Faces of caring

AORN Journal,  Feb, 2005  

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Each day we achieve accomplishments, large and small, that affect the people around us. AORN would like to celebrate these unsung accomplishments and everyday feats.

Maria Semnack, RN, Boston, MA

As part of a Celebration of Caring for Perioperative Nurse Week at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, caring awards were given to staff for the work that they do. Maria, one of the hospital's youngest clinical nurses, introduced the awards process and challenged a room of over 100 staff "to care because they can" using a wonderful story of her passion for the profession:

A couple weeks ago, I finished meeting with a patient in the holding area and came out from behind the curtain to see the surgeon standing there. He looked at me and commented, "I was going to barge in but couldn't help but listen to you. I wonder, why do you care so much when he isn't your patient?" I casually responded, "Because I can."

As the day went on, I began to think about why I care so much. All of my thoughts revolved around one story. Before I became a nurse, I worked in the holding area getting patients ready for surgery. One afternoon, I was getting an older gentleman whom I will call Mr. A, who was in his late 80s, ready for his procedure. He had metastatic cancer and was here for a palliative tumor debulking. Mr. A looked at me and said, with a tear in his eye, "I am so frustrated, I don't even know why I am here anymore.... Will you cry with me?" Anyone who knows me well knows that it took me about two seconds to tear up with him.

I answered Mr. A, "I know why I am here. I am here just for you. You are the only reason I am here right now--to take care of you." Shortly thereafter, Mr. A went in for his procedure and I went on with my day. The next afternoon, Mrs. A came to find me on the unit and told me that her husband woke up in the middle of the night and was asking for the nice nurse who cried with him. From that day on, I have always told my patients that they are the only reason I am here today. Something so small as conveying compassion in a few short words made an enormous difference to Mr. A, so it might do the same for another patient some day.

I am sure each nurse in this room has your own story of why you care so much, what keeps you motivated. So my challenge today is for each person to find your story--that special thing that reminds you of why you chose this profession. I challenge you to hold on to that story, keep the compassion in nursing, and remember that each patient is someone's mother, father, or child, not just the "lap chole in room 5." I challenge everyone to balance the caring with care, especially in the OR environment where technology is expanding so rapidly. Remember that each day is a new day, a chance to start over with a smile while you say to someone, "I am going to be your nurse today." Remember that you have this incredible gift, the gift to care, and how wonderful it is.

Faces of Caring will showcase several members' pictures and their stories that celebrate perioperative nurses' contributions, and we will try to recognize as many stories as possible. This accomplishment can be large or small--touching a life, engaging in a community activity, or working with management to make a better health care environment.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group