Nurse for President.

The top 10 unofficial reasons why we need a nurse to run the most powerful country in the world.

Nurses are extraordinary communicators. And I am not just talking about verbal communication. We have a way of communicating with our eyes and our hands just as much as our words. We recognize that words are powerful, and we use them carefully. Not to mention that we are seriously the best listeners. The art of listening makes all the difference, because how we react to situations is dependent upon our understanding. This means we don’t typically react hastily or without proper evidence. This is huge. As a bonus, we don’t shout, and evidence that we rely on is typically rooted in science.

The name Alex Wubbels says it all. If you have not heard of her story, just Google her. While her situation may sound extreme, nurses are constantly advocating for their patients 24 hours a day. If you are a nurse, you know exactly what I am talking about. If you are not, just ask any nurse you know. No matter what you see or don’t see, we have your back. Our patients often times have no idea what we go through just to ensure their safety and well-being. And believe me when I tell you that we advocate with absolutely no special interests in mind.

Nurses know how precious life is, and we recognize that no one has time for dishonesty. Besides, what good can come from even a simple little white lie? None. Additionally, nurses are ranked as the most trusted profession year after year. We are good communicators who can skillfully deliver honesty in a compassionate manner. A nurse will tell you exactly what they would want to know if they were in your shoes. A nurse president would not only be trustworthy in their actions, but would be able to forge sound and solid relationships with others. Just trust us.

Do you know how many people we collaborate with every day? I can’t even count on one hand! Nurses are like the little worker bees. We buzz around all day long connecting everyone together and organizing your care across many different services so that your needs are met. Beyond the basic day to day routine, we have to know how to work in a team when the stakes are high. Watching a trauma patient roll into the trauma bay for example is like watching a well-oiled machine. The whole team knows exactly what to do and when. Everyone works together. That is the only option if the patient is to survive. Lack of collaboration in a medical team means failure. In that case, that can mean death. We don’t like to see people die. Especially if we think something could have been done different. We recognize the power and potential in teamwork and truly value how each individual brings a unique bag of skills to the table. Can you imagine our political representatives working as a team rather than as opponents? We could reduce our national debt significantly just by being more efficient.

Just tell a nurse that a supply is unavailable and you will see what I mean. We can improvise and innovate like no one’s business. You tell us there are no more seizure pads, and we will tape blankets around your bed. If we observe a consistent problem, chances are we are already working on a solution. For example, have you heard of that nurse who created a peanut ball for women to use while pregnant to reduce the need for c-sections? Simple but absolutely amazing! And it is all because of some keen observations and critical thinking. Our government can definitely benefit from some innovation if I may say so myself.

This ties in perfectly with the fact that we are innovators. You tell us there is a budget cut, and we still find a way to do what we need to do. You tell us that a certain product is indefinitely unavailable, and we manage around it. There is no such thing as “no” for a nurse. It’s impossible. See point 5 about being an innovator. We truly are a crafty group of professionals. There is an old hospital saying that says, “If no one can do it, a nurse can”. Precisely. A nurse president would always find a way.

Health is dependent upon a variety of factors such as education, the environment, finances and access to resources. People suffer from a decreased quality of life typically as a result of a failure in one of these areas. For example, we know that people neglect taking their medications as ordered. They don’t take them because they want to be seen as being “non-compliant” or listen to another lecture. They just don’t have the finances to pay $500 or so a month for their prescriptions! Let’s be honest- some people have to choose between food on their plates or their pills. What would you do? Nurses are experts at understanding the why. A nurse president would change how we look at problems and consequently how we deal with them.

Seriously. I mentioned above about how much we care. Caring is the greatest attribute that we possess, but it is also our greatest weakness. We care so much about our patients, that sometimes we neglect ourselves. Nurses can go for hours not eating, drinking or going to the bathroom because there is important work that has to be done. Thus we have developed unreasonably elastic bladders. (However, this is not a positive when this happens every single day. Then, what happens is that we end up eating all the donuts in the break room by the time we finally get to go to the bathroom because we have waited so long to eat or go to the bathroom). I don’t need to elaborate on this point, but what I can say is that this will come in handy if we ever need to filibuster. Not to mention that we have so many good, juicy stories that we can tell! We could talk a bill to death any day!

Nurses stress about a ton of things! A clinical nurse can have anywhere from 2–5 (or more depending on your location) of you to worry about all at the same time! For example, if I have 4 patients, it is not unreasonable to think that I am worrying about at least 8 entirely different problems all at the same time. That is a lot of worrying! But when you are ill, it is not your place to worry about anything more than you need to. And no matter what may be happening in the room next door, nurses try their hardest to ensure that you don’t see the stress carry over. We know how to put on a genuine smile even if our heart is hurting on the inside. Additionally, we manage our stress through triage. This allows us to stop the worst sources of bleeding first. A nurse president would be able to triage national concerns with grace even under the hottest of fires.

Last but not least, we care (in case you haven’t picked up on this yet). Caring is the absolute heart of our profession. We are compassionate and we don’t judge the circumstances of others. Our job is to help others achieve the greatest quality of life possible. We care so much about our patients that pieces of them remain seared in our hearts and minds long after we meet. And years later, we still think about them. It’s also why we go to bed thinking about what more could we have done.

When people care, they act in ways that are caring. There is no question that a nurse president could be the most caring one our country would ever know.

So, if you are a nurse, I encourage you to get involved in your local politics, vote or run for office. It doesn’t matter what party you identify with. You will bring such beauty and intelligence to all that you do. Nurses need to be at the table now more than ever.

Related posts:

There are many challenges when working at a startup. But one of the most important ones for all the creatives out there is to maintain their creative passion on a day-to-day basis. A busy startup…

If anything is inevitable, it is change. Current waves of trends will change the world as we know it. There will be winners. There will be losers. Here are the four major megatrends that will shape…

There is great value in writing online. Structuring thoughts, communicating ideas, and community building are a few of the benefits of a daily writing habit. I started writing daily to help structure…