nurse
To see the expression of love on the face of new parents the first time they hold their new baby — This is why I became a nurse
To hold the hand of someone’s grandmother who has no family with her — This is why I became a nurse
To see the smile on the teenager’s face after successfully giving his first insulin shot to himself — That is why I became a nurse
To hug the daughter of my patient, her mother, who has just passed away — That is why I became a nurse
To wash the face of a frightened little girl and see her smile at me — That is why I became a nurse
To clean the wounds of the young man that was just hit while riding his motorcycle — That is why I became a nurse
To help my patient walk on his new hip without pain for the first time — That is why I became a nurse
To listen to my patient express their anger of their new diagnosis of cancer — That is why I became a nurse
To see the delight on the face of my patient of four weeks, who gets to go home after a long difficult illness — That is why I became a nurse
To carry the vision of caring and healing to the next generation — That is why I became a nurse.
A Nurse’s Prayer
Let me dedicate my life
today to the care of those
who come my way. Let me touch
each one with a healing hand
and the gentle care for which I stand.
And then tonight when the day is done let me rest in peace
if I’ve helped just one.