I recently observed two things that left an indelible impression on me.  One is directly related to nursing; the other, a little less so but still important.

I was recently talking with my boyfriend's 23 year-old daughter.  She has a very good friend who is currently enrolled in Pharmacy school.  Apparently, the friend isn't enjoying it very much and was seriously thinking about whether to continue on and hope it got better or to perhaps choose another field of study.  The observation was made that this person was extremely intelligent and had once considered medical school.  My suggestion that she consider nursing was met with the response of, "She's too smart to be a nurse."  How ironic that the person who said that is also an extremely intelligent young woman!  Her comment really made me wonder about the perception of nurses not only in the healthcare community, but also among the general population; specifically, college-age people. 

With the nursing shortage only intensifying, I wonder how many people who have the aptitude for nursing are overlooking it because they perceive it to be a "lesser" occupation or career?  It seems to be a double-edged sword, since nursing programs continue to turn away qualified applicants due to a lack of teaching faculty.  The perception of nurses and the fact that those who want to be nurses cannot is an extremely disturbing issue.

The second event I witnessed was very troubling.  As I was driving near my home, which is located near a well-known suburban hospital, I observed an ambulance coming up behind me.  As always, I pulled over to the right side of the road which happened to be at a major intersection.  The ambulance needed to travel through this intersection to get to the hospital.  I saw TWO vans blatantly disregard the ambulance's right-of-way and zoom right past the front of the vehicle.  The ambulance actually had to come to a complete stop for a good 20-30 seconds to make sure the coast was clear before proceeding.  I silently wished that those who had crossed the path of the ambulance did not have a loved one in it!  Those 20 or 30 seconds could be the difference between life and death for a heart attack victim or the difference between full or partial paralysis for a stroke victim. 

Although it seems as though Mother Nature refuses to cut us some slack, I am taking solace in the fact that we will "Spring" forward on March 9^th.  I will take an additional hour of daylight, even if it means having to see snow outside!  :-)