Just a Nurse

Unless you've been living under a rock lately (which is not a bad idea...) you've seen the uproar that The View has caused, following the 2015 Miss America pageant. For the talent portion of the competition, Miss Colorado did a monologue on her career as an Alzheimer's nurse. The day after the pageant, members from the The View mocked Miss Colorado with comments like, "she practically read an email... that's not a talent" and "Why does she have a doctors stethoscope around her neck?" Like the rest of the nurses around the country, these comments made my blood boil. I am not a fan of The View and never have been, but this really put me over the edge.

As a former "pageant girl", I would like to confess that I have never participated in a pageant with a talent portion.... because I can't  sing, dance or play an instrument. Sure I could have "learned" how to do any of these things to help me win a pageant, but would that have been a true reflection of the talents God gave me? Miss Colorado, I cannot applaud you enough, for walking out on that stage, and rocking the talent that is being a nurse. I'm sure you knew that a monologue might look less impressive to the judges than the opera singer or the dancer, but let me assure you that those girls do not do what you do everyday. I know, because I too am a nurse. 

We made it through nursing school, that was a challenge in itself. We then went on to hold the hand of someone while they take their last breath. We've watched parents lose their children. Children lose their parents. We've had conversations with lonely patient's that have no one else. We've caught doctor's mistakes that could cost someone their lives. We've been yelled at, reprimanded and scolded. We've cried behind closed doors and on our way home.

You see ladies of The View, my talent is not be singing, dancing or playing an instrument. My talent is sitting up all night monitoring a baby's oxygen level while his mom and dad get some sleep. It's waking him up every few hours when he's sick to give him breathing treatments. It's listening to his lungs WITH A STETHOSCOPE to make sure they are clear. Because there is NO doctor around to check them. It's knowing how to comfort him when mom and dad aren't there. It's sitting up at all hours of the night while his parents express their hopes and fears for their child. It's being a shoulder to cry on or a person to vent to when things are hard. It's dropping what I can to be there for him, any night or day. 

A nurse's talent isn't showcased on stage, and that's ok, we don't need it to be. God gave us the gifts of compassion, patience, selflessness and humility. Maybe you ladies from The View should ask God to give you a few of those qualities? Remember that while you sit there and bash others from your chair, we are out changing other's lives with ours. I will be praying for you. 

And to Miss Colorado, from all of us nurses, you rock girl! 

Xoxo, 

Brittani