Count ER nurses among true heroes
Every day we read about our heroes and their amazing feats of courage and strength. Today's culture emulates entertainers, and athletes even, with the daily reports of their indiscretions. The sports pages are filled with "clutch catches" and "walk-off home runs."
My heroes are different. They can be found in hospitals across America. They are emergency nurses, and they have no agents or entourages.
"ER" nurses are called to quickly assess and intervene in life-threatening situations day in and day out. They are faced with some of the most intimate situations that people will ever experience and we must deal with these with immediate rapport, comfort and human dignity without having a prior personal relationship.
These people are a special breed. They triage the truly sick from the "walking wounded" with just a glance. Within moments, they will go from comforting a suffering child to saving a heart attack victim's life, often repeating the cycle several times during a busy shift. They'll go home carrying many of these encounters with them, only to return to work in 24 hours with the same professionalism and grace.
It takes men and women of exceptional character to work in the environment of a chaotic emergency department. To sit with and console the family of a teenager who just died in an automobile accident takes far more strength than an NFL linebacker.
On the humorous side, you will never find a person who has more stories about quirky human nature, bizarre situations and the drama of human existence than an ER nurse. Many of the things that happen during a shift are stranger than any story or episode of "ER."
As a pediatric emergency physician for almost 20 years, it has been a privilege to work with these "real heroes" everyday. During national Emergency Nurses Week, please remember how truly special these people are by acknowledging the work and commitment of these professionals. In their world it's "911" everyday.
Dr. Charles Nozicka
medical director
pediatric emergency
medicine Northwest Community
Hospital Arlington Heights