Hey Nurses! Thank you for celebrating with us this week with positive affirmations while still remembering the hardships of healthcare. But the party doesn’t end here – we are going to continue the celebration all month.
Happy National Nurses Week! With all the negative media about nurses leaving the profession, Matchwell wants to flip the script a bit. We know nurses and other healthcare workers are leaving the profession. But as a nurse who works in a clinic, I interact with nurses weekly who love their job. Who choose to stay despite the added stress. Because of my observations, we did our own research over the last year to find out why nurses are choosing to stay. Is it money? Is it because there are no other jobs out there? No. It’s something bigger and less tangible. We discovered that more than 70% of nurses stay in the profession because they feel a greater sense of purpose and calling.
Our findings prompted us to take a break from the negative noise and instead celebrate the positive. And we aren’t talking about the toxic positivity that ignores real issues and creates systemic illness. What if for only a moment, we talk about why we chose nursing and why we continue to choose it every day. Can this make an impact on the profession overall? We think so.
Affirmation Works
So what’s the point of all this positivity? The Cleveland Clinic states that positive affirmations are a way to help overcome self-doubt and fear. With all the stress and strain nurses are experiencing, this year for Nurses Week we wanted to highlight the positive aspects of our profession. What drives us. What keeps us coming back. Matchwell is collecting videos of nurses across the nation for the entire month of May. Stories from real nurses, who tell us why they chose nursing as a career and a positive story or memory from their career. Not only do we have heartwarming videos, but we are collecting an array of eye-catching quotes, that not only inspire us but remind us of the global impact of nursing as a profession.
Here are a few of our favorite quotes from submissions so far.
[Nursing] is more than just one patient. It’s really [the patient’s] family and thinking about the impact we have on our communities.
As a frontline nurse, you care for your patients, as a nurse leader, you care for your team.
Right now it is such the perfect time for nurses to feel empowered, to be empowered, and to move forward as the true influencers and innovators in healthcare.
Happy Nurses Week!
Thank you to all the nurses who continue to care. Who continue to show up. Maybe you decided to take a break! That’s ok. Take the time you need and we hope you come back. More than anything we want nurses to know their value, their worth, and that there is goodness in this world. If you are a nurse who is struggling and need support, check out our Mental Health Resources for Healthcare Workers or Clinician’s Guide to Mental Health.