We often underestimate the role of a good staff nurse, or one with a perfect bedside manner. Yet to show how important we are, I often tell this story.
My sister once had a hypertensive crisis. Her blood pressure was sky-high, she was short of breath, with congestive heart failure and kidney damage. I was scared. I needed information. I needed answers.
And that was considering that I am a certified, registered nurse. I have been at the bedside for 33 years. I have an extensive history having worked med-surg, adolescent psych, oncology, bone marrow transplant and now, for 24 years, labor and delivery. If you have any OB issue, come to me. I love it. The easy births, the fast ones, the high risk ones, the odd ones I can handle it.
But a hypertensive crisis in a 57 year old? Ok, I know the basics, but not the specifics. Not the intricacies. Not the skills and knowledge you obtain from daily exposure. And these were specific things that a bedside nurse in this specialty should know. Nurses are not really interchangeable.
As each nurse entered my sister’s room, it became obvious if they were just in a job or in their element. A nurses comfort level in her knowledge was evident in her bedside manner, how she educated and explained the diagnosis to her patient.
And I respected that. I needed the information. My sister needed it. With these facts came a pathway to change, and with her explanations, the nurse lit the way.
Yes, the nurse practitioner was important in helping to manage the medications with the P.A. and physician. There was a very competent team of health care professionals involved in her care that met with my sister daily. However, it was the bedside nurse who had the greatest impact on the outcome of her crisis and the long-term lifestyle changes that were needed.
Staff vs. Advanced Practice Nurses
Much of the emphasis in nursing now is in advanced practice. We do need the nursing approach in the provider arena. But staying at the bedside is not less important than another nursing role. Leaving the bedside to get a management position does not mean it is a better position. I have my BSN and am fully capable of getting a Masters or Doctorate of Nursing Practice. I have been offered supervisory positions. Yet, I consistently stay at the bedside. I am not stagnant or stuck. In fact, I continue to grow and learn.
I am certified in high-risk OB and am looking to become certified in electronic fetal monitoring. I teach childbirth education. I work on the unit base committee to give staff nurses a greater voice in changes on the unit and in the institution. I am a clinical instructor at two area colleges. I am part of my community program of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). And last but not the least, I am the head nurse for a totally free, volunteer-run clinic that offers primary care to the uninsured in the area.
I am not just a staff nurse. Being a bedside nurse has created a lot of fulfillment in my career. My days make an impact on a number of lives in any number of ways. Sure, there might be many other ways where a career in this field can provide care for a patient. But here, equipped with my bedside manner, I can comfortably say that I have found my niche in nursing.