The Power of Nursing

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"...the moment you make yourself available to wisdom,
Wisdom makes itself available to you."
Robert Holden Ph.D.

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I believe in the ‘power’ of nursing! I actually have a square button that say’s that very phrase and I wear it on my uniform.
But what does that mean — the power of nursing? .My answer might not be the same as it is for General Electric who produces the buttons,
For me the power of nursing is in the joining together of art and science - knowledge and intuition. When I am able to do this, I experience the ‘power’ of nursing.
The first time I remember harnessing this power was at the beginning of my career. I was working in a small town hospital on the maternity ward. There had been a delivery early in the shift and all had gone well. However, I had an uneasy feeling about the babe. There was nothing wrong with the baby’s color, or vital signs. Still, I had a concern. So I undressed the baby and placed it beside another child to compare. There I was in the nursery with two naked babies lying next to each other as I tried to figure out what had worried me.
There was noting notably different between the two but I was unconvinced. So I phoned the Doctor. I told him I was concerned, explained what I had done so far and asked for his advice. He came in and reexamined the child. There was a heart defect that had not produced any major symptoms at birth but was now starting to cause problems. The child was soon being transferred out to see a specialist.
That was my first glimpse of the power of listening to my intuition and it left a lasting impression on me. It has come to my aid throughout my many years at the bedside.
Recently I had the privilege of seeing that ‘power’ at work through someone else. I was making supervisor rounds and stopped into the emergency department to check on things. One of the patients I had assigned a bed for earlier in the shift was still there. I asked his nurse if there was a problem with the receiving unit. She said "no," and that it was she who was delaying the admission. "Something is not quite right with this guy" she said. She explained that his vitals were normal except for his temperature — which was rising. However she didn’t like how he was acting.
I could tell she was worried so I asked if there was anything I could help with. She told me her plan was to represent her findings to the duty Doctor. I thanked her for her diligence and said to her "trust your instincts."
As it turned out, her concerns were justified. The patient had a cerebral bleed and was quickly whisked off to a Tertiary center to see a neurosurgeon.
The ‘power’ of nursing is practicing the art — what you know at that deeper level. It lays in the ability to pay attention, to be aware, not just to your knowledge and the facts, but to your intuition as well. This is the ‘power’ of nursing. It is in you and you bring it to work every day. This is part of our wisdom and our legacy.
This is what we pass on from generation to generation.

TFTT # 94 © Linda Bridge