Badruddeen, via Flickr
The poem below, originally published in our May 2005 issue, is by Veneta Masson, MA, RN. It’s a “found poem,” a form of poetry in which the poet assembles phrases selected from a source or sources. The lines here come “from actual posts to an Internet bulletin board,” but they could as easily be comments on AJN‘s Facebook page! The author is a nurse and writer living in Washington, DC (more about her work can be found here).—Jacob Molyneux, senior editor
Nurses Week—What Did You Get?
Hi, everyone! Just curious to see what you received for Nurses Week.
Denim shirts with the company logo
Swiss Army–type knives with fourteen blades
Carnations in dollar-shop vases
One wilted rose
Soap on a rope
I think I’m worth more than this
A live band at the Holiday Inn
A potato bar luncheon
If you weren’t there, you got nada
Nothing
Not a thing
A PA announcement thanking the nurses
We dug out our caps & wore them all day
our VP of Nursing came to the unit and stayed for an hour
we sat with her & shared our stories of why we went into nursing
We got pizza one day (if you were there) and ice cream one day (if you were there)
Rolos, Skittles and M&Ms—give me the tools to do my job
instead of tote bags and candy
A drawing for some pretty cool prizes—movies, massages, a month off call
A bonus
We got to work overtime!
I presented my findings to the Executive Team and found out Tuesday
that they had approved another nurse . . . the best thing I could have gotten
One of my patients agreed to an interview with a local paper
and our story made the front page
My Mom is proud that I’m a nurse, so I got a Hallmark from her
Smiles, hugs, great gifts that cost no money
They did away with the corny shoelaces, thank god
Overall it’s kinda nice
I was thinking about all nurses out there this week
I appreciate all of you.
© 2005 by Veneta Masson
We received tote bag pen and a lapel pin …they day and evening shift got cookies cake and treats..the night shift…me and a few others got left over if there were any….like always the night shift gets CRAP
Professionally, I think we should try to get beyond. “What did we get for nurses day?”…..and move toward “who did we inspire this nurses day?”….”who did we celebrate?”…..”What does the public know about us that the didn’t understand before?”
I LOVE NURSES….I LOVE NURSING…. But it makes us seem whiny to talk about what we “got”. We “get” the privilege of being present in human crisis….and we “get” to make a difference!! #perspective