Nurses Month 2022 - You Make a Difference

Over the past two years, we have seen the resilience and strength that nurses all over the globe have displayed. This year, we’re extending Nurses Week and celebrating Nurses Month in May, a much-deserved recognition.

You make a difference

Angie Hein, LMH Health Nurses Month co-chair, said this year’s theme is “You Make a Difference.” She said taking a whole month this year, and not just a week, will give the team more time to share in-depth important things nurses should do to take care of themselves.

“We are far past the point in the crazy past few years where nurses are tired,” Hein said. “They tirelessly have come to work each day and this year for nurse’s month we will get to focus on the health and care for nurses. The Nurses Month committee can celebrate and provide our nurses with tools and opportunities for self-care. Sometimes you forget that taking care of yourself is just as important as caring for your patients. This month provides a good opportunity to reset and refocus on some self-care for our team.”

Hein said that the goal in Nurses Month is not only to provide the teams with goody bags and kind words but to focus sharing that they matter greatly. One of her favorite parts about celebrating nurses has been seeing the slideshows put together that share images and information about the nurses at LMH Health with their teams, showing them dressed in fun costumes, smiling and just enjoying being around each other. 

Angela Hein, Ann Davin and Adam Stuarts

“Nursing is so much more than just a job to a lot of people. It is more than just a career, it is about the people you serve and the friendships you build,” Hein said. “To get to take a second to reflect on the fun and not just the seriousness of our day-to-day is so enjoyable. We try every day to meet our patient’s needs and when you take care of someone, you form a friendship with them. It often makes leaving work at the door difficult because you know their stories and want to see them get better. It is emotionally and physically taxing and so to have a time each year to focus on re-energizing and re-motivate our staff is great.”

As a community hospital, Hein said a nurse’s work is so much more than just arriving and getting work done. It is taking care of an entire community filled with families, friends and loved ones and also getting to work professionally with those very same people.

A glance into nurse’s week

Ann Davin, CDCES, RN with Lawrence Endocrinology, has been a nurse for over 45 years and has worked in multiple states across the nation. She says out of the many Nurses Weeks she has experienced, the LMH Health teams are something special.

“It is always a treat to be celebrated, but the excitement and genuine recognition that goes into the celebration at LMH Health is energetic and fun,” Davin said. “It goes beyond just a simple recognition and is genuine appreciation.”

Davin said that though she loves being a nurse, there are times when it gets tough due to complicated patient situations, difficult cases or just tough days. However, no matter how hard the challenge is, she says their goal is to give the patient the best experience and lead them to the best outcomes possible.

“That is why I think it is important every year to have some time to give thanks to our other fellow nurses and staff who go to great lengths daily for their patients,” Davin said. “My colleagues and I will make sure we do everything in our power to meet our patient’s needs. We bend over backward to get lab orders in and see what we can do about med coverage. We also strive each day to make sure our patients feel listened to, not just saying their story over and over again, because sometimes they are going through really tough times.”

Giving recognition doesn’t just happen one month out of the year for Davin and her team, but it does help them to re-center and give each other a big high five for how far they have come in the past couple of years.

“I think something I want the community to know is that our nurses are just people. We enjoy listening to stories, we may not know the answer 100% of the time but we always try and we like to help, it is in our nature to want to help,” she said. “I continue to strive to be the best nurse I can because of my patients and the people I get to work with. The comradery and team support are fantastic.”

Time to reflect

Adam Stuart, an LPN with Lawrence Neurology Specialists, agreed with Davin. Helping people is the number one reason why he enjoys being a nurse. The personal connections he says are also enriching for life.

“Sometimes we can get so entangled in the tasks that we forget we are nurses. The paperwork is important, but stopping to realize that patients come first and that we are here to serve people first is important from time to time,” Stuart said. “I strive to meet patients where they are at and understand that when I may feel overwhelmed by something, they may be stressed and overwhelmed too. If a patient is so concerned that they drop everything to come into the office and ask a question, I should not be so bogged down that I cannot take a moment to help.”

Stuart knew from his Eagle Scout days that he wanted to help others. He enjoyed learning about the science portion as well and knew nursing was for him.

“One thing that is interesting about being a nurse is sometimes I become the point of contact for my friends and family’s medical questions,” Stuart said. “People will describe what they are experiencing and ask my opinion, my first answer is always ‘do you have a primary care provider?’ But if someone has never been unhealthy before it can cause a bit of a panic. A primary care provider is vastly important.”

He said when it comes to Nurses Month, though the kind gestures and small gifts they get mean so much, it is the personal touches that matter. Texts and calls from friends, family and loved ones go a long way.

“I love getting the kind words from my colleagues, but the unexpected gratitude from people in all walks of life who send a note - it means so much,” Stuart said. “This Nurses Month, reach out to a loved one or someone you knew from a while back who is a nurse and send them a quick note. In times like these that are long, exhausting and burnout is high, the sweet sentiments mean so much.”