Representation of nurses falls short

It was with great anticipation I read the headline in last week’s South Voice about Anna Mae Eriksen, the retired emergency room nurse from Deaconess Medical Center.

I was shocked, however, to read the author’s description of the services that nurses provide. Lisa Leinberger wrote that nurses “get the patients heated blankets, make phone calls, provide medicine for pain and keep the patient company during what can be a very scary time.” This might be an acceptable representation from the viewpoint of a child, but not from a professional writer.

In the course of the last week, this professional registered nurse did hand out pain medications and warm blankets, but also calmed a volatile traumatic brain injury patient, performed CPR, successfully shocked a patient in cardiac arrest, comforted the daughter of a dying woman, taught a diabetic how to give herself insulin injections, changed wound dressings and juggled the needs of six to seven patients in the course of an eight-hour shift.

Nurses work in hospitals, rehab centers, schools, offices, extended care facilities, hospice centers, home health agencies, and are members of our military. The work we do deserves a better and more honorable representation than is described in this article. Mary E. Miller Spokane