Celebrating the courage, commitment and compassion of nurses

National Nurses Week is a time to recognize and celebrate the massive contribution nurses make to healthcare. They are the selfless eyes and ears of care. Often, they’re also the ones who help put the puzzle pieces together in real time when it comes to their patients. This year, the Newsroom caught up with nurses here at Medline who work closely with clinical teams across the continuum of care about what the field is up against and where it is headed.

How would you define the field of nursing?

“Nursing is a calling, not just a profession. It is a calling to impact the lives and health of individuals. Defining it isn’t easy because of the wide scope of responsibilities. A nurse assesses, plans and intervenes on the behalf of a patient to address specific health and disease states in a holistic way. Ultimately, a nurse is a patient advocate who wants to ensure the best care and clinical outcomes always.”
– Patricia Turner, BSN, RN, CWOCN, CWS; director of skin health clinical resources, acute care

How has the profession changed in the past year and what are you hearing from customer teams you assist?

“I feel like the profession has changed drastically in the five years since I’ve been at the bedside. More and more clinicians are going back to school for advanced degrees, and undergraduate programs and trainings have become more robust. You’re seeing many more specializations within the field and more hospitals are having nurse practitioners and advanced practice nurses serve as primary care providers. When it comes to the pandemic, more and customers are sharing that it’s creating a great deal of stress, strain and a culture of cutting corners or ‘normalized deviance.’ Now more than ever, we need to be there for our customers to help in this time of need.”
– Christine Ninchich, MSN, RN; clinical resource manager 

What’s one thing people don’t realize about nurses or nursing?

“It’s hard for outsiders to understand the comradery between nurses. You rarely know what you’re going to walk into as a nurse, but you know and trust who you’re walking into it with. These bonds are powerful and rarely end when a nurse’s shift is over.”
– Jay Hamilton-Roque MHL, RN, CPPS, CSPHA; clinical sales specialist, repositioning and offloading

How are nurses innovating or advancing their field?

“It’s common knowledge that nurses are experts at figuring things out on the fly and going above and beyond to get the job done. That’s nothing new. This latest generation of nurses is taking things to the next level by applying and holding patents for innovations and concepts. Coupled with all the nurses pursuing advanced degrees, I think there’s an incredible dedication in the field to improving the care nurses give.”
– Margaret Falconio-West, BSN, RN, APN/CNS, CWOCN, DAPWCA; senior vice president of clinical market solutions

What message would you like to share with nurses this National Nurses week?

“You should be proud of the career you have chosen. Please know that you truly make a difference in the lives of our patients and their families. Your ongoing commitment and hard work have played such an important role in healthcare and each patient you meet is an opportunity for you to have a positive impact, no matter the circumstances.”
– Julie Finley, BSN, RN; vice president of clinical development

See how Medline honors those who positively impact healthcare every day.