Nurses' 'gentle touch' in demanding job celebrated

FORT DEFIANCE, May 8, 2008

No one understands more about the power of a gentle touch than nurses.

Well, patients who receive a comforting touch might understand.

Pat Maierson, supervisor for the Fort Defiance Indian Health Service Multiple Services Unit, said on Wednesday, "Touch is a gift."

Maierson said that studies of intensive care units show that a patient's racing heart rate and other vital signs visibly slow down at the gentle touch of a nurse.

"It's a gift we give each other to help us remember that you're a person like I am," she said.

Maierson, originally from Tempe, Ariz., has worked at the Fort Defiance hospital for the past three years. This is her second nursing tour on the Navajo Reservation. Her first one, for one a half years, was at the old Fort Defiance hospital.

Maierson was among several nurses and nursing assistants who retook their nursing oath Wednesday morning as part of the hospital's recognition of National Nurses Week, which is from May 6 to 12.

Fort Defiance began their week on Tuesday with "Patriotic Day," which included the posting of colors by a veterans group and remarks by Franklin Freeland, the hospital's director, and Ruth Kawano, assistant chief nurse and staff education developer.

Kawano reminded the nurses and nursing assistants that May 12 is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, a "pioneer and a founder of modern nursing."

On Wednesday, the renewal of the nursing oath is called the "Nightingale Pledge."

Maierson explained that the pledge is a reminder to nurses about their obligation to comfort their patients.

"Anybody can learn how to start an IV and give pills but it takes some very special people to show compassion and caring in some of the most devastating conditions," she said.

Maierson recalled how Nightingale was assigned to help wounded soldiers during the Crimean War in Europe from 1854 to 1856. Doctors couldn't help but notice how her presence comforted the wounded, which ultimately helped in their healing.

Nightingale, who is also known as the "Lady with the Lamp," worked in a hospital where there not enough beds for the wounded. It was dirty, smelly and infested with rats, which caused many of the soldiers to die from diseases that they caught in the hospital.

When Nightingale and other nurses arrived at the hospital, the male doctors prohibited them from helping the wounded and ordered them to clean the hospital.

But when more wounded arrived daily, overwhelming the doctors, the nurses were finally allowed to help the wounded.

Nightingale came from an upper class family and went into nursing against her family's wishes. At the time, 1844, nursing was not a respectful profession for women.

Kawano noted that the modern day nursing profession is facing a nursing shortage that "is worse than ever before."

Maierson said the shortage could be attributed to the demands of the profession, which is involves a work schedule that's 24 hours and 365 days.

Nurses work all the holidays, she explained.

"There's no guarantee that we'll be home with the family," Maierson said. "So for anyone going into nursing the choice they take to serve others will be at the expense of leaving home and family. It's a difficult life decision."

But she said the flip side of nursing is that nurses have a "true love in their hearts for helping others."

Kawano said the nursing staff at the Fort Defiance hospital and the Sanders clinic stay and even return when they leave because they want to take care of "our Navajo patients."

"If you remember this past winter, we were over and past our workload and capacity," she recalled. "We had to strategize.

"We didn't give up, our nurses came in, did their work, and some stayed hours past their normal tour of duty. They made a difference for our hospital and patients.

"During outbreaks or epidemics, nurses and their assistants are among those most vulnerable to infections due to their constant exposure to infected patients," Kawano said.

"Some patients may also suffer from debilitating diseases and their treatment may result in emotionally wrenching situations, especially when it involves family members and children," she said.

Maierson said that death is another challenge faced by nurses, doctors and others in the medical field.

She said nurses and others learn how "to be involved and protect their hearts. The reality is that people suffer and die."

"But what a nurse provides is to be there for their patients' final journey," Maierson said. "To be that soft voice. To give that final drink of water."

And for those young people interested in going into nursing, death and trauma may be "very scary," but nursing is a "gift."

Kawano agreed.

"Nurses possess the grit and the emotional stability to deal with death and suffering every day," she said.

Today, May 8, is "Red Carpet Day," which involves dressing like a favorite star, and includes a fashion show and nursing awards.

On Friday, the nurses will celebrate "Tropical Day" with the Apache Crown Dancers, and an "Afternoon Delight" with a fruit fest, sherbet and punch.

May 12, Monday, is "Kings and Queens of Health Care: Nurses Making a Difference Everyday" and includes an ice cream and root beer float social, plus guest speakers, children reading poems and essays, and a balloon release to honor nurses.

Information: 928-729-8583.

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