Nurses do not get summers off, and few of us are home on holidays. Hospitals must be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The pay is fair, but the work is extremely stressful. As health-care spending decreases, nurses are asked to do more and more. The rate of back injuries among nurses is well above the national average.
Many nurses suffer from burnout each year and transfer to other professions.
At least once in our lives, every one of us can remember being helped by a nurse. Please tell your readers that if they know a nurse, to give him or her a hug. Take the nurse to lunch and tell that person just how special he or she is. I urge everyone to give nurses the attention and praise they deserve during National Nurses' Week, May 6 to 12 and every day. I feel like I'm in a free fall.