Florence Nightingale, British heroine and one of the most renowned nurses in history for her compassionate work during the Crimean War, was born on May 12th, 1820. This day is now honored as International Nurses Day, a day on which modern nurses are remembered for their ongoing contributions to healthcare, and as part of National Nurses Week, which typically runs from May 6th to May 12th.
So why should you, as a PT or PTA, care? We need to stay focused on our own National PT Month preparation, don’t we? Well … not exactly. If you think about it, nurses are not only integral to many aspects of patient care, they are also often essential to a successful rehabilitation session with the coordination of pain meds and the facilitation of patient readiness. When I worked in acute care or in a rehab setting and had a question about a potentially infected wound, who did I turn to for immediate confirmation? A nurse. If I noticed a patient struggling with breakthrough pain, who did I track down for help? A nurse. When I was unsure about a new patient’s intake or swallowing status and the chart had wandered away from the nursing station, who did I ask before safely offering water to the patient? A nurse.
Each patient’s path to recovery is smoothed by the synchronicity and mutual respect of a harmonious interdisciplinary team, and I am grateful to the many nurses I have worked with over my PT career who helped me get my patients better.
Although nurses are often overworked, frequently taken for granted, and sometimes feared, they are truly the unsung heroes of patient care. Thank a nurse today.
Anne Ahlman, MPT
Comments