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Aussie mum is proud to be “just a nurse”
An Aussie mum-of-three has penned a passionate open letter on Facebook to remind the public of the incredible work nurses do.
Queenslander Caitlin Brassington was prompted to write the open letter when an acquaintance she bumped into offhandedly commented that she was “just a nurse”.
Brassington wrote: “Wow! Over my 18-year career I have heard this phrase many, many times, but today it got to me. Am I just a nurse?”
The nurse goes on to describe the incredible responsibilities she is required to oversee in the course of her work.
“I have helped babies into the world, many of whom needed assistance to take their first breath, and yet I am just a nurse,” she wrote. “I have held patient’s hands and ensured their dignity while they take their last breath, and yet I am just a nurse.
“I have counselled grieving parents after the loss of a child, and yet I am just a nurse. I have performed CPR on patients and brought them back to life, and yet I am just a nurse.”
The rest of the letter reads: “I can ascultate every lung field on a newborn and assess which field may have a decreased air entry, and yet I am just a nurse.
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I can educate patients, carers, and junior nurses, and yet I am just a nurse.
I am my patients advocate in a health system that does not always put my patients best interest first, and yet I am just a nurse.
I will miss Christmas Days, my children's birthdays, and school musicals to come to work to care for your loved one, and yet I am just a nurse.
I can take blood, cannulate and suture a wound, and yet I am just a nurse.
I can manage a cardiac arrest in a newborn, a child or an adult, and yet I am just a nurse.
I can tell you the dosage of adrenaline or amiodarone based on weight that your child may need to bring them back to life, and yet I am just a nurse.
I have the experience and knowledge that has saved people's lives.
So, if I am just a nurse, then I am ridiculously proud to be one.”
Brassington’s post has since received thousands of likes and shares, with countless users taking it as an opportunity to praise the nurses in their life.
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To all the nurses out there, we thank you for everything you do.
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