Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. – Florence Nightingale
The American Nurse is a feature length documentary focused on raising the volume of the nurse's voice in this country. In the powerful trailer below, you'll meet five fearless nurses who serve on the front lines of healthcare: a sister who cares for kids and elderly patients while incorporating animal therapy into her nursing program in rural Wisconsin; a military nurse who works with young injured soldiers fresh from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan; a Labor & Delivery nurse who also serves as a bereavement counselor when a baby dies; a former mechanic who helps patients in their battles with cancer, diabetes, and black lung disease in a region plagued by poverty and drug addiction; and a nurse who oversees a team of inmates who care for their dying peers in a maximum-security prison.
Though often overshadowed by surgeons and primary care doctors, nurses play a critical role in a patient's treatment and recovery, because they're the ones who make the most direct contact with the patient. They're the advocates, the planners, and the glue that holds it all together. I truly felt the weight of the nurse's impact when the Labor & Delivery nurse shows an exhausted new mother her baby for the first time, after doing such an amazing job acting as her #1 cheerleader.
Watch the incredible clip below, and please SHARE it with your friends on Facebook.
