A salute to the woman who pioneered the noblest and most rewarding job in the world the nursing profession .......(Nurse's week is celebrated May 6-12 every year).

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820. During the Crimean War, she and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds. Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform. In 1860 she established St. Thomas' Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. She died August 13, 1910, in London.

Florence Nightingale, a nurse, spent her night rounds giving personal care to the wounded, establishing her image as the 'Lady with the Lamp.' hence during pinning and badging ceremonies student nurses bring with them a "Lamp" a lamp which signifies courage and dignity, caring and understanding of the humanity.

Nurses of today look up to the "Lady with the Lamp" .Nursing profession may have evolved through out the years , latest innovations and care techniques have reached to a new heights but the caring and healing touch of every Florence Nightingale remains the same .Nurses are the heartbeat of every healthcare settings there is, and yet we are poorly treated, with unfair wages and poor working conditions and even skipping  bathroom breaks ,we nurses must provide excellent care not only to the patient but to the patient's family as well.

In a busy telemetry floor for instance a newly minted RN is trying to insert an intravenous line (IV) to a fragile looking elderly but alcoholic man ,once finished she rushed to the phone to get a nursing report from the Emergency Room RN for her first admission of her shift and just after she hanged up the phone a screaming family member of one of her patients came to the nurse's station complaining about her patient in RM.303-1 who is soaking wet with urine and watery stool the Certified Nursing Assistant just left the unit to get the blood from the blood bank for the RN to start as the patient's hemoglobin is critically low due to gastrointestinal bleeding as a result of chronic alcoholism and just right after she finished cleaning up her patient who was soaking wet she heard a loud thug sound coming from the room next door a commotion started as it was her patient who fell and needs her immediate attention as soon as she was finished assessing the patient who fell she got a call from her Unit Manager stating that the family member of the patient who was soaking wet with urine complained to the Unit Manger , the RN and C.N.A. were written up. These are just few of the many possible scenarios in a nurse's tour of duty trying to do everything and multi task. The nurse was exhausted and beat and in addition to that she did not feel supported and appreciated and yet she continues to provide the care to all of her patients to the best of her ability .

We nurses are human beings ,we get sick , frustrated , tired, we have problems at home just like everyone else, the lives of the patients lie on our caring hands all we need is a little understanding and pat on our shoulders for a job well done . You, your loved ones , and friends in so many ways are cared for by a nurse whose hands not only touches you , comforts you but above all heals you , with this all we nurses ask is a simple THANK YOU!