Through the Turbulence

We are still working our way through this pandemic, and no one deserves to set aside some time to celebrate more than nurses. I hope you and your medical-surgical colleagues are showered with gratitude, find time and activities to rejuvenate, and receive an immense amount of meaningful recognition.

Here at AMSN, we could not appreciate you more, and we look forward to giving away prizes and applauding you this month.

These are turbulent times in medical-surgical nursing and healthcare in general. It is hard to remember when our work environments were not constantly changing and chaotic.

The last year has highlighted our problems including dealing with volatile patient volumes, supply chain issues, competing messaging regarding science and public health guidance, and very sick patients who have delayed medical care during the pandemic.

Any one of these issues can make a nurse question if nursing is the right occupation for them. All of them together have created a landscape where it is sometimes hard to remember why we became nurses.

During times of extreme change or turbulence, it is easy to focus on the difficulties we face and the things that make us sad or angry.

During times of extreme change or turbulence, it is easy to focus on the difficulties we face and the things that make us sad or angry.

But this Nurses’ Month, I challenge you to focus on the good things you see all around you. The smiles you give your coworkers, the inside jokes you share, and all reasons being a medical-surgical nurse is amazing.

Being a medical-surgical nurse is never boring because of the variety of patients we care for and the relationships we form with our patients and their family members.

Medical-surgical nurses have integral roles in care progression and patient education. Some of my most jubilant moments as a medical-surgical nurse were when I educated a patient, and the light bulb went on for them that they were going to be OK once they were discharged and at home.

Many of my favorite med-surg nurse moments were working with my teammates: celebrating when one of our new nurses successfully started an IV, ambulating a patient together for the first time after an injury, and eating together during a potluck. Sometimes honoring the seemingly small things can have a big impact on our outlook.

I travel to hospitals and health systems across the country for my job as a nurse consultant, and I can share with you that you are not alone in your challenges. Many hospitals are struggling with the same issues whether in a rural setting or a major metropolitan area.

However, despite the many challenges, I keep seeing nursing at its best. In the medical-surgical setting, I see nurses learning new skills to care for different patient populations or floating to areas of the hospital they typically would not work in to ensure patients are cared for.

I see experienced nurses training newly graduated nurses who have had little opportunity to practice their skills outside a simulation lab in nursing school. I continually see nursing teams come together to solve complex problems and support one another along the way.

There is no doubt without our nursing teammates, the past year would have been even more unbearable. Therefore, spend the month of May smiling, laughing, and caring for one another as much as you can.