“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Likewise, the nursing profession will never be destroyed from the outside. If it fails it will be because we destroyed ourselves. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2014-2024, lists Registered Nursing (RN) among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2024. The prediction is that this demand will not be filled by the available supply of people who enter or stay in the profession . The AACN proposes several factors for this predicted shortage of nursing such as insufficient faculty, retirement and high turnover rates. http://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Shortage

As a nurse, we need to ask ourselves how we are nurturing the growth of our profession.

As a profession, we can no longer tolerate incivility and lateral violence if we want to survive. 

The Hardest Question. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? 

The answer is both. None of us exist or practice in a vacuum. The things we do, the things we say, the ideology we live all affect the people around us. We all say things and do things sometimes without thinking how it affects other people. Maybe we did not get enough sleep, maybe we are consumed by worry about family or friends, maybe we have not eaten or cared for ourselves like we should and we blurt out the first thing that comes into our mind. If we stop and think intentionally about what we did or said, we can be part of the solution. 

The solution is to act intentionally. Set your goal and work towards it. Decide what type of nurse you want to be every morning when you wake up and claim your goal for the day. You may not say or do all the right things every day, but it is better to have a compass to guide you than to be rudderless without a destination. 

Be that nurse that offers hope not hurt to other nurses. 

Bet that nurse that offers help not hinderance. 

Be that nurse who welcomes the new person. 

Be that nurse who allows other nurses to grow at their own pace. 

Be that nurse who supports instead of sabotages. 

Be that nurse who shares instead of hoards. 

Be that nurse who gives instead of takes.

Be that nurse who speaks with civility instead of criticism. 

Be that nurse that speaks up for other nurses when they have lost their voice. 

Be that nurse who offers a shoulder to cry on. 

Be that nurse that sees diversity instead of conformity. 

Be that nurse that is enabling instead of disabling. 

Be that nurse that offers other nurses the same compassion you offer to your patient.

Be that nurse.