Musical selection: Symphony #4 ("Italian"), Op. #90, 1st movement, by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, courtesy of Classical MIDI Archives, © 1999 Pierre R. Schwob

20 THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM NURSING by Sally P. Karioth, RN, Ph. D, Associate Professor of Nursing, Florida State University School of Nursing

  1. When you're 92, you shouldn't have to beg for the salt shaker even if you have congestive heart failure.
  2. Our profession has no room for bullies or whiners.
  3. Every day I've held a hand but forgotten to chart vital signs I still may have come out ahead.
  4. A good doctor is one who'll say, "I have no idea what's going on with this patient. Come help me figure it out."
  5. Nursing is the hardest and easiest thing I've ever done.
  6. Whatever I need in a hurry will be in someone else's room.
  7. Healing the spirit is as important as healing the body.
  8. If I don't take care of myself, I can't take care of anyone else.
  9. A body believes every word you tell it.
  10. Time flies whether or not I'm having fun.
  11. A lot of patients get well in spite of us, but even more get well because of us.
  12. If I don't get emotionally involved with my patients, it's time for me to change professions.
  13. It's usually better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, especially if I'm taking a Saint Bernard to see a child in the ICU.
  14. Professionals give advice but healers share wisdom.
  15. If I don't celebrate the exquisiteness of each day, I've lost something I'll never get back.
  16. Grief knows no rules.
  17. The more unloving a patient acts, the more he needs to be loved.
  18. Some things have to be believed to be seen.
  19. No one promises us tomorrow.
  20. If I can't cure, I can still care.

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