Have you ever looked at the face of a nurse? They have many; they have a proud face on when they help a patient take their first steps post-op, or when their patients master their first flight of stairs after not wanting to getting out of bed that morning.
Nurses also have a face they desperately try to hide... the face for a patient that is in hospice care, the face they use to console a family, their panicked look when they see a patient's fever spike or oxygen saturation take a dramatic dip. Nurses are often the ones that will your hold your hand; they do everything in their power to make sure you're feeling better.
On May 6th, we celebrate the daily life-savers in the medical field: nurses. In 1993, the American Nurses Association declared May 6-12 as the national week to celebrate and elevate the nursing profession. Here are a couple of things you REALLY need to know about them.

1.There aren't enough of us!

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It's true! According to the American Nursing Association, their are over four million registered nurses in the United States, however, we will need about a million more by 2022 to cover the current nurse shortage we are experiencing nationwide. Despite this shortage, Nursing university programs are becoming harder to get into everywhere. For every 220 applicants applying to nursing school, only 60 students ACTUALLY get in.

2. Doctors Usually Ask For A Nurses Opinion

Nurse CE

If you could think back to a time when you had to go to the hospital or to a doctors office, who would you say was by your side the longest? Nurses. Whether they are trying to keep an eye out for the perfect vein or make sure they are giving you the right medication, Doctors should know that nurses are the Batman to their Robin.

3. Our work sometimes become our lives.

New York 'Addiction Angel' Helps Addicts Cure Their Disease youtu.be

Even when they clock out, the work is still not done. With angels like RN and a drug interventionist, Alicia Reddy she helps those who struggle with the disease of addiction. Her passion with helping others started when 3 family members struggled with addiction and she was there to help. You can find out more of Alicia's work here at "Addiction Angel".

4. We Save People From Dying, No Matter What.

NY DailyNews

Chantelle Diabate, a 31-year old nurse, walked nearly two miles from her home to get to her patients at the Hebrew Home, a nursing home in the Bronx. Braving the freezing temperatures and snow she knew she had to make it to work, as other people would surely not be there.

5. Our Job Description Doesn't Always Cover What We Do

This Nurse Cares For Patients And Serenades Their Souls youtu.be

Nurses are task-oriented professionals that are asked everyday to do things that may not be in their job description Take Jared for example, Whenever he's on duty, registered nurse Jared Axen can be heard singing at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, CA. He wants his patients to know they're more than just a number to him, so he serenades them with his beautiful voice. Known as the "Singing Nurse," Jared wants to spread compassion and positivity. When he sings, there's not a dry eye in the hospital.

6. They keep your loved one's secrets until the very end.

Nobody what job field you are in as a nurse, We are ALWAYS busy. The idea of a break is pretty much non-existent Nurses will almost always push their patients well-being or wishes ahead of everything. Patients often confide in them without telling their families-leaving those closest to the patient in the dark. It is only after death Health Care Providers tell anyone things their patient has confided in them.

Thank you to all the incredible nurses and for all the tireless work that you do everyday. We need you and we can't imagine a world without you.