A Thank You to Nurses Everywhere

To Every Nurse Who Keeps Showing Up—This Is for You

Nursing is one of the most diverse professions in healthcare.

Nurses care for newborns and the elderly, work in emergency rooms and operating rooms, sit at bedsides, educate patients, manage complex conditions, conduct research, lead organizations, advocate for patients, and so much more. We can advance our education and practice as nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse educators, researchers, leaders, and countless other specialties.

And there is a reason people trust us. According to Gallup's annual honesty and ethics survey, nurses have been rated the most trusted profession in the United States since 1999, with the exception of 2001, when firefighters briefly took the top spot following 9/11. In the most recent 2025 survey, 75% of Americans rated nurses' honesty and ethical standards as high or very high.

That's an incredible honor—and an enormous responsibility.

After almost 30 years, I can honestly say I still believe nursing is one of the most rewarding careers there is.

I've had the opportunity to work in different specialties, experience things I never imagined I would experience, and meet some truly remarkable people. I've cared for people during some of the worst moments of their lives. I've also had the privilege of being there for some of their happiest. I've watched families celebrate. I've watched them grieve. I've held hands. I've answered difficult questions. I've advocated when someone couldn't advocate for themselves. I've educated, encouraged, reassured, laughed, cried, and sometimes simply sat quietly beside someone who needed another human being there.

It has been an incredible privilege. But nursing isn't always easy.

There is a side of nursing that most people never see.

Unless you've been a nurse, it's difficult to understand what it feels like to move through an entire shift carrying the responsibility of other people's lives.

We make critical decisions. We administer medications that can save a life—or cause harm if given incorrectly. We recognize subtle changes in a patient's condition and

We respond to emergencies. We care for people with infectious diseases and witness pain, trauma, birth, death, fear, grief, and loss.

And then we walk into the next room and do it all again. We learn to function through exhaustion and learn to remain calm when someone else is terrified. We learn to compartmentalize when necessary so we can keep caring for the next patient.

And sometimes we become so good at appearing okay that people forget we are human, too.

Behind the smile, compassion, patience, and professionalism can be exhaustion, compassion fatigue, stress, grief, and burnout. Nurses can also experience workplace violence, verbal abuse, moral distress, understaffing, long shifts, missed breaks, and the emotional weight of caring for people in crisis. The ANA specifically recognizes safe staffing and safe work environments as essential to both nurse well-being and patient safety. And yet…

We keep showing up.

Not because we aren't tired or because it doesn't affect us. Not because we don't have our own lives, families, worries, illnesses, and struggles. We show up because we care.

Because somewhere along the way, most of us decided that helping another human being through one of the most vulnerable moments of their life was worth doing.

So this isn't a request for sympathy.

It's a thank you.

To the nurse who stayed late and the nurse who picked up another shift.

To the nurse who held a patient's hand and the nurse who advocated when something didn't feel right.

To the nurse who went home exhausted but came back the next day.

To the new nurse learning everything for the first time and the veteran nurse quietly teaching everyone around them.

To the nurse who left bedside but continues to make a difference in another part of healthcare and the nurse who is struggling right now and wondering how much longer they can do this.

I see you. I appreciate you. And I am grateful to have stood beside you.

After nearly three decades in this profession, I know this much:

Nursing has given me far more than a career. It has given me experiences that shaped who I am, people I will never forget, lessons I couldn't have learned anywhere else, and the privilege of caring for people when they needed it most. I am incredibly grateful.

To my fellow nurses:

Let's continue to care for our patients. But let's also remember to care for each other.

Let's lift each other up and continue to advocate for safe practice and healthy work environments. Let's mentor the nurses coming behind us and learn from those who have stood before us. Let's protect our integrity and continue learning. Let's speak up when something isn't right. And perhaps most importantly, let's remember that the nurse matters, too. Because caring for others shouldn't require us to stop caring for ourselves.

I am proud to be one of you. 

— Barbara