June marks the end of classes for many and for some the start of their careers as nurses.  We would like to offer our sincere congratulations to the Classes of 2015 and compliment them on their decision to join the important and noble profession of nursing.

As you embark on your new adventures in nursing, know that you have mastered two of the three pillars of success: Education and Technical Skills. What remains is Empathy.
Educational and technical skills prepare you to take on responsibilities that in the past were the exclusive domain of physicians. They help you advance in your chose specialty and beyond. Yet even with the best education and technical skills, you will not be an exceptional nurse. That requires empathy.
Nursing is not just a job– it is a calling.
Elena Dejesus, a unit manager in short stay pediatrics at the St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Pointe, Indiana, has been a nurse for 35 years. She believes nursing is a vocation.
“It’s about the ability and opportunity to help transform a life. My nursing ‘cap’ is on all the time. I don’t stop being a nurse at the end of an eight hour – or longer – shift,” she said. Nor does being a nurse stop when she leaves the hospital or goes off duty. She is always available for neighbors, family or friends in need.
Carol Schuster has more than 30 years in the nursing field and is vice president of Patient Services at Saint Anthony. “You have to have passion for what you do and realize what a privilege your job is,” she said. That’s empathy.  Only then can you become an “advocate for your patients, who often are in a very vulnerable state. You teach them; hold their hand; give them emotional support in uncomfortable situations – even if your shift is “over.”

She continued to say how important technical skills are as well: “Patients go home so much earlier these days. You have to make sure they have the services and knowledge they need.”
To look at this further, we examined the result of an Internet poll on the question, “Is Nursing a profession, a vocation or a job? Why?” This response summed up the results beautifully:
“To me a vocation is something you are called to do, usually to benefit mankind. We shouldn’t just be in it for the money. The personal rewards are caring for the sick, the hurting, those in mental anguish, and those near death or dying. Being there to hand a new mother her baby, comforting the bereaved, and seeing a soldier WALK out of Rehab. You cannot take these rewards to the bank, but they ARE real. And whom do YOU want at your bedside? Someone who is just a good technician, or a person who shares your pain and celebrates your joy? That is a nurse with a vocation.”
Again, we wish you all success and happiness.
~Michael and Frida Donner