Celebrate the Challenges of Emergency Nursing

Abstract

The 35th Anniversary of the ENA would seem to be a reason to celebrate. While this is certainly true, what is embedded in ENA's success are “ordinary” emergency nurses. I recognize that there is no “ordinary” emergency nurse. Each one of us possesses our own unique traits that we bring to the profession of emergency nursing. It is important to remember that emergency nurses everywhere are more alike than they are different. Our challenges are the same, and so often these challenges cause us to overlook the reasons emergency nurses must remember to celebrate. Celebrating our challenges is part of what makes us emergency nurses. Crowded emergency departments are a well-documented source of frustration for everyone: emergency nurses, physicians, ancillary departments, EMS, administrators, and, most of all, patients. Yet it is despite such challenges that the spirit of emergency nursing prevails. We provide care, miss meals (and bathroom breaks), and help our colleagues despite the obstacles we encounter. I certainly have gone home wishing I had done more, but also knowing that a lot was accomplished. With the desire to do more comes the knowledge that if any one of us had done it all, there would not be a need for emergency nurses. No one wishes for illness or injury, but emergency nurses love the challenge of caring for ill or injured patients; it is the very essence of who we are. Emergency nurses need to celebrate all that they have done and all they have yet to do. I was honored to be able to attend the New York State Council Awards Recognition Ceremony in April of this year. What a wonderful celebration of each other and of emergency nursing. Their event began with a raffle to benefit the New York State EMS Scholarship awarded through the ENA Foundation. Networking, catching up with friends rarely seen, and making new friends was a significant part of the raffle's success. What was most exciting about this evening was the warm camaraderie and recognition of this year's award recipient's contributions to emergency nursing. Every attendee was given a single rose that they in turn gave to someone in the room who had made an impact on their professional development. Several of those present went home with a bouquet of roses afterwards; this was a meaningful way to express appreciation to emergency nurses who willingly gave of themselves to help others. Every state council should follow this example and create an opportunity to honor those in your state who have made a difference. Rejoice in the knowledge that despite significant challenges in our everyday practice, each of us makes a difference. It is all too easy to become too preoccupied with how busy we are, the record volumes we are seeing in our emergency departments, and the ever-advancing technology to remember those who have made an impact on our careers. Each of us has a special mentor who somewhere along the way made a difference for us. It may have been the emergency nurse who taught you how to be an “ED nurse,” or the co-worker who could make any shift fun. It is never too late to thank those who have made a difference for you. If we all remembered to just say “thank you” or “it was nice to work with you tonight,” think how differently we would all feel at the end of the shift. Emergency nurses work hard; we need to learn to celebrate with the same level of energy and intensity we bring to our practice. Together, we can get through anything. Celebrating, we can overcome any challenge we encounter. When the shift is over, every patient may not have had the outcomes we would have chosen if we could. But we can leave at the end of the shift knowing we remembered to celebrate each other. My challenge to you is take the time to not only make a difference for your patients during these challenging times, but also to rejoice in each other. I hope to see each of you at the ENA Annual Meeting in Nashville at the celebration of ENA's 35th anniversary of helping emergency nurses meet the challenges of emergency nursing.