I have a nursing bias. I know that. I consider it a strength. Not everyone shares my thoughts, though. And that’s okay. Diversity of thought is a tremendous strength of any organization.

People I share numerous meetings with and those that know me best can pretty much guess what I’m going to say or ask…Where are the nurses on this committee?…How does this impact the nurses doing the care?…Have you asked any frontline nurses what they think of this?…Let me get back to you; I need to talk to the nurses…I see an administrative leader and a medical leader involved on this group; I strongly believe we need a nursing leader involved, too. 

Being the lone nurse in the room a lot of times is difficult, but it’s a tremendous honor and responsibility. I’ll never quit advocating for nurses, no matter how uncomfortable it is at times. And uncomfortable it can most certainly become; I remind myself frequently that if I don’t speak up now, I’ll have to answer for it later by looking into the eyes of nurses and patients asking the very same questions that are running through my head.

We’re the ones putting hands on patients; we’re the backbone of the healthcare system; we’re worth advocating for.