12th may widely celebrate the birth anniversary of Florence nightingale, popularly known as ‘lady with the lamp’. This nickname was assigned to her because, it is said that during her work at Scutari, she would walk among the beds checking the wounded men holding a lamp in her hand ( Reported by ‘The times ‘).she was a social reformer with deep compassion for ill and wounded patients. This led her to establish the foundation of modern nursing. Due to this reason, 12th may is also observed as International Nurses Day, every year since 1965 to remember her contribution towards humanity. The theme for this(ie.2021)year was:
Nurses: A voice to lead- a vision for future healthcare.
The theme has beautifully underlined the importance of nurses in the health sector. If one wants to understand the importance of nurses and their immense contributions to society, then there is no need to turn the pages of history on ‘ Google ‘.Just take a deep breath and think about the pandemic the world is battling with. This will make one realize the significant role played by nurses. No doubt, every single health workers had played their part and risked their own lives to save people, to save humanity. However, in hospitals, if a doctor prescribes a medicine, then there is a possibility that the patient will not be in the
condition to take it by himself or herself. It is the nurses, who ensure that they ( people in hospitals) get their pills on time. During this pandemic, it is risky to be around covid patients, however, these nurses did their best even in these conditions. They tried to cheer up patients with their compassionate words and care. They tried to Maintain a positive environment in hospitals, despite the gloom created by the pandemic. They did what Florence nightingale once said :
“A nurse is to maintain the air within the room as fresh as the air without, without lowering the temperature “.
There are many examples of these unarmed warriors who succumb to the virus while saving the lives of others infected by the Coronavirus. Their selfless services must not be forgotten. A heartfelt salute to them!
As a child, I had a different image of the nurses. The word ‘ nurse’ brought an image before my mind. It was of a lady with white attire ( as I have seen in India) with a white cap on their head. This is what I knew about nurses during the time of my primary education. However, as I grew up, I understood ( to some extent, as I am still trying to know more about them), the meaning of nurseeennursestake care of somebody who is sick or injured. The sickness may not be necessarily physical only, it can be mental also, and anyone who takes care of that injured person is a nurse. So it means a nurse can be anyone. A mother is a nurse for his/ her child when she hears her child through her motivating and loving words. For a person living abroad and feeling homesick in that case, his friend can play the role of the nurse by healing him through his encouraging and supporting words. A wife plays the role of a nurse by using her positive vibration words in front of her old ailing husband. It means that knowingly or unknowingly we are confining ourselves to the narrow definition of the word ‘ nurse’. This is not to ignore the immense contribution made by nurses in hospitals during the times of the pandemic. However, ‘ let’s open our hearts for all those who take career of ourselves; be it through healing medicines or healing words ‘.
It means knowingly or unknowingly, we are confining ourselves to the narrow understanding of the ‘nurses’. This is not to ignore the contributions made by nurses in hospitals during these times of the pandemic. However, ‘let’s open our arms for all those who take care of ourselves, be it through healing medicines or healing words filled with compassion.
If anyone will ask me to summarise the above-mentioned quote then I can do it through a name. It is of ‘Mother Teresa ‘.she is the first and only Indian woman to win a Nobel peace prize for her service towards mankind. She was born in Skopje, Macedonia, however, she served people all over the world. She was not a trained nurse nor from a medical background. But, she nursed humanity. She nurtured mankind. Hence, nursing is neither a business nor a profession, it is a service towards people who are ill and are in pain. Reducing pain and suffering whether it is physical, mental or psychological is the moral duty of nurses and this is what they are doing. Though, these people are not getting their due respect by many of us, so to all those who are feeling low hearted because of this always remember the enlightening words of Mother Teresa:
” It is not how much we do, but
how much love we put in the doing “.
