Share the Wealth

As I have said before...and will undoubtedly say again...Nursing has a wealth of information to share. We possess a great deal of scientific knowledge and artful skill that is unique to our profession. We have nurse scientists conducting research, nurse clinicians evaluating evidence-based practices, nurse educators instilling basic principles and practices of the profession into the minds of new practitioners, and we have an incredibly large amount of practicing nurses whose knowledge and experience is vastly important and vital to keeping patients healthy and safe. Yet with so many resources out there, we tend to rely on very few to guide us along the way. We all have something important to share. We cannot minimize our position within the profession simply because of our specific title or job description. We are professional nurses...every one of us.

I think that early on we view our role as nurses as an "assistant" of some sort: someone that serves an important function, but isn't necessarily "in charge". Well, I disagree. I do understand that when compared to the role of the physician, nurses are there to help coordinate and implement the various orders they receive. However, we are not technicians. We are not there to merely perform a task based upon a command. We have a unique knowledge base, and we are charged with keeping patients safe...we MUST use our brains and THINK critically. Nurses, like physicians, pharmacists, ancillary healthcare providers, and many others, are human...and humans are not perfect. No matter how hard we try, we will always be subject to error. Yet, at the same time, we are all creatures of adaptation, creativity, and higher forms of communication. We may not be perfect, but we can always be better! I believe that an unasked question is the only bad one. Without questions, we cannot gain knowledge. Without knowledge, we cannot progress. Without progression we will will fail. Only time will tell.

When I hear a person say "oh, yeah...right...right..." when they are being instructed on something which I KNOW they have no experience with, it drives me crazy! Now I do understand that we all have varying backgrounds and experiences that we bring to the table, and perhaps some things may be "understood", or better yet, "more familiar" than others....but you can't sit there and say "yeah....right....right" to everything. We ALL have something to learn. We are not stupid just because we do not know something, or let on that we don't know something. That is our own insecurity. We must be confident in our own knowledge and abilities. Please, please, please....stop saying "right....right...right..." all of the time. How do you know they are "right"?

Which brings me to my main issue....sharing information with others. It is not just a nice thing to do...it is a responsibility we all have. We must all accept that we will be asked (perhaps many times over) to share our knowledge with others, whether it be in the form of orienting a new student, a new employee, or even teaching a class to peers. Knowledge is absolutely worthless if it is not shared. I can't say that strongly enough. Why be the all-knowing bearer of all knowledge? What good does that do? It's merely a power issue. But is it real power? Are you really using your knowledge for the best? Who will really benefit from it if it isn't shared? Healthcare, in general, is very guilty of this....we tend to take really great knowledge and "proprietise" it. That way we keep it secret, for our own benefit, and charge others lots of money for it if we do share. That's ridiculous. I know there is the "business" side to almost everything...but when it comes down to patient safety and improving overall nursing practice, we need to be better at sharing our knowledge....across the board.

We were not born with all the knowledge we need...we had to seek it out, take time to understand it, and transform it into meaningful practice for ourselves. We learned from others, who learned from others before them, and so on. We have a vast amount of technology before us, and we are surrounded by innovations and changes every day. But nothing will replace the standard "oral tradition" we share with one another. Those "stories" and anecdotes are what helps us all connect and relate to one another...sometimes for laughs, sometimes to share in each other's pain. It is part of being human, and that will never change, or be replaced. We are, after all, in the business of helping people. No matter how much technology advances, and how many machines are involved in the care of a patient...the patient is always a human. If we stop being human, we stop understanding our patients. If we stop understanding our patients, we can no longer be a worthwhile profession. We need to share the "wealth": our thoughts, feelings, ideas, fears, laughter, tears, and most of all, a comforting touch on the hand to let them know they are human, and they are understood.

Thank you.
Steve